Fortescue boss Forrest says Formula One should be in a museum

LONDON, Nov 6 : Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest said Formula One belonged in a museum and challenged the combustion-engined series to a duel at the launch on Friday of his new all-electric Fortescue Zero Racing Formula E team.

The Fortescue founder and executive chairman said he would like to see their respective cars go head-to-head.

"I think Formula One has a place," he told reporters.

"It should have a very large building with Formula One at the front of it, made out of limestone, with lights on it, and it should be a museum because the younger generation are going to go to the highest performance, greatest technically advanced and kindest to the environment racing there is, and that's going to be Formula E.

"Formula One are fantastic but their time is ticking past them."

NEW GEN4 CAR SET TO BE UNLEASHED 

Formula E, which has a far smaller global television audience than Formula One, says the new Gen4 car for the 2026/27 season will reach 100kph in about 1.8 seconds and 200kph in 4.2, some 30 per cent faster than a Formula One car.

Both series share a common bond through US billionaire John Malone, founder of Formula One owners Liberty Media and Formula E owners Liberty Global.

Fortescue Zero Racing is the first Australian-owned Formula E team and was formed after the purchase of Penske Autosport last September.

Their Gen4 car will have a powertrain supplied by champions Jaguar with British drivers Dan Ticktum and Taylor Barnard.

The company, which acquired Williams Advanced Engineering in 2022 from former Formula One world champions Williams, was involved in Formula E before that as a supplier of battery technology.

The Williams connection remains strong, with former marketing head Jim Wright now team principal and