Formula E has so far experienced a road almost as bumpy as some of its tracks on course to its opening race in Diriyah this Friday. After a delayed and frantic end at Berlin last season, the grid has undergone several major shake-ups, with some eye-catching moves up and down the grid. Below is a brief rundown of the 12 teams and 24 drivers who will start the 2020-21 Formula E season.
DS Techeetah
The golden team of Formula E in more ways than one; Techeetah’s titanic rise from scrappy privateers to dominant DS factory team began during Formula E’s early ‘funny stuff’ and it’s easy to forget that – despite origins as Aguri – the team are the same age as Jaguar. They have more drivers’ titles than any other and will be looking to equal Renault e.dams’ early record of three consecutive teams’ titles.
Last season: 1st
Antonio Felix da Costa
Da Costa made the switch from BMW Andretti, leaving his longstanding manufacturer job, to join Techeetah for Season 6 (2019-20). Initially beaten by both Alexander Sims and Max Günther in what had been his old car, da Costa took the championship lead with a win in Marrakech and not only kept it, but ran away with it over the course of the final six races in Berlin.
Last season: 1st
Jean-Eric Vergne
Formula E’s only two-time champion (2017-18 and 2018-19) is a formidable contender. He was furious with himself having ‘only’ come third last year and was extremely frustrated by both a scrappy start to the season and an inconsistent end to it in Berlin. ‘JEV’ has a temper, which flared slightly at his teammate during the finale, but he’s learned to bounce back from losses over the years so will be hungry to push himself and the team, who he is part-owner of, forwards this coming season.
Last season: 3rd
Nissan e.Dams
French-owned team e.dams, Formula E’s first truly dominant team, have been slightly anonymous since Season 4 (2017-18) despite a second-place drivers’ finish for Buemi in Season 5 (2018-19) and runners-up in the teams’ championship last season. Founder Jean-Paul Driot’s brothers have taken over the running of the team, following his untimely death from cancer in 2019, and there’s now a renewed energy around both e.dams and their Nissan factory partnership.
Last season: 2nd
Sebastien Buemi
The man with the most wins in Formula E history once again went without one during Season 6. He’ll be looking to make good on that this year, having stood on the top step of the podium just once since Season 3 (2016-17). Buemi has lost none of his speed – or his determination to take the team forwards – and with his own calendar slightly less hectic this season he can make a more focussed assault on the title.
Last season: 4th
Oliver Rowland
Having stepped into the car with almost no warning for Season 5, Rowland nonetheless finished just behind Buemi in his first-ever Formula E race – at the Diriyadh track in 2018. He’s had frustrations and some genuine bad luck on track, but Rowland is a mature and levelheaded driver who took Nissan e.dams’ only win last year, finishing just behind Buemi in the standings.
Last season: 5th
Mercedes EQ
Mercedes are now in their second season as a factory team and third overall in Formula E following a stealth entry under the HWA badge in Season 5. Last year their aims were guardedly modest; to try and achieve a podium, which they did at both the opening rounds in Diriyah. Now the pressure is on to beat the field, particularly German rivals BMW and Audi before they depart, and show similar success to the marque’s F1 effort.
Last season: 3rd
Stoffel Vandoorne
Having arrived in Formula E (as many drivers before him have) somewhat beaten down by Formula 1, Vandoorne has undoubtedly found his edge again in electric racing. Similar to Mitch Evans at Jaguar, he has taken Mercedes’ first podium, pole position and finally a win at the last race in Berlin. Vandoorne knows he has the chance to take a world championship this year – and a team very motivated to get it.
Last season: 2nd
Nyck de Vries
De Vries’ rookie season was somewhat marred by getting seriously disrupted – and also by Mercedes still finding their feet in the championship. His final points haul didn’t really represent the potential he displayed after some very strong qualifying performances therefore de Vries definitely shouldn’t be discounted from title contention this year. If he and the team can avoid retirements and further issues, he should be in for a very strong performance.
Last season: 11th
Envision Virgin Racing
Repeatedly the bridesmaid, Envision Virgin’s frustrations finally seemed to reach a nadir last year when despite two podiums for each of their drivers and an early title lead for Sam Bird, the situation seemed to repeatedly get out of their control. With what should be a more competitive Audi powertrain this year and a new driver lineup, they’ll want to make good by eliminating no-scores and non-finishes.
Last season: 4th
Nick Cassidy
One of this year’s new boys, Nick Cassidy seems to have been mercifully unaffected by a hype train that started after he set the fastest time at last year’s Marrakech rookie test. In fact, he believed he was so low profile no one would know who he was when we spoke to him at testing. He knows this will be a difficult year with a steep learning curve, but the realism he approaches it with should avoid frustrations faced by other rookies in adapting to a very different way of racing.
