The drivers might be front and centre when it comes to motorsport, but there are many other team members working hard behind the scenes to strive for success.
Season 12 of the
The whole team, as ever, is working hard to strive for success, both on-track and at home between races.
But who are some of the key players making sure the Porsche Formula E Team is fighting fit?
The third profile in our Meet the Team series comes from Race Engineer Robert Sattler.
From working with F1 star Lance Stroll to winning DTM championships and leading young driver programmes, Robert has built an impressive CV across his 25 years in motorsport.
He joined Formula E in Season 7, but left for a year Stateside in 2025 before joining Porsche last October.
Here’s what Robert had to say when we caught up with him over the Jeddah race weekend:
How long have you been in your role?
“I started at Porsche mid-October last year. So still quite recent.”
Give us a brief summary of your career so far?
“I'm from Brazil, and I studied mechanical engineering in Rio. I’ve been crazy about motorsport since I was very young. I started working for a Formula 3 team in Brazil, but I was keen to go to Europe and go to F1. I got the opportunity to work for an F3 team which was a junior team of the Midland F1 team, and after eight months in F3, I got the offer to move to England to be a performance engineer in the F1 team. I was there for four years, and then I was approached by BMW to do DTM. I felt like I was not ready to leave F1, so I did it on the side as an extra job. In 2014, we won the championship with Marco Wittmann, and that opened the door to life outside F1. I worked for Mercedes for four years, then went back to BMW for two years. Then I did all the preparation with Lance Stroll before his first F1 season with Williams, which was a really cool project. We were travelling around the world testing and we had people like Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas helping us. Season 7 was my first year in Formula E with NIO, and then I had the opportunity to move to Envision for Season 8. After that, I was approached by Aston Martin F1 to lead the young driver programme, which I did for two years, but I wanted to go just back racing. In the end, I left, and did IMSA last year with Acura, the Honda programme, which was cool. The plan was to do it for another year, but then suddenly the Porsche contact came and I couldn’t decline that.”
What does a day at work look like to you?
“It varies quite a lot. At home, we have a lot of meetings. There's a lot of communication with the driver. There's a lot of planning, we need to know well the sporting regulations, the tech regulations, then we do obviously data analysis. We have a lot of simulator sessions, which we need to prepare. There's always something to look at. That's a nice thing in motorsport, it’s not like a normal job from 8 to 5 - everyday changes a little bit. At the racetrack, it’s the same again. We have a couple of meetings, we spend time with the drivers. We’re always trying to be ready for each session, mainly for qualifying and the race, which is then the highlight of the weekend.”
What is your favourite thing about your job?
“As an engineer, I like the technology. But if I’m really honest, the biggest motivation is the competition. On one side, it's unpredictable - we don't know what's going to happen during a weekend. But the more you prepare, the higher the chances are of having a good outcome, and I like this in a way. I don't believe in luck - okay, sometimes in motorsport, we are unlucky - but what drives me is that instant feedback. We know immediately if we have done a good job or a bad job. Compared to other jobs, in motorsport, it’s instant. Even when we have good days where we win a race, we’re still gonna go back to the workshop and find things to improve. I love that, it’s like this constant search for perfection.”
What drew you to Formula E?
“Formula E was always interesting because there's new technology. But it's not only the electric side: I also like the sustainable side of the championship. They're trying to do so much, like limiting tyre numbers and racing on street circuits where the public will come on public transport. The cars don't come back to the workshop, so it's less of a carbon footprint. I also enjoy it because it’s a world championship, but in a very small environment, not as big as F1. It’s a nice atmosphere, and now I’m working in my third team, I know so many people in the paddock.”
What is your favourite circuit on the calendar and why?
“That's easy, it's São Paulo, being my home race - I’m not from São Paulo, but I've lived there before, so I feel quite at home. I was really keen to win this race with Pascal this year - maybe next year. Monaco is also quite cool, because of the history and all the F1 races there. For me, it was quite special to win that race with Nick Cassidy in Season 9. It was my last race with Envision, because I left mid-year. I feel like I have unfinished business, because I still haven't won the championship. I need to go back and finish the job at some point, and hopefully I can do this with Pascal!”
How does it feel to be a member of the Porsche Formula E Team?
“Working for Porsche was always a bit of a dream, so it's very special. When I started in Formula E, just to know that the Porsche factory team was competing in the same championship was already something special for me, to say, wow, we're competing against the big guys. At that point, I never saw that I would be a part of the team a couple of years later, so it's pretty cool.”
What is your favourite memory from your time at Porsche?
“The podium in Miami was nice, but I'm the type of guy who always looks forward. So for me, my favourite memory is still to come, the best moment will still come, even if you win now in Jeddah, I still think there will be another race which is more exciting to win. So always looking forward.”
Tell us an interesting fact we might not know about you!
“I have my hobbies, I like sports. I used to be into circus stuff, I liked to do flying trapeze. I was even doing Chinese pole dancing as an exercise - not many people like to admit this, but it was fun! I was really into it because many people go to the gym but I liked to exercise in a different way. I was part of the London Circus School. I’ve been married now for over 10 years, and my wife has never seen me do it, and she doesn't believe in it unless I show her the pictures!”
