What we learnt from Porsche’s special Gen4 test at Monza
Porsche recently completed a shakedown of its 975 RSE Gen4 concept at Autodromo Nazionale Monza over the weekend, with Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Müller taking to the track for two days of testing. Cupra Kiro’s Pepe Martí joined the duo over the course of the test session, testing the Gen4 machinery for the first time since he was announced as the team’s driver for the upcoming season of racing.
The German manufacturer made an unusual decision to test at the Temple of Speed, even as the circuit hasn’t been linked with the upcoming calendar. With Monza boasting long straights and heavy braking zones, the team looked for a way to stress-test their Gen4 concept, in a bid to test extreme deceleration and high speeds.
Both Wehrlein and Müller took to the Monza circuit on Saturday, enjoying the Gen4 machine on a dry track. Off-board shots showed both drivers pushing the Porsche down the main straight, with speeds reportedly clocking 320 km/h (approx. 200 mph) at the venue.
Further videos and shots showed the Porsche machine tearing down the Ascari chicane and taking the Della Roggia chicane.
An overnight downpour simulated the best possible opportunity to conduct some wet weather testing on the new Bridgestone POTENZA Typhoon tyre, with Martí stepping in for his first run in the Gen4 car on Sunday.
The pair of days around Monza delivered interesting insights into the Gen4 machinery and its performance, while giving fans and the wider Formula E community one part of a fever dream - to see Formula E cars take to Monza.
What happened during Porsche’s two-day test at Monza?
Porsche, like many other teams, has been involved in continued testing in the lead-up to Formula E’s Gen4 era that gets underway in two months' time.
The new regulations have allowed Formula E teams to utilise one ‘Promotional Event’ and test the Gen4 car at a venue on the calendar for Season 13. As reported by DIVEBOMB, teams are allowed one such test day per car, and this will be given back to them after pre-season testing at Jarama.
However, as per media reports, no team has utilised this feature just yet. Several teams such as Stellantis and Nissan have tested closer to their facilities, at the Guadix circuit in Spain, while Sting Ray Robb and Enzo Fittipaldi have put Lola’s Gen4 concept through its paces at Andalusia and Alès Cévennes in the last month.
But Porsche undertook a radically different approach, choosing to visit the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and test their cars. The Monza circuit also enabled the team to test different types of aerodynamic packages used by Formula E’s Gen4 car.
Formula E’s Gen4 car features separate high-downforce and low-downforce aerodynamic packages for the first time in its history. Teams will be notified about the type of package that will be used for a particular race weekend, and it is expected to feature differences in the handling around corners and on a variety of circuits.
Monza provides a great place to test the low-downforce package, with its long straights allowing Formula E’s Gen4 package to explore its top speeds. A report by RacingNews365 reported the top speed achieved during the test at 320 km/h (approx. 200 mph), allowing the Gen4 car to test its braking abilities into the Rettifilo Chicane (Turns 1 and 2).
While lap times from such private tests aren’t revealed publicly, it was reported by a source close to RacingNews365 that the lap times from this Monza test looked to be around the 1:32s mark, putting the Gen4 car in the ballpark with its Formula 2 counterpart.
It was also reported that this wasn’t a flat-out qualifying simulation conducted, and a used set of tyres had been bolted onto the Porsche Gen4 car for this run.
While Martí took to Monza in the wet, new teammate Jake Hughes was in attendance at the Italian circuit but did not take part in driving duties. His first official test appearance with Porsche looked to enable a stronger understanding of the Porsche 975 RSE concept before getting behind the wheel.
Wet weather running on the Bridgestone POTENZA Typhoon Tyre
Sunday’s testing brought several valuable insights into the Gen4 car’s performance on the wet weather tyre. Bridgestone’s POTENZA Typhoon tyre had been unveiled in grandeur earlier in October, with plenty of hype surrounding the manner in which Formula E had described this tyre’s performance.
Formula E Sporting Advisor James Rossiter had described the tyres as being quicker than Formula One in the rain, during the launch event of this tyre in Rome. “I’m very confident that I am comfortably faster than a Formula One car in the wet,” he remarked, in a viral statement that sent many into a tizzy.
