FE | Frijns-Envision: the couple that could finally flourish

The first round of the 2023-24 Formula E season kicks off next week in Mexico City, but the season has already produced its first “winner,” sort of.

For many of the participants in last October's Valencia pre-season testing, the final morning's simulation race didn't count for much in the larger scheme of things, other than the chance to return to the track after the garage fire had interrupted most of the week of rehearsals. Unless it's Robin Frijns, who put his name at the top of the leaderboard after overtaking Porsche's Antonio Felix da Costa in the final laps at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain.

While it meant nothing more than a bit of personal pride, it marked the first time Frijns took the lead at the end of a Formula E race since 2019, and there's every reason to believe he could add to the his number of victories in the all-electric championship after returning to the Envision team, the team where he experienced his most successful period.

“I've been with the team for four years, the team hasn't changed much, there are some new guys coming in and others leaving, which is normal,” Frijns told Motorsport.com, the 32-year-old who returned to Envision after just one season with Abt Cupra.

“Obviously it's a good feeling to be back, being in a team I know is always nice, but I think the objective is quite clear: we all want to win. The team is pushing hard to be competitive and win races and that's what we're trying to do “.

The period between 2018-22 yielded two wins and a further 10 podiums for the Frijns/Envision partnership, as well as an attempt at the drivers' title in 2018-19 and 2020-21, with Frijns ultimately taking the fourth and fifth respectively.

Ironically, given the long collaboration, Envision's best season was last year, when the switch to the Gen3 and a Jaguar engine allowed Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi to win the teams title, while the former came close also the drivers crown.

By comparison, Frijns had his most difficult season since being in Formula E, scoring just six points (his previous low was 24 in his second season with Andretti in 2016-17). A meager haul not helped by the fact he missed four races after breaking his wrist in the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix.

But even after recovering from the injury, the Mahindra engine aboard Abt's car was not up to the task needed to challenge the leaders, as the team started late on the starting grid, having lost the support of Audi at the end of 2021.

The highlight of the year was reached in a wet qualifying session in Berlin, where Abt secured an unlikely front row, with Frijns ahead of teammate Nico Muller, before slipping out of the race points, while in the rest of the season it remained in difficulty.

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images

Robin Frijns, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

“It was about getting into Gen3 and obviously Abt came back and I knew the team from my three years of DTM and I really enjoyed it,” Frijns said on his decision to join Abt. “It was still one of my favorite moments in the DTM, I know it's a different championship and so on, and I really expected Abt to perform straight away. I was working with the same people who would work in Formula E.”

“I wouldn't say I wanted to leave Envision or that I didn't want to leave Envision, something else happened and if I had known everything before I wouldn't have done it, but then life is easy.”

With Cassidy joining fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans at Jaguar, a place alongside Buemi has become available for next season at Envision. Frijns admitted it was “a pretty quick discussion” to get the deal done and secure the seat.

Another decisive factor was the fact that he had been chosen as an official BMW driver ahead of the brand's return to the World Endurance Championship, which would have put him in conflict with the manufacturer Cupra if he had remained with Abt.

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The Dutch driver began to get used to Envision life during winter testing.

“I wouldn't say it didn't work with Abt, I liked being part of the team, I know the guys, unfortunately they didn't have a great car, as we all saw with the Mahindra powertrain, but still I know that when you give the guys a good car they can win races,” Frijns said.

“But there was more behind it, obviously before I signed with Abt or somewhere around the same time, I was talking to BMW, and I can't represent two brands, so that was a bit of a problem with Cupra coming in on board very late, just before the start of the season. Envision is a brand, but it has nothing to do with car manufacturers and obviously that puts me in a better position.”

Jaguar's dominance in the second half of last season looks set to continue into the start of next campaign, as Evans and Cassidy set the fastest times in the three pre-season testing sessions that took place. While for the client team Envision, after the morning's victory, Frijns concluded the final day in third place, while teammate Buemi completed the highest number of laps of all with 127 laps.

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images

What can Frijns produce upon his return to Envision this season?

But the fast-paced nature of Formula E means that outright speed is no guarantee of success and Frijns admits he hasn't thought too much about what could potentially be a golden opportunity, saying “the only pressure I put on is on myself: I don't care if people say you have to win the championship now.”

However, Frijns is fully aware of the fact that, by returning to Envision, he almost certainly has the chance to fight for victories next season and, probably, for the title. His 88 starts in the electric championship place him seventh in the all-time starter rankings and make him one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, in addition to the knowledge and skills acquired during his time in the DTM and WEC. All this puts him in a good position to complete a promising career which, at one point, could have seen him in Formula 1 had it not been undermined by a lack of budget, given his talent in the ranks of the preparatory categories.

“Knowing that the car is capable of winning races, obviously the goal for me is to fight for the championship. I'm not here to come second, third or fourth. We're here to win, that's clear to me.”