Transfers, new drivers… What will the Formula E grid look like in 2025?

Between transfers, departures and arrivals of new drivers, AUTOhebdo takes stock of the latest trends on the composition of the Formula E grid for the 11th season of the electric championship.

Published on 27/08/2024 à 16:15

Dorian Grangier

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Transfers, new drivers… What will the Formula E grid look like in 2025?

© Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

Jaguar
The Pilots title in the viewfinder

Jaguar may well have won the Teams' title with the best pair in the field, but the British team had a tough time in the quest for the Drivers' title during the final in London. Vengeful, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy – respectively 2nd and 3rd in the championship in 2024 – will return to the fight with the knife between their teeth. The two New Zealanders have learned to live together at Jaguar despite some friction, a little extra to go for the double?

Porsche
A crown to keep

He won't have missed much Porsche to do the Drivers – Teams double in 2024. If Pascal Wehrlein did the job throughout the season by scoring big points regularly, the key to his world title, Antonio Félix da Costa may harbor regrets after a start to the season missed. The Portuguese finished the campaign with a bang with four victories (and one victory on the green carpet at Misano), but it was already too late. Despite replacement speculation at the end of the season, the 2020 champion convinced Porsche to complete his contract, which runs until the end of 2025, thanks to his excellent end to the championship.

DS Penske
Internal transfer

DS Penske did not make much of a splash in 2024, with no victories to its credit, but the Franco-American team showed exemplary consistency to take 3rd place in the championship thanks to its long-time driver, Jean-Éric Vergne. The Ile-de-France resident will remain loyal to the French manufacturer for an additional season, but he will be accompanied by a new teammate. With Stoffel Vandoorne leaving for Maserati – another brand of the Stellantis group – it is Maximilian Günther who should go the opposite way and drive for DS Penske during Season 11.

© Julien Delfosse / DPPI

Nissan
Fenestraz maintained despite everything?

Nissan made a real leap forward in 2024, to the point of being able to play for the title with a rediscovered Oliver Rowland. The Briton surprised more than one last season, he who had suffered with Mahindra in 2023. Logically, the 4th in the last championship is renewed for Season 11… but what will it be for Sacha Fenestraz? The Franco-Argentinian suffered from the comparison with his teammate (26 points against 156 for Rowland) and sees his position at Nissan weakened. However, his profile would remain appreciated internally and even if drivers could claim his seat (Caio Collet, Norman Nato), the 25-year-old driver could stay for another year. The Japanese team would then give itself time to reflect with a view to 2026 and the arrival of Gen4 to try to recruit a big fish.

Andretti
Return to the forefront

Champions in 2023 with Jake Dennis, Andretti failed to confirm in 2024, mainly due to often failed qualifications. Despite a good start to the season, the Briton collapsed in the second half of the championship, finishing far from the protagonists of Season 10 in 7th place. The American team will attack the title again with Jake Dennis, but without Norman Nato. If the Frenchman finished the season well with a podium in China, he was unable to convince Andretti to keep him for another year. The departure of the Cannes native opened the doors of Andretti to Nico Müller, who left the ABT Cupra team. The German therefore joins the Porsche fold, he who could already be promoted within the factory team from 2026.

ALSO READ > Andretti separates from Norman Nato
ALSO READ > Nico Müller joins Andretti for Season 11

Envision
Forgetting last season

She played the leading roles in 2023 for the introduction of Gen3, but the Envision team completely missed out on Season 10. Despite an experienced duo with Sébastien Buemi and Robin Frijns, the Greens did not regain their form of the previous year and finished an anonymous 6th place in the Team Championship. A ranking far from satisfactory, especially with a Jaguar powerplant renowned for being one of the best on the grid. Envision and its two pilots will have to correct the situation in 2025, hoping that the stability of the crew can help them get back on track.

McLaren
Between experience and youth

Reading the first E-Prixes of Season 10, one might have thought that McLaren had passed a milestone and could fight at the forefront regularly. Sam Bird's victory in Brazil was full of promise... which was not fulfilled. The British team then returned to the ranks, with some brilliant blows for Jake Hughes. Unfortunately, the young Englishman left for Maserati. The Papayas will therefore trust their (ex) reserve driver, the promising Taylor Barnard who participated in three E-Prixes in 2024. The Briton is today the youngest driver to have scored points in the discipline.

ALSO READ > Taylor Barnard promoted alongside Sam Bird at McLaren

© Paulo Maria / DPPI

Maserati
New line-up, new ambitions?

As with last season, Maserati is once again changing its drivers for Season 11. Exit Maximilian Günther and Jehan Daruvala, hello Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes. World champion during Season 8, the Belgian therefore remains in the Stellantis fold following his departure from DS Penske. The 32-year-old driver will therefore wear the colors of a new team which he knows relatively well, however, since DS and Maserati share the same powertrain. He will therefore team up with Jake Hughes, defector from McLaren. The Briton has already had the opportunity to work within the team, since he was their reserve driver during Season 7 when the team was called Venturi. A new duo who will have the task of taking Maserati to a new level.

ALSO READ > Maserati announces its line-up for Season 11

ABT Lola Yamaha
New out of old

A big name in motorsport is making its return to competition: the historic manufacturer Lola is returning in car with a first commitment in Formula E. In partnership with Yamaha for the engine part and ABT for the operation of the single-seater, Lola will trust the most experienced driver on the field, namely Lucas di Grassi, to begin his adventure in the electric championship. The Brazilian knows the ABT team perfectly, with whom he won the title in 2017 when it was associated with Audi. The name of his teammate, however, remains a mystery after the departure of Nico Müller of the ABT Cupra team at the end of Season 10.

ALSO READ > Lucas di Grassi confirmed at ABT Lola

Mahindra
Still in extras?

When Mahindra announced, in mid-2023, the recruitment of Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara in its ranks, we thought that the Indian team would reach a milestone with its two sizes, after years spent at the back of the grid. This was not the case. Mahindra waited eight E-Prixes before scoring its first points last season and finished a dismal 10th place in the championship. However, there were some signs of optimism: both drivers managed to shine at the end of the campaign, with a pole for Edoardo Mortara in Berlin and big points scored in London, with a 4th place for Nyck de Vries . This progression will have to continue in 2025 to justify the resources put by Mahindra in its Formula E program and the recruitment of its two flagship drivers.

ERT
A dotted crew

What to say about Electric Racing Technologies, aka ERT, after Season 10? We had the impression that the Chinese team, formerly known as NIO 333, was doing the numbers: only 23 points scored, no podium, no pole position and above all, no real progress. Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara collected the crumbs without ever settling permanently in the peloton. Unlike in 2023, the Briton didn't even have any real breakthroughs in qualifying, but managed to take an unexpected 4th place in Misano. Concerning the future ERT drivers, it's totally unclear: will the Chinese continue with Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara, which seems quite improbable, where will they put the big resources to afford a top driver? When we know that certain pilots of Formula 1 myGus, in particular Guanyu-Zhou, could find themselves without a steering wheel in 2025, it could be worth taking a look at the premier category...

Formula E
The provisional grid for Season 11

ALSO READ > Formula E ready to welcome Guanyu Zhou... if he doesn't have an F1 seat in 2025

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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