Ex-di Grassi Engineer Chiocchetti Joins HWA

Lucas di Grassi’s former engineer Franco Chiocchetti has joined the HWA organization as it gears up for a potential Season Five ABB FIA Formula E Championship campaign.

The move comes after Chiocchetti resigned from his long-held position at ABT last October.

E-racing365 sources confirmed at the Mexico City E-Prix last weekend that he began work at HWA last Thursday.

Chiocchetti was instrumental in di Grassi’s Season Three title success when the Brazilian fought back from a significant points deficit to snatch the title at the final round in Montreal.

The exact reasons for his resignation were not made entirely clear at the time e-racing365 broke the news last October, but some sources have indicated that Chiocchetti was unhappy with the direction the team was taking after the full acquisition of Audi and some of the subsequent decisions taken.

The issues are also understood to have involved protracted discussions about Chiocchetti’s precise role in the team once Audi Sport effectively took over the entry.

Chiocchetti was serving out his notice period with ABT, his direct employer, and attended the first three Formula E races this season before being put on ‘gardening leave’ after the Marrakesh E-Prix in January.

The South African engineer could be seen within the Formula E paddock in his new role later this season where he might be reunited with his former DTM charge Edoardo Mortara.

Several HWA engineers are already embedded in the Venturi team after an official technical partnership was confirmed last October.

The Mercedes-affiliated HWA organization is expected to race next season as a precursor to a Mercedes full-factory effort beginning in the 2019-20 campaign.

An announcement on plans for HWA to be an 11th team utilizing a Venturi powertrain is expected to come in the coming months.