Formula E will start in 2023 with a new car and the debuts of McLaren and Maserati

Last Saturday (14), the ninth season of Formula E started in Mexico City with a new generation of electric cars. Called Gen3, it’s lighter, more powerful and faster. According to the organization, around 40,000 people filled the stands of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The 11 teams and 22 drivers of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship enjoyed individual tests and three days together in Valencia to get up to speed and familiarize themselves with the new car.

Read more: Porto Seguro to sponsor Aston Martin in Formula 1

Read more: Audi announces partnership with Sauber in Formula 1 in 2026

Capable of reaching a top speed of 322 km/h, it is 53 kg lighter and is now housed in a compact chassis, optimized for road racing. The powertrain is now two-part, with the front adding 250 kW while an additional 350 kW is generated at the rear, more than doubling the car’s regenerative capacity over its predecessor, Gen2, up to 600 kW, and more than 40% of energy. used in the race is regenerated during braking.

McLaren and Maserati for the first time

It was a busy season with all teams entering the early stages of Gen3 in good positions. Only one team has retained the line-up of drivers that ended last season.

DS Automobiles has partnered with Penske Autosport, signing two of the biggest names on the grid to start its ninth season campaign: defending champion Stoffel Vandoorne and two-time Formula E champion Jean-Éric Vergne will drive for the DS PENSKE team . The pair recorded the second and third fastest times respectively in the trials.

Two of the most famous names in world motorsport – McLaren and Maserati – are lining up on the Formula E grid for the first time this season.

The former is one of the biggest names in motorsport, with 20 Formula 1 World Championship titles, 180 Grand Prix wins and three wins at the Indianapolis 500, as well as victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the test first.

René Rast, multiple DTM champion and former Formula E driver for Audi, will contest the Neom McLaren Formula E Team alongside Jake Hughes, who impressed in pre-season testing by posting the fourth fastest time of the week.

In partnership with MSG Racing, Maserati marks its return to single-seater competition for the first time in over 60 years and is set to become the first Italian platform to compete in FE.

Maserati and McLaren have named Formula E as key to their development programs for road-going electric cars.

Maserati’s rich sporting legacy is evident all the way back to racing: Unveiled on the streets of Modena, its Italian hometown, in classic blue, the Maserati Tipo Folgore pays homage to the first three-car racing car, the Type 26.

The Maserati MSG Championship will see the return of Edoardo Mortara, who after having his best campaign in Formula E with four wins out of six podiums last season, will be joined by his new teammate, Maximilian Guenther. It was a great start for the Valencia team, with Guenther leading five of the seven scheduled sessions and setting the pace in Spain in the third official Formula E test.

Jaguar TCS Racing is the only team on the grid to have an unchanged driver line-up. Mitch Evans was chasing his first Formula E world championship title until the final weekend of last season, finishing runner-up.

On the other side of the garage, team-mate Sam Bird was hampered by injury which saw him miss the final two races of the season – numbers 99 and 100 in Formula E history – leaving Lucas di Grassi as the only driver to recognize the feat of always being on the grid. of the electric vehicle unit.

André Lotterer joins Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team powered by Porsche, while Season 6 champion António Félix Da Costa teams up with Pascal Wehrlein in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team.

Nick Cassidy remains at Envision Racing, where he is joined by long-time Nissan driver and second-season champion Sébastien Buemi.

Buemi’s departure means the Nissan Formula E Team also has a brand new line-up with Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz, who replaced Antonio Giovinazzi in Seoul for the final race of Season 8.

Mahindra Racing welcomes ‘Mr 100’ and three-time champion Lucas di Grassi, who will partner Oliver Rowland.

NIO 333 Racing has retained Dan Ticktum, who will team up with Sérgio Sette Câmara, who had impressive performances last year for DRAGON/PENSKE AUTOSPORT, while Robins Frijns and Nico Mueller will compete for the new ABT CUPRA Formula E Team.

New control

With revolutionary track technology, Formula E’s sporting rules have been updated for the Gen3 era. Total laps will take the place of time in defining the race distance, with additional laps added by Safety Car interruptions and Full Course Yellows during the race.

Hankook Tire becomes the exclusive technical partner and supplier of tires – ION Racing, which in Formula E is used on dry and wet tracks and has 30% compounds made from sustainable materials – from the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to this season.