Formula E

Mercedes will quit DTM to race in Formula E

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    Mercedes has announced it will end its involvement in the DTM at the end of next season and race in Formula E instead.

    Mercedes’ departure from the DTM will leave Germany’s premier touring season will potentially leave just Audi and BMW represented from 2020, providing no other manufacturers arrive.

    Mercedes two DTM rivals will both be competing in Formula E by the time they arrive in 2019. BMW’s team is due to arrive next season and Audi are taking over the Abt entry.

    Porsche has also been rumoured to be considering an entry. Renault and Jaguar already have Formula E teams and the Virgin cars carry Cirtoen’s DS branding.

    Mercedes have stressed their Formula E programme will run parallel to its Formula One activities.

    Mercedes Benz has announced a strategic repositioning of its motorsport activities: the company will conclude its participation in DTM at the end of 2018 and enter Formula E in the 2019/20 season.

    This new approach will see Mercedes-Benz competing at both ends of the motorsport spectrum: in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport combining high technology and the most demanding competitive challenge; and in Formula E, which embodies the transformation that is underway in the automotive industry.

    We want to win as many titles as possible before we go

    Since the “new” DTM was founded in 2000, we have so far enjoyed 18 continuous seasons of great racing, spectacular battles and close-matched competition. We were lucky enough to celebrate championship success and learned how to handle defeat. And we loved every second of it.

    “Our years in the DTM will always be held high as a major chapter in the motorsport history of Mercedes,” commented Toto Wolff. “I want to thank every team member whose fantastic work has helped to make Mercedes-Benz the most successful DTM manufacturer during that time. Although leaving is tough for all of us, we will be doing everything during this season and next to make sure we win as many DTM titles as possible before we go. We owe that to our fans and to ourselves.”

    Since the DTM was founded in 1988, there have been 26 racing seasons during which Mercedes-Benz has won 10 drivers’, 13 team and six manufacturer titles (DTM + ITC combined). With our fans, we have celebrated 183 race wins, 128 pole positions and 540 podium finishes.

    “Our departure from the DTM brings a long-standing motorsport era to a close. We look back with pride on the commitment of our teams, drivers, partners and the many people behind the scenes, who so often made the series a fascinating platform for our customers and for fans of our brand,” concluded Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars Dr Jens Thiemer. “It is now time to start on a new path.”

    Formula E is like an exciting start-up venture

    Electric mobility is already of strategic importance to the company today and this will only increase in the future. Formula E offers a perfect platform on which to demonstrate the competitiveness of our technology brand EQ in a racing environment, in the area of battery electric powertrains.

    “Mercedes-Benz will market future battery powered electric vehicles using the EQ label,” explained Dr Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz. “Formula E is a significant step in order to demonstrate the performance of our attractive battery powered electric vehicles, as well as giving an emotional spin to our EQ technology brand through motorsport and marketing.”

    Toto Wolff views Formula E as a brand new form of racing that reflects a rapidly changing automotive landscape.

    “In motorsport like in every other area, we want to be the benchmark in the premium segment and to explore innovative new projects. The combination of Formula 1 and Formula E delivers that. Formula E is like an exciting start-up venture: it offers a brand new format, combining racing with a strong event character, in order to promote current and future technologies. Electrification is happening in the road car world and Formula E offers manufacturers an interesting platform to bring this technology to a new audience – and to do so with a completely new kind of racing, different to any other series. I am pleased that we were able to extend our entry option for one year to the 2019/20 season. This gives us time to properly understand the series and to prepare for our entry in the right way.”

    “Today is a great day as we welcome Mercedes to the Formula E family – adding to the increasing number of manufacturers joining the electric revolution,” said Formula E Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag. “This step shows how much the world is changing, not only in motorsport, but the whole automotive industry. We’re witnessing a transformation that will first change our cities, and then our roads. Formula E is the championship that embodies that change, and together with all our teams and manufacturers we’ll keep pushing for technologies to have better and more affordable electric cars.”

    #346718
    KeeleyObsessed
    Participant

    This is Formula E’s biggest scalp yet. That’s 5 factory teams for Season 6, (Assuming Citroen remain as sponsor, and all the other manufacturers like Porsche/Ferrari/Tesla don’t get involved), and I don’t see any signs of Renault or Jaguar pulling out soon…

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