Brendon Hartley will race in Formula E next season after being announced as a GEOX Dragon driver for 2019-20.
The New Zealander will combine racing in Formula E with his development driver role with Ferrari and his seat with Toyota LMP1 in the World Endurance Championship.
It comes after he tested the new Porsche Formula E car ahead of the German marque’s entry to the sport next season, but with Andre Lotterer having been announced as partnering Neel Jani at the team it meant Hartley had to look elsewhere.
Speaking about his decision to join the all-electric racing series, Hartley said that the use of street tracks was a huge draw.
“I’ve always been a fan of street tracks and FE has some of the wildest I’ve seen,” Hartley said.
“That together with some of the best drivers and manufacturers in the world makes it an exciting place to be. I’ve already started working with most of the GEOX Dragon team, and I have a strong feeling that we can share some good success together in the coming season.”
Dragon are coming off the back of a tough season where they finished second last in the team’s championship with only four points scoring finishes.
It was a marked contrast from their first season in Formula E where they finished runners-up in the championship, but their results have progressively gone downhill from there.
Team owner Jay Penske was optimistic however that with Hartley in the team they could now take the fight to the other major car manufacturers that are now in the series.
“Brendon is a real racer,” Penske said. “He has a unique combination of experience, intellect, and racecraft that will allow him to maximize the potential of the new Penske EV-4 powertrain.
“Most importantly, he shares our hunger, and our determination to take the fight to the incredible field of major manufacturers this season.”
It’s not known who will partner Hartley at the team next season, with Jose Maria Lopez being rumoured to have moved on from the team.
Formula 2 driver Jordan King has carried out some testing with the team already this Summer, with second driver from last season Maximilian Gunther having taken part in a test for the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team at the end of July as they assess their driver line-up for 2019-20.