Last season: N/A
Robin Frijns:
A Formula E fan favourite and part-time sloth, Frijns is as fierce on-track as he is relaxed off it. Two frustrating seasons, despite a maiden win in Paris during Season 5, will have riled him, but his fellow drivers definitely do not underestimate the threat Frijns poses. If the Audi powertrain makes a significant step back towards an advantage this year, Frijns could be a contender.
Last season: 12th
BMW Andretti
One of two German manufacturers who’ve announced this is to be their final season, BMW will want to end their partnership with Andretti on a high. They’ve performed well in Diriyah before, winning with then-drivers da Costa and Sims in seasons 5 and 6, and last year their only real barrier to a title challenge was a huge competitive drop-off in Berlin.
Last season: 5th
Jake Dennis
Another rookie, replacing long-term BMW factory driver Sims, Jake Dennis is a former Bentley GT driver who has been waiting for a single-seater opportunity. Young, quick, and competitive, he’s nonetheless aware of the challenge that awaits him in Formula E.
Last season: N/A
Max Günther
Günther is Formula E’s youngest race winner. Having come into the series green, he impressed in uncompetitive Dragon machinery in Season 5 despite an extremely unstable contractual situation before going on to show he had the maturity to step up to a factory role with BMW last season. The extremely likable German will be determined to show he’s worth retaining or poaching in the series after BMW’s exit, but will need to find a level of consistency he lacked last season when he either finished on the podium or failed to score.
Last season: 9th
Audi Sport
It feels very strange writing Audi’s name so far down this page. The German marque had a catastrophic season last year, the only one in which even longstanding driver Lucas di Grassi failed to take a win, and were soundly beaten by customer team Virgin, who themselves had a relatively poor season. A new powertrain should hopefully see them contest their final season in Formula E with more vigor.
Last season: 6th
Lucas di Grassi
The Season 3 champion remains one of Formula E’s biggest characters, and one of its most unrelentingly competitive drivers. It was disappointing last season seeing Di Grassi get his wings clipped by his Audi car’s lack of pace that meant a man who’s never finished outside the championship’s top three came in a fairly dismal sixth. That will, unfortunately for his competitors, only have made di Grassi more determined to win, especially if this proves to be his own final year in Formula E which he’s previously said will be the series he retires from.
Last season: 6th
Rene Rast
Having waited years for a Formula E opportunity, Rast was finally handed Daniel Abt’s seat following his dismissal as a result of the baffling shenanigans of the Race At Home Challenge. Rast has more than half a very strange season’s experience and a podium under his belt so can’t be considered a rookie but is definitely nowhere near as seasoned as his teammate. Except that, as he wryly observed at testing, he is more used to Audi closing factory programmes as soon as he joins them. Well-loved by fans, the German has been fast in everything he’s driven so may find his feet quickly in Formula E.
Last season: 15th
Jaguar Racing
The Berlin finale was nothing short of heartbreaking for Jaguar, having finally appeared to be in the hunt for the title they’ve worked towards since a hasty Season 3 entry, only to see it go badly wrong. Longstanding driver Mitch Evans saw the title slip away from him on the Tempelhof concrete and the Berlin finale seemed a genuinely dispiriting experience for the whole team. Refreshed and rebooted in terms of line-up, anything short of a title challenge will disappoint them this season.
Last season: 7th
Sam Bird
New to Jaguar although absolutely not to Formula E, Bird switches from Virgin with a very clear aim; to break his run of inconsistent frustrations and take the title. The only driver to take a win in every season of Formula E, there’s no question what he wants this season – or that he’s capable of it if events unfold to let him.
Last season: 10th
Evans’ patience and maturity in progressing Jaguar’s Formula E project over the past four seasons is all the more impressive if you remember he’s only 26 years old. Now in his and the team’s fifth season in FE, Evans has more than shown he can take the tough times and still grasp opportunities where they come up. Having taken Jaguar’s first point, podium, pole position, and win, he will be in no mind to let new teammate Bird take the first title should the opportunity come up.
Last season: 7th
Porsche Formula E
Porsche’s strangely indifferent Formula E entry would probably have put them ahead of Audi as most people’s guess to which VW Group marque might pull the plug. Still, they are persisting in the series and with a boosted driver lineup after poaching Pascal Wehrlein from Mahindra during lockdown last year.
Last season: 8th
Andre Lotterer
Lotterer took Porsche’s first podium at the opening race in Diriyah last season, after switching from Techeetah, one of two he managed during their debut year. Despite a rough start, Lotterer has transformed into one of Formula E’s fiercest competitors and particularly seems much more at home in the Gen2 car than he did during his rookie season. Intensely competitive, Lotterer is not at Porsche to drive out his twilight years – expect potential fireworks between him and his new teammate.
