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Tragic Loss: Citroen Formula E Leader Cyril Blais Dies at 43
Highlights
- Citroën Formula E team principal Cyril Blais died aged 43
- Death announced days before Tokyo E-Prix, races 14 and 15
- Blais held key roles at Manor, Arden, Mahindra, and Citroën
- Led Citroën through transitions and Gen 4 Formula E preparations
- Blais was Formula E’s Engineer of the Year recipient
- Tributes planned during Tokyo E-Prix to honor Blais’ legacy
Citroën Formula E team principal Cyril Blais has died aged 43, days before the Tokyo E-Prix. Formula E and Citroën confirm the news as the team prepares to race.
The paddock responds with widespread condolences. Tributes are planned during the Tokyo weekend on the Formula E calendar, which hosts rounds 14 and 15.
Blais’s death is announced days before Tokyo hosts rounds 14 and 15 of the season.
Blais began in 2007 with Manor Motorsport as a Formula 3 race engineer. He moved to Arden in 2012, spending seven years across GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 programmes.
At Arden, he progressed to chief race engineer and later technical leadership. His final role there was technical director, overseeing Formula 2 and Formula 3 operations.
He joined Formula E in 2019 with Mahindra as a race engineer, before moving to the Monaco-based outfit that later became Citroën through the Venturi and Maserati eras.
He rose from race engineer to team principal through Venturi, Maserati, and Citroën transitions.
He engineered Lucas di Grassi in Season 8, then oversaw Maximilian Günther across two seasons as the team transitioned to Maserati and refined its technical structures.
Before Season 10 he became chief engineer, then deputy team principal. He soon assumed the team principal role as Maserati rebranded and organisational responsibilities expanded under Citroën.
His attention to systems and process governance proved pivotal as the team prepared for Generation 4 Formula E, balancing resource planning with evolving manufacturer-supplier frameworks.
Blais earned broad respect across the paddock, highlighted by his recognition as Formula E’s Engineer of the Year, reflecting depth in trackside execution and longer-term development planning.
Blais previously received Formula E’s Engineer of the Year award.
Citroën director Beth Paretta expresses deep sadness and commits the team to race with the standards he set. Series CEO Jeff Dodds describes Blais as an exceptional colleague and friend.
Operationally, Citroën must stabilise leadership duties in Tokyo while protecting driver focus and execution. The immediate priority is continuity across engineering loops, strategy tools, and race operations.
The loss also comes amid a shifting technical landscape, with supplier scrutiny and cost controls sharpening. Recent supplier risk discussions underline the need for resilient structures across manufacturers.
The season continues, but the paddock carries Blais’s memory into Tokyo and beyond. Sympathies go to his family, friends, and colleagues across Citroën, Mahindra, and the wider Formula E community.
Visual Summary
F3 / GP3 ➔
Citroën 🏁
Formula E ⚡
Cyril Blais
1979—2024
Citroën Formula E team principal.
Revered engineer. Cherished leader.
Gone far too soon.
Revered engineer. Cherished leader.
Gone far too soon.
💛
Remembered across every paddock. Tributes unite at Tokyo E-Prix.
💛
RacingNews365 and the motorsport world extend deepest condolences to Cyril Blais’ family, friends, and colleagues. His legacy will forever race on.
Zane Muniz writes across NASCAR, IndyCar, F1, IMSA, NHRA, and dirt-racing news. His breaking-news alerts and event previews ensure motorsport fans never miss a lap, drift, or drag-strip showdown.
