Mercedes-Benz which has been dominating the Formula 1
space this season, has announced plans to enter the FIA Formula E Championship
for the 2019/20 season – extending the original option agreement to join the
electric street racing series in Season 6.
The races today sees participation from several auto
majors including India’s Mahindra & Mahindra whose team Mahindra Racing has
been doing extremely well, having earned two podium finishes in the last race
in New York on July16,. 2017.
The Stuttgart-based car manufacturer initially reserved
an entry prior to the season-opener in Hong Kong last year, but Mercedes has
chosen to extend the option for a further year and commit to race in Formula E
for Season 6.
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Formula E, said:
“Today is a great day as we welcome Mercedes to the Formula E family – adding
to the increasing number of manufacturers joining the electric revolution. This
shows how much the world is changing, not only in motorsport, but the whole
automotive industry. We’re witnessing a transformation that will first change
our cities, and then our roads. Formula E is the championship that embodies
that change, and together with all our teams and manufacturers we’ll keep
pushing for technologies, to have better and more affordable electric cars.”
FIA President Jean Todt added: “I’m very happy to see yet
another manufacturer committing to the FIA Formula E Championship.
Mercedes-Benz has been competing in motorsport since the very beginning, and in
joining this newest chapter of racing history – Formula E – it shows that the
vision and concept of the championship is aligned with how manufacturers want
to develop electric vehicle technologies, and bring these innovations to
audiences around the world.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said: “In
motorsport, like in every other area, we want to be the benchmark in the
premium segment and also explore innovative new projects. With Formula 1 and
Formula E, we have achieved exactly this balance. Formula E is like an exciting
start-up venture – it offers a brand new format, combining racing with a strong
event character, in order to promote current and future technologies.
Electrification is happening in the road car world and Formula E offers manufacturers
an interesting platform to bring this technology to a new audience – and to do
so with a completely new kind of racing, different to any other series. I’m
pleased that we were able to extend our entry option for one year to the
2019/20 season. This gives us time to properly understand the series and to
prepare for our entry in the right way.”
Dr Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz,
said: “Mercedes-Benz will market future battery-powered electric vehicles using
the EQ label. Formula E is a significant step in order to demonstrate the
performance of our intelligent battery-powered electric vehicles, as well as
giving an emotional spin to our EQ technology brand through motorsport and
marketing.”