Last season: 8th
Pascal Wehrlein
It will have been nearly a complete year since Wehrlein raced in Formula E when we go green in Diriyah, with the German having parted ways with Mahindra before the Berlin finale last year. He’s had plenty of time to heal from a few near-misses with wins there and is just as competitive as Lotterer, extremely fast and with plenty left to want to prove on track.
Last season: 14th
Mahindra Racing
Mahindra are Formula E’s longest-standing manufacturer team, an underdog bringing a gigantic brand almost unrecognised in international motorsport to the forefront of electric racing. They’ve had years where they’ve had mid-season pick-ups, years where an early lead has fallen apart and years like the last where things just didn’t come together at all. With a bolstered personnel roster and new ZF powertrain, they may have Formula E’s driver lineup most likely to offer you a (gluten-free) biscuit but don’t underestimate them on track.
Last season: 9th
Alex Lynn
Having come in mid-season for his third time in Formula E history, Lynn once again proved he can step into a car and perform in Berlin last August. Given the right environment, Lynn is incredibly fast and after repeat disappointments, determined to make Formula E work for him. Remember, he took pole on his debut in the relatively uncompetitive Virgin in Season 3.
Last season: 17th
Alexander Sims
Berlin unraveled Sims’ incredibly strong title bid faster than a cat getting at an expensive rug. Prior to the finale, he’d been in strong contention but the peculiarities of Tempelhof were too much for the team to get to grips with in nine grueling days and it completely slipped away from him, scoring just three points over the six races. Switching to Mahindra, Sims says he feels at home and despite his friendliness off-track, when he’s on it his fellow drivers know he’s a very underrated threat. Hard to imagine anyone, other than those he beats, who wouldn’t be delighted to see him succeed in Formula E and get recognition commensurate with his talent.
Last season: 13th
Venturi RACING
After a very sizeable investment to the team and changes to both their leadership structure and driver line-up, Venturi are ready to come out from underdog status and sink their teeth into the championship.
Last season: 10th
Edoardo Mortara
Venturi’s – as yet – only race winner and a very highly-rated driver, Mortara’s power management sometimes seems almost superhuman. If the team can give him reliability and flexibility in setup and preparation, Mortara should be able to deliver strong results.
Last season: 14th
Norman Nato
An unknown quantity in Formula E bar rookie testing, but certainly not to Venturi. Nato is their long-term simulator and development driver, shifting to a race seat this year on the basis of his performance in that role and with the backing of the team’s confidence for his debut.
Last season: N/A
Dragon Penske
Formula E’s most chaotic team enters another season. Despite finishing second in the teams’ title in Season 1 (2014-15), Dragon have struggled to deliver results ever since and a revolving door of personnel and drivers have rarely helped. Formula E seats are so sought-after that Dragon still seem able to recruit talent but the championship is no longer at a stage when a good driver can overcome poor machinery.
Last season: 11th
Nico Müller
Overlooked for the factory Audi seat after Abt’s booting last year, Müller was left to struggle to a pointless finish with Dragon (Brendon Hartley, who left mid-season, scored all of the team’s points last year) that in no way reflected his skill. It’s hard to assess Müller’s Formula E potential in the car he was given. On the plus side, Diriyah this year can’t really be worse than in 2019 when he suffered a Did Not Start and a retirement.
Last season: 25th
Sérgio Sette Câmara
Sette Câmara came into Dragon for the Berlin finale, replacing Brendon Hartley, with an obvious keenness to prove himself. He was particularly impressive in qualifying and reached super pole but ultimately couldn’t produce any heroics with an inefficient powertrain during the races. The young Brazilian is a good racer and the advantage of a backmarking team is that he can certainly claim results as his.
Last season: 27th
NIO 333 Formula E
After surviving an implosion and separation from NIO just prior to Season 6 (the automaker’s name only remains on the team as a title sponsor, with no technical support) the 333 team did well to make it to the grid. They would have scored points in Diriyah last season, but for a technical infringement that saw Oliver Turvey disqualified, and the team remained impressively positive during what they knew would be a gruelling season. Now back with a new, in-house-built powertrain, the Chinese team are determined to move off the back.
Last season: 12th
Tom Blomqvist
A driver who’s never really been given his due in terms of chances, if there’s a competitive potential to this year’s car Blomqvist will be keen to exploit it. Well-respected by his peers and with some Formula E experience in Gen1, Blomqvist is a patient driver able to deal with incremental improvements.
Last season: 26th
Oliver Turvey
Routinely called Formula E’s most underrated driver, Turvey’s loyalty to the team has kept him with them through some rough seasons. Technically extremely adept (it’s only halfway a joke that he could engineer his own car) he’s a driver very dedicated to improving a team as well as, given the chance, brilliant on track in his own right.
Last season: 24th
