Reasons for losing Formula E seat “not so transparent”

Sergio Sette Camara has said the reasons for him losing his Formula E seat are “not so transparent” and branded the way the situation was handled by his former team as “unprofessional”.

The Brazilian spent four full-time seasons in the all-electric championship, the last two with the NIO 333 and ERT outfit, which rebranded to Cupra Kiro ahead of this upcoming campaign following new American investment.

The new capital also coincided with the squad moving to customer status, having switched to using Porsche’s title-winning powertrain and while Dan Ticktum was retained in the team, Sette Camara was replaced by Porsche reserve driver David Beckmann.

Speaking to Autosport ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo E-Prix season-opener, Sette Camara stated that he was still not 100% sure on why he was not retained and that “the reason why I’m not on the grid is not so transparent”.

“The idea was always that they were going to put a Porsche powertrain and the line-up would be kept,” said Sette Camara, who was announced earlier this week as Nissan’s reserve Formula E driver.

“I wasn’t interested in continuing with that structure in ERT, I was only interested if we were going to a better powertrain because I was tired of driving an uncompetitive car.

“Months started to pass, I think both drivers were not signed, but ultimately, Porsche wanted one of their drivers to be in the other car.”

Cupra Kiro team principal Alex Hui maintained throughout the off-season that there was “zero pressure from Porsche” to sign Beckmann, and that the decision taken was purely based on his performance.

Both Ticktum and Beckmann were only officially announced by the team on Monday, with Sette Camara left annoyed that he wasn’t told of the decision sooner.

“Very late, they always kept delaying it. That was very frustrating, I’ve never seen such an unprofessional way of handling in all my career,” added Sette Camara, who finished only one point behind Ticktum in last year’s standings but scored in three races compared to the Briton’s one.

“I think they knew they were not going to keep me. Even during the Jarama test, they said I was not going to drive, but they still said maybe there’s a chance you go.

“Look how late they waited to announce all of that, the way it was handled I didn’t like it at all.”

Dan Ticktum, Kiro Race Co, David Beckmann, Kiro Race Co

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Sette Camara’s new reserve driver role means he will attend five rounds this season as a potential stand-in for both Nissan and customer team McLaren.

The 26-year-old is also keen on pursuing other racing activities alongside his Formula E duties to keep sharp for a return to the grid.

He said: “I think it’s super important to keep driving. A driver who doesn’t drive, he becomes redundant and people are suddenly afraid of putting him in because the last time he drove it so long ago.

“So I want to keep driving something, anything that has four wheels and an engine, I’m going to be driving, but I don’t know if it’s going to be through Nissan or through another thing.

“Naturally, as you would expect my contract allows me to race with other brands and other series if needed so I’m pretty sure I’ll be racing something.”