The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team has confirmed they will leave the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as a manufacturer after the 2021-22 season.
Rumours were rife that the team would follow their German counterparts at Audi Sport and BMW in leaving Formula E, but whereas the other two teams are leaving ahead of season eight, Mercedes will return for one more season in order to defend the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles they won this year.
Mercedes will continue in Formula 1 where the light of success shines brighter, but they are moving resources away from Formula E to continue development of their first all-electric road cars.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we have committed ourselves to fighting climate change at full force in this decade,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG and responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO.
“This demands the accelerated transformation of our company, products and services towards an emission-free and software-driven future, and to achieve this, we must give full focus to our core activities.
“In motorsport, Formula E has been a good driver for proving our expertise and establishing our Mercedes-EQ brand, but in future we will keep pushing technological progress – especially on the electric drive side – focusing on Formula 1.
“It is the arena where we constantly test our technology in the most intense competition the automotive world has to offer – and the three-pointed star hardly shines brighter anywhere else.
“F1 offers rich potential for technology transfer, as we can see in ongoing projects such as the Vision EQXX, and our team and the entire series will achieve net-zero status by the end of the decade.”
“We can be proud of our achievements” – Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff, the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and the CEO of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, says they can be proud of their achievements in Formula E, with Nyck de Vries claiming the Drivers’ Championship during season seven.
He says they will be going all out to ensure they end their tenure in Formula E on another high.
“We entered Formula E with an open mind about the series and its innovative approach to motorsport,” said Wolff. “A lot of hard work went into building the team and making it competitive – and we have seen an incredible group of talented women and men deliver at the highest level.
“We can be proud of our achievements and especially the double world championship won last weekend in Berlin, which will stand as an historic milestone in the long motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz.
“We will be giving everything to make sure that we finish our Formula E adventure in style in Season 8.”
“We will be exploring the best options for the team to continue competing beyond Season 8” – Ian James
Ian James, the Team Principal of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, says the team have been fortunate to be paired up with a ‘class-leading’ operation in Formula E in recent years, and he is looking at the options available to them about possibly continuing in the championship after Mercedes have ended their participation.
“We have been extremely fortunate to enjoy the support of Mercedes-Benz in building a class-leading Formula E operation over the past few seasons,” said James.
“I would like to thank the company for its trust and support in our journey so far – and all the way through to what we hope will be a successful conclusion to Season 8 with a strong championship challenge.
“Although Mercedes-Benz has decided to leave, we recognise the value and power of Formula E; therefore, we will be exploring the best options for the team to continue competing beyond Season eight.”
