LONDON: ROKiT Venturi Racing added its voice this week to the fight against climate change by joining an expert panel on sustainability hosted by Formula E at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

Speaking in a panel session, Deputy Team Principal Jérôme D’Ambrosio, racing driver and UN Climate Ambassador Lucas di Grassi, and Team Manager Delphine Biscaye, highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion and its impact upon creating a more sustainable workforce.

Led by Susie Wolff, ROKiT Venturi Racing is the most gender diverse team in Formula E and is making its mark in international motorsport as champions of diversity, inclusion and sustainability after recently receiving Three-Star Environmental Accreditation from the FIA.

“The FIA Formula E World Championship not only are we competing on track, but we’re racing with purpose – racing for a better future,” Wolff said. “The technologies that have been deployed and developed in the championship are at the forefront of the electrification of the automotive industry, and it’s this pursuit of performance that is allowing us to race towards a brighter tomorrow as a series.

“As a team, our core belief is that actions speak much louder than words, and as the most gender diverse team on the grid and also one of the most sustainable, we don’t just talk the talk, we also walk it.

“It was an honor to have the team represented at COP26, and I hope that by leading by example, we can inspire others to pursue change for the better,” she added.

“From our perspective, in order to tackle any problem or challenge, diversity is key,” Jerome D’Ambrosio, deputy team principal said. “In any team, whether it’s on the engineering side, commercial side, or on our sustainability committee, it is crucial to have different perspectives, backgrounds and points of view, only by doing this, we can ensure that any challenge that we face is being looked at and examined from every single angle.

“As society is facing one of its biggest challenges, we need solutions that will drive change, and this is what we are doing through the platform of Formula E.

“Every day when we compete, we do so to make a difference and the reason why we’re so passionate about diversity is because we firmly believe that this is the pathway for us to perform at our best,” he added.

And driver Lucas di Grassi was keen to stress how important the issue is.

“I’ve been involved in Formula E since the very beginning, and I first got involved with the World Championship during its founding stages, a whole two years before the first race in 2014,” he said. 

“In the lead up to that moment, it was clear to me that the future of the world lay in electric vehicles, and the vision that Alejando (Agag) and Jean (Todt) had for this series was clear and incredibly inspiring.

“For me, it was a complete no-brainer to get involved, and since that day, Formula E has grown from being a startup to a big company that is making a difference, not only by transforming the motorsport industry but also in terms of fighting climate change and promoting sustainability.

“Every area of every industry has new sustainable technologies that need to be developed, and the more we talk about sustainability and the more awareness we can drive around climate change, the better it will be for our planet,” he added.