MERCEDES PICKS VANDOORNE AND DE VRIES FOR FE TEAM
German manufacturer launched its Silver Arrow 01 last week at Frankfurt Motor Show
Mercedes unveiled former Mclaren Formula 1 racer Stoffel Vandoorne and F2 championship leader Nyck de Vries as its Formula E drivers as it launched its Silver Arrow 01 car last week.
The new team was officially revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, where Mercedes also confirmed Ian James – head of programme management at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains from 201115 – as its FE team principal. James is also the managing director of Mercedes-benz Formula E Ltd, of which Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is CEO.
The new squad will make its debut in the upcoming 2019-20 FE campaign, where it will take over the entry previously assigned to the HWA team that competed as a Venturi customer last season.
Mercedes’ first FE powertrain has been developed by the same HPP operation that built the V6 hybrid Formula 1 engines that powered its run to five consecutive double world titles.
The new FE operation will be supported by Mercedes’ Brackley-based F1 squad, while HWA will continue to run its cars on race weekends and assemble them at its Affalterbach facility.
Vandoorne has been carried over to the Mercedes works FE squad after racing in the 2018-19 season with HWA. He said he was “very happy to officially be part of the Mercedes family. I was also doing some simulator work for the F1 team. But it’s official now in FE, and I think that’s very exciting.”
De Vries, who like Vandoorne was formerly a Mclaren junior driver, has previously tested Audi’s Gen2 FE machine and drove for Envision Virgin Racing at the Marrakech rookie test last season.
“I’m still in my F2 season and the FE season will actually start before the end of the F2 season, which is a bit rare, with a lot of different commitments,” said de Vries, who will make his FE debut in Saudi Arabia on November 22-23 – a week before the Abu Dhabi F2 season finale.
“But it’s a great opportunity and I’m very thankful for the opportunity from Mercedes.”
MN understands that Vandoorne’s 2018-19 HWA FE team-mate Gary Paffett will continue to work with Mercedes’ FE set-up as a sporting and driver advisor.
Mercedes has been preparing for its FE debut by conducting its manufacturerallocated private testing programme of 15 days since March. Vandoorne has completed “most” of the running alongside de Vries and Paffett, as well as Mercedes-affiliated drivers Edoardo Mortara and Esteban Gutierrez.