As such, any wet-weather running on this compound of tyre was bound to be studied and looked at very closely. The initial impressions, though, looked to have been promising.
This is also the first time Formula E have notified an entirely different tyre compound for wet weather conditions, having relied on a single all-weather tyre compound over the course of the Gen3 era with Hankook.
Videos circulating on social media showcased Martí accelerating at speed down the main straight, with the Gen4 car kicking up minimal spray and a wash of water as it passed along.
Despite going slightly deeper into Turns 1 and 2, he was able to accelerate away comfortably into Curva Grande, with Porsche’s Gen4 car looking relatively planted and stable at high speed.
However, while the initial impressions look strong, it will be wise to take this with a hint of caution. While Formula E hasn’t faced widespread struggles with stoppages in wet-weather races, the true picture of the POTENZA Typhoon tyre’s performance in the wet will be understood once cars are able to clearly follow each other in the rain.
Several observers at the circuit have reportedly praised the handling of the Gen4 car in the wet, another major positive point for the championship as it builds up to the Gen4 era and beyond!
What can be taken away from this test, though?
While testing opportunities and times can vary from one condition to another, and are often advised to be taken with a hint of caution, Porsche’s Monza test delivered some important insights into the performance levels of the Gen4 cars.
Müller was undoubtedly delighted with the performance of the Gen4 machine, expressing satisfaction in his remarks on social media. “Feels FAST, looks FAST, sounds FAST - Gen4 is here 🚀⚡️. Our Porsche 975 RSE around Monza was fun,💃 ” he wrote in an Instagram post featuring team principal Florian Modlinger.
Teammate Wehrlein echoed similar sentiments in an Instagram story posted on Tuesday.
And both drivers had great reason to be pleased with the pace of the Gen4 cars. The lap times being in the 1:32s range as early as an informal test was an optimistic sign in comparison to other championships.
For comparison, F2’s track record around Monza was 1:32.717, set by Kush Maini during the Feature Race at the venue in 2024. The pole position time for the 2024 weekend was 1:32.160, set by current Nissan driver Zane Maloney.
The 2026 F2 weekend at Monza featured a pole time of 1:31.326, set by Invicta’s Rafael Câmara, while the race’s fastest lap sat at 1:32.884, set by the Brazilian in the Feature Race.
These are very early days in the Gen4 era, even before an official test has been conducted, and drivers are yet to unleash a qualifying lap or a race lap at full pace on a race weekend. It’s very much possible to see the Gen4 Formula E cars comfortably quicker than F2 over a race weekend, and getting closer to the lap times set by F1 cars.
The Gen4 era will evolve, and with Formula E adopting WEC-style joker upgrades, expect teams to keep pushing in a bid to find more pace and unlock yet more potential hidden in the Gen4 machines.
The road ahead for Porsche
Porsche have been one of the more active Formula E teams when it comes to testing. Both Wehrlein and Müller took part in a multi-team test at Monteblanco in November 2025, and again at Almeira in January 2026.
DTM Champion and Porsche rookie tester Ayhancan Güven later tested the Gen4 concept at Alès Cévennes in April, with Wehrlein and Müller later undertaking a test session at Monteblanco once again in May 2026.
The Monza test was one of their highest-profile appearances, and it sets up the team strongly for pre-season testing in November. However, they will be skipping an unofficial multi-team test at Valencia in early November, instead turning their focus to the bigger, five-day pre-season test in Jarama from November 16 - 20, 2026.
There’s no surprise Porsche have been put through their paces to be ready for pre-season testing, but customer Fusion Formula E Team faces an even stronger challenge and race against time to put together an appearance during official pre-season testing.
The newly unveiled outfit, led by Phil Charles, is still putting together personnel and building towards the test, and will be banking on the insights and data from Porsche’s prior testing to understand their package for the Gen4 era.
This outfit will also be up against time to recruit two drivers for the upcoming season, and have to choose from a multitude of options, including (but not limited to) Güven, currently racing in the WEC, reserve David Beckmann, former Envision racer Joel Eriksson and a host of younger rookies reportedly in the race.
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