Mercedes announces Formula E exit to prioritise F1
The German marquee formally announced its decision to pull out of the all-electric championship upon the conclusion of season eight on Wednesday morning, days after it was reported that the Daimler Group had decided against continuing into the Gen3 era.
It comes after Mercedes clinched its first Formula E titles at the season seven finale in Berlin last weekend with Nyck de Vries sealing his maiden drivers’ world title, while Mercedes was crowned teams’ champions.
Markus Schafer, the board member responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars, explained the decision had been made to prioritise the company’s efforts in F1.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we have committed ourselves to fighting climate change at full force in this decade,” Schafer said.
“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… and our team and the entire series will achieve net-zero status by the end of the decade.”
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff added: “We entered Formula E with an open mind about the series and its innovative approach to motorsport.
“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.”
Mercedes’ exit leaves Mahindra, DS Automobiles, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, Nissan and NIO as the manufacturers who have committed to Formula E’s Gen3 era.
“Over the last two years, Formula E has enabled us to showcase the Mercedes-EQ brand in a highly endemic and truly innovative format,” said Bettina Fetzer, Mercedes’ vice president of marketing.
“On a strategic level, however, Mercedes-AMG will be positioned and strengthened as our performance brand through its close alignment to our record-breaking Formula One team, and F1 will be our company’s works motorsport focus for the years ahead.
"We wish the Formula E championship, its stakeholders and its innovative format only the best for the future as it continues to grow, and we hope the series has a bright future.”
