Andrew Forrest Launches Fortescue Zero GEN4 to Challenge Formula One
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest didn’t just launch a race car. He lit a fuse under Formula One.
In a warehouse unveiling that felt more like a manifesto than a motorsport press call, the Australian mining billionaire rolled out the Fortescue Zero GEN4 – and declared open season on what he branded the “noisy, smoky, smelly” world of F1.
“It sounds like the fossil fuel sector,” Forrest quipped, staring straight at the sport that has long sat at the top of global motorsport. The shot landed. This was not a polite nod to sustainability; it was a challenge.
Australia’s first Formula E team takes aim
Fortescue Zero arrives as the first Australian-owned and entered team in Formula E, the all-electric open-wheel series that has spent the past decade carving out its own space in the racing landscape. Forrest wants that space to expand – right into F1’s territory.
He labelled Formula One an “old dinosaur”, positioning Formula E as the sharp, modern predator coming up fast in its mirrors. Behind him, the new GEN4 car sat under the lights: fully electric, clean lines, a symbol of where Forrest insists elite racing must go.
“This is about serious, savage competition,” he said after the covers came off. Then came the sting. “There’s only one other competition I’ve seen which is more cutthroat, more deadly, and more dangerous than this sport, and that’s fossil fuel.”
For a man who built his fortune in that very sector, the jab cut both ways – at his past and at the industry he now says must be beaten.
New car, new era
The timing is deliberate. The next Formula E season begins in late December and runs through to 2027, with Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hosting the opening round. That race will mark the competitive debut of the GEN4 machinery – a new chapter for the series and a high-stakes proving ground for Fortescue Zero.
On the driving front, the team has turned to a pair of hungry young racers: Dan Ticktum and Taylor Barnard. Both will shoulder the task of turning Forrest’s rhetoric into lap time, with experienced operator Jim Wright installed as team principal to steady the operation.
“Launching a new racing outfit is a significant challenge, and that’s exactly what makes it exciting,” Ticktum said, fully aware that the spotlight on this project is brighter than most start-ups in the paddock.
“This is the world’s first look at who we are. But the real work is well underway, to be ready, push hard and deliver as a team when we begin running on-circuit next week.”
The message is clear: the talking is almost done. The stopwatch is coming.
The missing piece: a home race
For all the noise coming out of Australia, there is one glaring omission. Formula E still has no Australian race on its calendar.
That may not last long. Speculation around a future e‑prix in Australia has been simmering for years, but Fortescue’s arrival has turned the heat up. Earlier this year, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds confirmed the championship is actively exploring venues in both Australia and New Zealand.
“Our connections are obviously better now with Fortescue coming in,” Dodds said, acknowledging the clout Forrest brings. “Now that they’re on board, [Andrew Forrest] will certainly have an interest in us racing in Australia.”
The interest is obvious. An Australian-owned team, a billionaire backer, a series built on clean technology – the ingredients for a home race are lined up. All that’s missing is a city willing to close its streets and embrace the noise-free spectacle.
Racing for more than trophies
Fortescue’s entry into Formula E is not being sold as just another sports investment. Forrest framed it as part of a broader fight – one that extends far beyond pit walls and podiums.
As he put it, Fortescue is now competing on two fronts: on track, against established Formula E heavyweights, and off it, against the fossil fuel industry that he once helped power.
“If we lose the climate race it’s over. We’re not going to lose that race.”
It was a line delivered less like a slogan and more like a vow. The kind that turns a team launch into something else entirely: a declaration that the battle for the future of motorsport, and the energy that drives it, is already at full throttle.
