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McLaren Racing will enter Formula E next season. There were rumors that the legendary Formula 1 team would expand into the electric single-seater series alongside other new activities such as Extreme E and IndyCar, but on Saturday morning the news became official.
“McLaren Racing always strives to compete with the best and leading technology, offering our fans, partners and people new ways to be excited, entertained and inspired,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing.
“Formula E, like all our racing series, meets all those criteria. As with all forms of the sport we participate in, Formula E racing is central, but it will complement McLaren Racing strategically, commercially and technically.” In general, we believe that Formula E will give McLaren Racing a competitive advantage through a better understanding of EV racing, while making a difference to our fans, partners and people and continuing to lead us on our sustainability path,” said Brown.
The announcement also clears up the question mark hanging over the season 7 championship-winning Mercedes-EQ team. While Formula E has drawn several OEMs to its playground over the past eight years, quite a few of them have stuck around for just a few seasons, in part due to the limited options for technology transfer from the track to electric vehicles on the road.
That was why Stuttgart pulled the plug on Mercedes-EQ, saying it wanted to focus its efforts on F1 when it announced its plan to shut down last August. But instead of shutting down, McLaren Racing is taking over the operation, which is based in Brackley, England, along with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.
“Today’s announcement confirms the next exciting chapter in the team’s development,” said Mercedes-EQ team principal Ian James, who will continue to fulfill his leadership role.
“Since our inception in 2019, performance, durability and adaptability have been the keys to our success. Being part of the McLaren Racing family is a privilege: McLaren has always been synonymous with success and high performance. This is a great moment for all involved parties, but especially for the people who are part of this team. They are what keeps the heart beating. Being able to continue working with them is what I am most excited about. I am very much looking forward to this next chapter for the team and will be a proud member of it in Season 9. Until then, we will focus on delivering the best possible results as the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for the remainder of the current season,” said James.
Technical development remains limited for next season’s Gen3 car, which will be much faster than the machine it replaces. But other series McLaren has been involved in, such as IndyCar, have also had limited technological development in favor of close, entertaining racing, so there is reason to expect McLaren to be around for a while.
One thing it won’t do is make its own drivetrain; like in Formula 1 and IndyCar, that will come from an outside supplier, although McLaren has not yet made any public statement about that.
