Team Aguri’s rollercoaster season continued when a takeover bid from an investment firm was revealed ahead of the recent Paris Formula E race.

Paddock sources indicated to Current E in Paris that it is a Chinese company of a significant size that has tabled the bid, paving the way for Ma Qinghua to make his debut in the series over the weekend. If the deal works out, that would make two of Formula E’s ten S3 entries Chinese-owned. It seems the investors may be more interesting in the marketing platform that Formula E offers rather than the sport’s technological development. “Outside F1 and WEC, what other top level racing series are this global and this visible in all the key markets?” our source, a senior figure at another team, pointed out. “That’s why the Chinese are so interested in Formula E. It’s cheaper than buying an F1 team.”

“It’s always good to be more stable,” Aguri team principal Mark Preston told us of the possible investment. “We’re currently in discussions, as we’ve said, on the future. That’s all we can really say at the moment because everything’s still under discussion.”

When asked whether the future of the team depending on the backing coming through, Preston said: “No, it just helps us to grow and grow with the series. Obviously I’m still negotiating our season three powertrain as well, so it’s all a bit interlinked. There’s a long way to the first race in October.”

Team Aguri chose to stick with a tweaked version of the original Spark powertrain in season one (McLaren motor and inverter, Hewland five-speed gearbox), rather than attempt to develop its own or buy one from one of the sport’s new constructors. That’s proved a shrewd move, with Antonio Felix da Costa wringing results out of the car in a manner no one quite expected.

In season three, paddock rumour connects Aguri to Renault, with the regulations dictating that manufacturers are obliged to sell their current technology. Preston confirmed that he was in discussions with only one possible supplier. When asked if it was Renault, he simply said: “Could be. “From what I can see, the Renault looks very nice. From what I’ve seen of it from photos in the magazines it looks quite good with the carbon casing etc. That looks quite nice. They certainly look like they’ve got the march on those people this year. But I’m sure that DS and others will be pushing pretty hard for next season. So quite hard to tell at the moment.”

Even with the ownership of the team in limbo, Preston is pushing ahead with plans for season three. One of his biggest challenges will be to retain the services of Antonio Felix da Costa, one of Formula E’s stand-out drivers in season two.

“I’m sure everybody is looking at him,” Preston said. “He’s done a great job. He seems to be a bit of a natural in this type of racing. We’d like him to stay but it’s a competitive market.”

The possible change in ownership will mark the departure of team founder Aguri Suzuki, with whom Preston worked at the Super Aguri F1 team from 2006 until 2008. However, Preston is determined to stick around even after Suzuki’s arrival.

“I’m going to continue on,” Preston confirmed. “I really love Formula E. It’s really cool. It’s such an innovative new series and everyday we learn something new. That’s what I like about it. It’s fascinating still to me. I’ll be hanging around as long as I can.”

Luke Smith