A STELLANTIS STICKING PLASTER

Just getting to Saudi Arabia is a victory for DS Techeetah, the two-time teams’ title winner. This year, Stellantis member DS Automobiles will bankroll the operation after SECA, the owner of race team Techeetah, turned off the money taps. That left champion drivers Antonio Felix da Costa and Jean-eric Vergne unwilling to hop in the simulator unless they imminently received a cheque that wouldn’t bounce. It’s quite miraculous both have stayed.

Thanks to DS, however, there is now short-term financial security. Founding team principal Mark Preston has switched to CEO to find backing for Gen3 after a buyout collapsed last season, while powertrain boss Thomas Chevaucher takes on the management of the squad.

On track, there are still questions over the car. It chews rear tyres in a way its benchmark-setting predecessor didn’t. And as the potency of Mercedes remains, another year without so many trophies may lie in wait, even if financial distractions are fewer and farther between.