Unsung hero: Albert Lau becomes first race engineer from Hong Kong to win a Formula E race
- The 39-year-old has a wealth of experience competing at the highest level in Europe
- Venturi move to fourth in the table, while HK race winner Mortara is fourth in the drivers’ standings thanks partly to Lau
While Edoardo Mortara and his Venturi racing team soaked up the accolades in Sunday’s Hong Kong E-Prix, Hong Kong-born Albert Lau was creating a slice of history of his own.
Lau is the first Hong Kong race engineer to win a Formula E race and he should also be credited for the team’s astounding success not only at Central Harbourfront but also in the series, where the Monaco-based team are lying fourth in the standings.
Swiss-Italian driver Mortara has made an impact in the drivers’ standings, his victory in Hong Kong lifting him to fourth place, just two points below DS Virgin’s Sam Bird, who was stripped of his title after nudging race leader Andre Lotterer, of Techeetah, on the penultimate lap on Sunday.
Mortara celebrated his maiden Formula E win and Venturi also won for the first time in what was the 50th Formula E race – and this is thanks largely to Europe-based Lau, the unsung hero in the midst of it all.
Lau manages the mechanics and the engineering aspects of the car that are specific to Mortara’s car. And this was made trickier by the weekend’s rain but Lau helped mastermind Venturi’s first triumph in 50 Formula E races.
“For me it’s pretty special [to have won the Hong Kong E-Prix]. Not that many engineers get a chance to have a home race. And to have a home E-Prix and win it, that’s something special,” said Stanford-educated Lau, who has been a race engineer for Mercedes, Schnitzer and West Surrey Racing before that and also has a wealth of experience in DTM racing in Europe.
“I’m really happy for the team,” Lau said of Venturi’s success. “We didn’t expect these kinds of results. There are a lot of new people on the team and it always takes time to adjust. We definitely exceeded expectations, which is fantastic.”
Lau, 39, was born in Hong Kong but moved to America when he was six years old. He has spent a lot of time in Hong Kong, where many of his extended family still live. He is looking for more success for the team he joined last November.
“To be part of Formula E and trying to bring racing forward in an electric platform, especially to a big city like Hong Kong where electrical mobility is going to be very important going forward, it makes it that much more special. I’m pleased to be part of Venturi. It’s still very early days for this championship.”
Long-time Hong Kong driver Darryl O’Young is a personal friend of Lau and was delighted for his success.
“There are not many race engineers from Hong Kong out there in the world and he’s at the top level and there’s very little recognition for that,” said O’Young, who finished sixth in the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy on Sunday.
“He has been working up the engineering ladder over the years. He’s worked at the top level for DTM for the past five or six years. He’s really the top Hong Kong race engineer out there. I think it’s a big moment in history but it usually gets unrecognised because no one really knows this kind of thing.
“It’s good for motorsport. With the electric cars in motorsport and the technology to have an engineer, maybe it’s inspiring to people who are not just looking to be drivers but to be involved in the industry of motorsport,” he added.
