With three more drivers announced over the last week, the Season 9 Formula E grid is near completion. Which seats remain open?
While the news was circulating well over a month ago, DS Penske finally made it official. Talk about a transformation. Last season the team consisted of Sergio Sette Camara and Antonio Giovinazzi. They finished bottom of the standings with just two points, coming from Sette Camara toward the end of last year. Now they have two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne and reigning series Champion Stoffel Vandoorne. Experience & talent. With a massively upgraded driver pairing and a new partnership with Penske, how far can the team climb in Season 9?
PENSKE AUTOSPORT partners with DS Automobiles and fields winning drivers Vandoorne-Vergne for Season 9 of the #fiaformula world championship#dspenske_fe pic.twitter.com/qnqdBbuDt0
— DS PENSKE FORMULA E TEAM (@ds_penske_fe) October 12, 2022
Director of DS Performance Thomas Chevaucher spoke about his all-star lineup:
“We are starting this partnership in the best possible way by having two champions in the team! Thanks to Stoffel and Jean-Eric, we probably have one of the best line-ups and also the fastest pairing on the grid. With the powertrain and software expertise of DS Performance, we are now in an ideal position to continue our hunt for victories and titles.”
Current Formula E Driver Lineup – Season 9
- ABT: Robin Frijns & Nico Muller
- Avalanche Andretti: Jake Dennis & Andre Lotterer
- DS Penske: Stoffel Vandoorne & Jean-Éric Vergne
- Envision: Nick Cassidy & Sebastien Buemi
- Jaguar: Mitch Evans & Sam Bird
- McLaren: Rene Rast & TBD
- Mahindra: Oliver Rowland & Lucas di Grassi
- Maserati: TBD (both seats)
- NIO 333: Sergio Sette Camara & Dan Ticktum
- Nissan: Norman Nato & Sacha Fenestraz
- Porsche: Pascal Wehrlein & Antonio Felix da Costa
- Techeetah: TBD (both seats)
Remaining Seats
We just saw Dan Ticktum get picked up by NIO 333 for a second season. While Nyck de Vries is officially off the Formula E grid following his move to AlphaTauri in F1 next year. But that still leaves five potential seats remaining. The second at McLaren and both spots for Maserati and Techeetah. And there are still plenty of drivers in contention. After two stellar seasons, it is expected that Edoardo Mortara will drive for Maserati, who replaces Venturi. Why not announce him? Well, he was rumored to be paired with de Vries, so the team is likely looking for the best partner option now to make a team announcement.
Will a team pick up long-term vet Oliver Turvey or perhaps go for Maximilian Günther? It seems unlikely that Antonio Giovinazzi, Oliver Askew, or Alexander Sims will return for Season 9. Formula 2’s Jake Hughes has been rumored to be in contention or could they dip into Season 7 for the likes of Alex Lynn or Joel Eriksson? And will Techeetah even end up fielding a team next year? Pre-season testing kicks off in just about two months.
