Former DTM champion Güven fails to clear the Formula E licence hurdle: What will Porsche do?

Porsche wanted to bring Ayhancan Güven into Formula E following his DTM title, but he is short of the necessary licence points just before the season opener: Will the plan fall through?

What does the future hold for former DTM champion Ayhancan Güven in 2027? A year ago, the Turkish Manthey driver sensationally clinched the DTM title, but was then promoted to Porsche works driver and withdrawn from the long-established series. The plan: the 28-year-old is to use 2026 as a transitional year to prepare for a move to the Porsche works team in Formula E.

However, following the WEC season finale, which took place on Sunday at Monza, Güven finds himself without the FIA points required for a Formula E driver’s licence. Yet the new season of the electric racing series begins in just over a month’s time, on 18 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. And the official pre-season test is even due to take place in Madrid in just one week’s time.

Porsche now intends to secure an exemption in good time. “Strictly speaking, according to standard procedure, it wouldn’t be enough,” says Porsche Motorsport Director Thomas Laudenbach, acknowledging that, on paper, Güven has too few points to qualify for the Formula E licence. “Nevertheless, we believe that ‘Can’ is absolutely up to this standard.”

Why Güven is nine FIA licence points short

Therefore, despite the unfavourable situation on paper, it is still “not completely off the table” that Güven will compete for Porsche in Formula E in the upcoming season. But what exactly do the figures look like?

Instead of the required 15 points from the past three years, Güven has only the six points earned from his 2025 DTM title. The Porsche works driver would have had to finish either first or second in the LMGT3 class in 2026 with Manthey and his two team-mates, James Cottingham and Timur Boguslavskiy, but ended up in eighth place overall.

This is particularly bitter, as only the top seven drivers in the overall standings receive FIA points. For this reason, Porsche is working behind the scenes to persuade the FIA to grant Güven an exemption. According to Porsche, the main reason for the lack of points is that the DTM is not a racing series ‘sanctioned’ by the FIA.

“Let’s see if we can find a way to sort this out with the FIA”

To explain: unlike in Formula 1, Formula E or the WEC, for example, it is not the FIA but the DMSB (German Motor Sport Federation) that acts as the governing body in the DTM. And those series generally yield fewer FIA points, even though the standard is high.

Even a class victory in the WEC’s LMGT3 overall standings – where professional-amateur pairings are mandatory – is rewarded with twice as many FIA points as a DTM title.

Nevertheless, Porsche is not giving up on Güven’s efforts to enter Formula E. “We’re currently looking to see if we can find a way to make it work together with the FIA after all,” said Laudenbach during the DTM finale at Hockenheim a month ago. “The FIA always has the final say. But here too, I have to say: there are very reasonable people on the other side. You can talk to them.”

Laudenbach considers the situation with Güven to be “unfortunate”

Is he dissatisfied with the weighting given to the different series? “It’s always very easy to criticise. The system has been in place for a very long time – it can certainly be improved,” says Laudenbach, who describes the situation in Güven’s case as “unfortunate”. “But that doesn’t mean the door isn’t still open, which is something I’d very much like to see.”

Alongside his appearances in the WEC, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and at the occasional GT3 highlight, Güven has been preparing intensively for Formula E this year in the simulator and during test drives in the new Gen4 car. By his own admission, he does not yet know exactly what the future holds for 2027.

A DTM comeback, however, is considered unrealistic for the time being. “I don’t think so in the short term,” he said during his visit to the DTM at the Nürburgring in mid-August. “I have other plans, but you never know. I’d always be interested in returning, so we’ll see.”