Cara Delevingne has quite the CV: supermodel, film star, designer, writer, entrepreneur, environmentalist. Enough, you would think, to keep most people satisfied and occupied. Yet, there is still time for new endeavours. She’s now trying her hand at becoming a racing driver. And not just pootling around her local go-kart track, but behind the wheel of a Formula E single-seater.
Formula E is the fledgling fully electric racing series which, by dint of its clean and quiet power, manages to race on the streets of the world’s most famous cities. This summer, the electric alternative to Formula One was in London, trying a new street circuit on the Royal Victoria Dock.
Before she entered the main race Delevingne had a chance to try out the Gen2 Formula E car, which can reach 174mph when running at its full 250kW power, as well as the track and her uniform, an off-the-peg racing suit that she carried off with predictable style. Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton, was on hand as an instructor and to act as a marker for track familiarisation. Asked by Senna how fast she would be comfortable going, there was no hesitation. “Fast!” she replied. “I don’t want you to wait for me. I want you to go for it.”
Formula E has a history of celebrity involvement. Most worry about driving in front of a crowd and opt for a passenger ride in the electric safety car. For the brave few who elect to drive, it hasn’t always gone well: Orlando Bloom ended up in the wall after crashing on the Marrakesh street circuit.
The challenges for Delevingne at the London event were even greater than normal because, for the first time, the track was laid out inside and outside, running through the ExCel Centre. And it was raining. Emerging from the dry darkness onto a wet track was enough to catch out pro drivers never mind a rookie who had never driven a single seater, or on a race track, or that fast.
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But she clearly loved it and ignored the board instructing her to go into the pit, instead flying by for another lap. When she did stop, Delevingne was buzzing from the experience. “I’m still freaking out,” she said. “I don’t know how long adrenaline lasts for, but I’m still reeling.” It was also clear she wasn’t nervous. “I really felt like I was in a meditative state when I was driving, and it was so fun and easy . . . I was like, ‘I’m f***ing good at this, man.’ And it wasn’t hard . . . Sorry, it was hard, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I’ve never been happier. I haven’t felt like that in a long time: like, childlike joy.”
As an environmental campaigner, who is setting up a charity called Initiative Earth, which aims to restore damaged ecosystems, Delevingne understands the value of using her image to draw attention to the causes that matter. “This [electric-car racing] is not the solution. No one can sit here and say that. There is still so much that needs to be changed. But this is really powerful in terms of inspiring people and letting people be more curious about renewable energy and resources,” she said.
While she admitted to loving her American muscle car, a 1966 black Shelby Mustang Hertz edition with gold Le Mans stripes that may be considered a piece of automotive art, her everyday car is electric. Although it may not be quite as fast as the one she raced in London. Having tried racing once, she is hooked. “I want to race. I don’t know if anyone would pay me, but I’ll try. Maybe I’ll start a women’s race and we’ll see what happens.” There isa playful, tongue-in-cheek element to a lot of things Delevingne does, but given her previous form I wouldn’t put it past her.
