Mercedes grabs a spot on the Formula E grid from 2018
The car maker could be one of the two new teams racing in season five.
Mercedes is set to become the latest in a long line of traditional car makers entering the world of Formula E. The company confirmed today that it's signed an agreement to reserve a spot on the grid of the electric racing championship from the 2018/19 season. With the all-electric series set to expand from 10 teams to 12 in season five, Mercedes can now decide whether it will take one of the two new available openings.
Formula E is gaining in popularity each year and manufacturers like Jaguar, BMW and Audi have decided to take stakes in the racing series. The E.Dams-Renault team clinched the first-ever team title, beating Dragon Racing, which recently teamed up with Faraday Future, to the top spot.
In 2018, the series will drop its current format of requiring racers to swap cars during the race, limiting it to just one. All 12 cars will also feature a new chassis, which has been redesigned to improve aerodynamics and house a more powerful battery.
Mercedes-Benz is, of course, competing in Formula One with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team. The auto giant believes it can use advancements in electric racing to further the development of its futuristic zero-emission road cars: "Electrification will play a major role in the future of the automotive industry - racing has always been a technology R&D platform for the motor industry," says Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "This will make Formula E very relevant in the future."
