©Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
Mercedes has announced that it has signed an agreement with the Formula E promoter in order to reserve an entry for the fifth season (2018/19) of the FIA’s all-electric championship.
Therefore, Mercedes may decide to become one of the maximum of 12 entries put forward by the series’ organisers to the sport's governing body.
The announcement comes in the light of growing interest for Formula E among manufacturers, with Jaguar joining the zero-emission fray this year while McLaren has been awarded the tender to supply batteries to the entire field. BMW also recently announced a tie-up with Andretti with an eye towards a works involvement in the future.
“We have been watching the growth of Formula E with great interest,” Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said. “At the current time, we are looking at all the options available in the future of motor racing, and we are very pleased with an agreement that secures us an opportunity to enter the series in Season 5.
“Electrification will play a major role in the future of the automotive industry. Racing has always been a technology R&D platform for industry and this will make Formula E very relevant in the future.”
Reacting upon Mercedes’ interest in Formula E, series boss Alejandro Agag added: “We are delighted to confirm that we have reserved one of our two new entries in Season 5 for MGP. Formula E wants to become the platform where car manufacturers test and develop the technologies that they will then introduce on their road cars.
“Having the chance to include in the future a brand like Mercedes our Championship would be a major boost to achieve that objective. Formula E is becoming an exciting mix of consolidated manufacturers like Renault, Citroen-DS, Audi, Mahindra or Jaguar, and new futuristic brands like Faraday Future, NextEV, or the likes of major component manufacturers like Schaeffler and ZF. Mercedes would be a great addition to that growing line up.”
Mercedes has been dominating Formula One’s current hybrid 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged era, securing consecutive championship doubles over the past two years and being on the verge of adding a third this year.
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