Meet the new Formula E engineer of the year winner.

Formula E racing is the newest form of motorsports, highlighting the energy efficiency of electric transportation. The 2017/18 Formula E Grand Prix, or the E-Prix, held in ten different countries around the globe, culminated in a doubleheader race through Manhattan in July. And for the first time ever, race sponsor rel="noopener noreferrer" Modis presented its Formula E Engineer of the Year Award to Leo Thomas, technical director of the Techeetah Formula E Team.

As a child, Thomas had the opportunity to attend some races, so when the time came to decide what to do for a career, he chose to study automotive engineering at the ISAT (Institut Supérieur de l’Automobile et des Transports) in France.

“During the first year of school, I did a month-long training period on a race team, which was doing GT1 racing at the time,” he said. “I did another training period the second year, and from the third year I started to do a proper racing season.”

After completing his five years of training, Peugeot hired Thomas as a data analyst in its LMP1 program.

“Unfortunately in 2012, that program came to an end, and I had several options,” Thomas said. “Along with some friends, I decided to start my own motorsport simulation business, with a simulator based in Monaco, and in parallel, I worked as an engineer helping to set up the Sebastian Loeb racing team.”

Getting into Formula E

Thomas worked his way up to head of the technical team, managing all aspects of the organization, and that’s where he first became involved in Formula E racing, which launched its first race in 2014.