McLaren buys Mercedes Formula E team

McLaren signed an option to enter the series and become one of the 12 teams to compete in the 2022/23 all-electric single-seater series in January 2021. Up to now the group has been unable to sign up for a place on the grid as it has provided the battery systems for the Gen2 cars from the 2018/19 season, taking over from Williams at the end of the Gen1 era. That deal expires after the final race of the 2021/22 championship.

The McLaren Formula E team will be formed by buying the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, with the deal expected to complete later this year. Team boss Ian James will continue at the helm and McLaren has said the driver line-up, powertrain supplier and commercial partners will be announced later in the year.

McLaren racing CEO Zak Brown said: “McLaren Racing always seeks to compete against the best and on the leading edge of technology, providing our fans, partners and people with new ways to be excited, entertained and inspired. Formula E, like all our racing series, fulfils all those criteria.

“As with all forms of the sport we participate in, Formula E has racing at the centre but will be strategically, commercially and technically additive to McLaren Racing overall. It is also satisfying to provide a home for the class-leading Formula E team that Mercedes has built, which will become a fully-fledged part of the McLaren Racing family. While run separately to our F1 and IndyCar teams, Formula E complements and builds out our EV racing programme alongside Extreme E.

“I firmly believe that Formula E will give McLaren Racing a competitive advantage through greater understanding of EV racing, while providing a point of difference to our fans, partners and people, and continuing to drive us along our sustainability pathway.”

Are you excited to see the Papaya cars in Formula E?