Coulthard left speechless by Formula E's Gen4: 'It's more than night and day'

A Generational Leap in Electric Racing

David Coulthard has described Formula E's upcoming Gen4 car as a machine that defies easy comparison, admitting the performance left him searching for words after a rare opportunity to sample it ahead of the second Monaco E-Prix race.

"The sort of classic expression would be 'night and day', but actually I think it's more than that," Coulthard told RacingNews365. "This has been coming for some time. They've been dabbling with increased power and four-wheel drive in Gen3 Evo, but to have it all the time... I think there's a step up in aerodynamic performance in the car as well, and a step up in tyre performance, so you combine all that together."

What the Gen4 Brings to the Table

The car's design and dimensions also draw it closer to the traditional single-seater silhouette, and it is expected to be at least as quick as a Formula 2 car in the dry — with performance said to approach that of an F1 car in wet conditions. It is a sentiment shared by others in the paddock: Carlos Sainz recently praised the Gen4 as 'pretty impressive' after witnessing the car first-hand at the Monaco E-Prix.

Coulthard was equally struck by the overall performance envelope, suggesting that a current driver comparison would prove revealing: "I think it would be great if a current driver could go out and do a lap to give us a comparison, because it would be several seconds quicker than Gen3 Evo, which is still a high-performing car."

Monaco Was Only Half the Picture

For Coulthard, though, the Monaco setting imposed clear limits on what he could actually explore. With barriers lining every metre of the circuit, the Scotsman adopted an understandably conservative approach — deliberately leaving performance on the table to avoid contact.

"I could not go and brake at the 100-yard board into Sainte Devote, because if it doesn't slow down, then I'm going down the escape road, and that's not the purpose of what I was doing," he explained. "So I was doing the classic brake, brake, brake, brake, and then do the apex, which is nowhere near the most efficient way of doing it. But it was still awesome to be able to experience it around Monte Carlo."

With only the surface of the car's potential scratched, Coulthard is already eyeing a return — ideally somewhere with run-off and room to push. "Yeah, I'd love to have a chance to be on a normal track, let's say, or a road course where there's run-off and things," he said.

For a car of the Gen4's capability, a proper circuit test would likely leave even a 13-time F1 race winner genuinely astonished.