Formula E's CTO thinks AI will change engineering forever – and it's already helping make racing more sustainable
Google's Gemini has already helped Formula E rethink its global logistics
Artificial intelligence has become the buzzword of 2026, but while plenty of companies are still working out how to use it, Formula E is already putting it to work in a surprisingly practical way.
Speaking to T3 ahead of the Shanghai E-Prix, Formula E Chief Technology Officer Dan Cherowbrier revealed that the all-electric racing championship has been using Google's Gemini AI to optimise its global logistics operation, helping reduce both costs and carbon emissions.
"We used all the data that we had," Cherowbrier explained. "We put that into Gemini and got [it] to help us understand what we had on these planes."
"Could it go by sea freight? If we go by sea freight, we need more of it. It's much cheaper, much better for the environment, but we need to make more of them."
That analysis helped Formula E reduce the number of cargo planes needed to transport equipment between races from three to two, while also identifying other ways to rethink how the championship moves around the globe.
Smarter logistics, smaller footprint
One example involved the championship's Porsche Taycan safety cars. Rather than flying the same vehicles around the world, Formula E now keeps multiple cars in different regions, allowing them to be used locally throughout the season instead.
"We've now got cars in different regions, so we're not flying them around the world anymore," Cherowbrier said. "It sounds simple, but it's a big saving in terms of both cost and carbon."
For Cherowbrier, it's a good example of how AI can support sustainability without compromising performance.
"Our approach to sustainability is trying to tell the world that sustainability is not a compromise," he said. "Often what's good for the planet is also good for your pocket."
The next engineer could be AI
The use of AI extends beyond logistics, though. Cherowbrier believes motorsport engineering itself is on the cusp of a fundamental shift, with AI becoming an increasingly important tool for teams developing the next generation of electric race cars.
"I think we're going to see a world where AI is at the fringes of what we're doing now," he said. "The technology is going leaps and bounds. Most people's implementation of it is not."
Looking ahead, he expects AI to become an integral part of race engineering, helping teams analyse data, model performance and accelerate development in ways that simply weren't possible before.
"I think you're going to see AI engineers working with individual teams," he said. "It's not currently in our regulations, but we're looking at it."
Perhaps his boldest prediction is how quickly product development itself could evolve, with Cherowbrier believing AI could dramatically shorten engineering cycles from annual to almost hourly.
"I'll tell you what will change," he said. "The speed of change. This idea that change is made every year or every generation will go out the window. I think iterative development, fail fast, learn, go again, will be hourly or daily, not yearly."
As software becomes just as important as hardware in modern electric vehicles, including Formula E's Gen 4 cars, the tools used to optimise a global racing championship today could eventually shape how tomorrow's consumer EVs are designed, developed and even manufactured.
The Shanghai E-Prix is happening this weekend. Find out more at Formula E.
