Prince William was given a tour of the Jaguar TCS Racing facility in Oxfordshire, and even cracked a joke about AI drivers.

Arriving at the headquarters of the British Formula E team in Kidlington, the Prince of Wales met drivers and engineers.

In the factory, the prince was greeted by Antonio Felix da Costa, the 2020 FE world champion, who offered him the chance to sit behind the wheel of a development car, identical to the team’s current model.

“There’s not a lot of room in the legs, is there?” joked Prince William, who stands at 6ft 3in, as he settled into the car.

Prince William in headphones at the Jaguar base in Oxfordshire. (Image: Jason Dawson)

Da Costa talked the prince through what it is like to race the car, as well as its equipment and features.

“And your head, would you be slightly lower down?” the royal asked.

“I would say slightly lower than you are now,” Da Costa replied.

Before getting out of the car, the prince thanked the sportsman, adding “that’s fantastic”.

Prince William, who is known to have an interest in the environment, appeared enthusiastic and engaged as he asked questions about the sustainability aspect of FE, something he described as “incredible”, and told engineers they are “doing very well”.

Prince William sits in the Formula E racing car. (Image: Jason Dawson)

He wished the team luck ahead of their races in Berlin next month, and said: “I’m very excited to see you racing, I’m going to cheer you guys on.”

Meeting young engineers who had completed a graduate programme with Jaguar TCS Racing, the prince told them he had joked with their colleagues earlier that, with so many innovations in the sport, “at what point does the driver become the weak link?”

He added: “[At what point do we think] get rid of drivers, we’ll get an AI person in?

“We’re probably not far off that, are we?”

Speaking to 22-year-old graduate Phoebe Russell, the prince remarked that motorsport is “not necessarily the first thing women would think about joining”.

Prince William meets graduate Phoebe Russell. (Image: Jason Dawson)

He then asked: “Was it easy for you to find your way into this world?”

Ms Russell replied, “Not at all”, adding that she grew up with the sport, and speaking after the visit, she said she was “in shock” after meeting the prince.

She said: “Being asked to do a little career talk was very exciting.

“The fact that he had so much awareness of the sport and so much interest, and it ties into his whole sustainability project, it was very interesting.”

Prince William is shown around the Jaguar TCS Racing base by Jack Lambert. (Image: Jason Dawson)

Jack Lambert, head of technical integration at Jaguar TCS Racing, who gave the prince a tour of the premises, was delighted with the visit.

“It went really well,” he said.

“When he’s here, and you’re spending time with him, it’s just a conversation as he’s so relaxed and interested.

“Having that level of interest makes the conversation so much easier, and it allows our guys who maybe don’t do this on a regular basis to have a really nice conversation about what they do and what they’re passionate about.

“And that’s where the magic comes out.