Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will be making its debut in Formula E in the 2019-2020 season as Mercedes EQ Formula E, thus making the link with Mercedes’ upcoming sub-brand of electric road cars.
For Formula 1 veterans Mercedes, Season 6 will be its first in Formula E. It will therefore be drawing on experience from the SLS AMG Electric Drive program and its long history in Formula 1, as well as its ‘KERS’ hybrid drivetrains.
The powertrain of Mercedes’s Formula E contender will be developed at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth in the UK, which also develops the engines for Mercedes-AMG’s hybrid F1 cars.
In addition, the Mercedes EQ team will be working with HWA – which does have previous experience in Formula E – for the handling of rackside race operations. HWA has traditionally been responsible for the design, development and operations of the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM cars. It is currently supporting Team Venturi as a technical partner during the current Season 4 and will enter the championship as a Venturi customer team next season, gaining vital racing experience with the new Gen2 that are being introduced with Season 5.
“The combined know-how of the Mercedes family at Affalterbach, Brixworth and Brackley provides the perfect foundations for our new Mercedes EQ Formula E Team. I cannot imagine a better combination to take on this kind of project,” said head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff.
“Formula E is a unique series with some very specific challenges for its teams. We know the level of competition is extremely high and we will approach the challenge with energy and humility. There can be no other approach when we are up against 10 competitive manufacturers, many of whom have years of experience in the series.”
