House or power source? In spring 2015 HHF will finally be able to move into his new home. The native of Mönchengladbach has included a comprehensive concept for renewables in planning the house.

Energy production using solar power – while this form of generating electricity may not sound as innovative anymore as it used to, the concept becomes particularly attractive when it’s not only used to heat the house but generates sufficient energy to supply the owner’s private fleet. HHF and his wife exclusively drive electric vehicles.

Monsieur 100,000 Volts – HHF has been fascinated for years by the idea of cars being powered by electricity. If motorsport is to have a future it has to pioneer alternative energy concepts.

When CNN asked him to test a racing car of the newly formed FIA Formula E Championship in summer 2014 HHF immediately accepted. The American TV channel had addressed its request to exactly the right person. There is no renowned professional racer anywhere in the world with a greater wealth of experience in battery electric and hybrid electric cars than the runner-up in the 1997 F1 World Championship.

In 2008 HHF converted a production sports car for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring into a hybrid electric racing car. Thanks to state-of-the-art battery technology – put together by HHF himself – the racing car completed an entire Nordschleife lap strictly powered by electricity – from a historic perspective, the first electric lap in the Green Hell.

The issue that prevented HHF from achieving top positions in the 24-hour race was a problem with the conventional gearbox, whereas the hybrid powertrain impeccably covered the whole distance.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen is a member of the highly elite club of just seven German race drivers to have ever won a Grand Prix. With 157 Formula One starts, three victories and a runner-up’s spot in the World Championship under his belt, the native of Mönchengladbach numbered among the world’s best and acclaimed professional race drivers in over ten years of Formula One racing.

From 1994 to 2003 HH Frentzen drove for Teams Sauber, Williams, Jordan, Prost, Arrows and Sauber again. He scored his initial championship points in his second Formula One race and continually delivered impressive performances through to his last season when he took another podium place.

But the passionate racer was not only successful in motorsport’s top category. HHF also impressed in his runs in the iconic Le Mans endurance race, as well as in his three years of racing in the DTM, which is regarded as the world’s most important touring car racing series. HH Frentzen started his path towards becoming one of the big names in German and international motorsport in conventional style. Karting, Opel Lotus Challenge, Formula 3 and Formula 3000 were the most coveted stations back in those days.

His career received crucial momentum when, together with Michael Schumacher and the Austrian Karl Wendlinger, he became a member of the Mercedes Juniors that have since won legendary acclaim – an idea of the visionary Mercedes Sport boss Jochen Neerpasch which now represents a much-celebrated stage in German motorsport history.

HHF’s time in Japan, where he competed in the then highly competitive Formula Nippon for the top-flight Nova team, was equally instructive and character-building. In a concurrent commitment Frentzen, in a Tyrrell, tested tyres for the Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone for the company’s planned Formula One involvement. When Sauber and Mercedes called the native of Mönchengladbach to enter Formula One in late 1993 HHF numbered among the best-trained and most seasoned campaigners in the international motorsport scene.