In the round-up: Formula E chairman Alejandro Agag says Formula E is undergoing a “rebound” with McLaren, Maserati and Abt joining the series next season
In brief
Formula E undergoing “huge rebound” – Agag
Formula E chairman Alejandro Agag believes the all-electric championship is in the midst of a ‘huge rebound’ after multiple announcements of teams who will be competing in the series from next season.
On Saturday, McLaren formally announced they would purchase the Mercedes EQ team and rebrand it as their own. The move followed former team Abt confirming they would rejoin the series as a new entry next season, while Italian brand Maserati will combine with the Venturi team from 2022.
After Formula E has faced the loss of major manufacturers in recent years including Audi and BMW with Mercedes announcing they would also depart at the end of the current season, Agag says the recent team announcements show the strength of the series.
“I think it says a lot,” Agag said. “You know, a few months ago, sadly, we lost a couple of manufacturers. You know how motorsport is when you lose a manufacturer, it seems like it’s the end of the world and the whole thing is going to end in tears.
“Formula 1 had it at a time – I remember when BMW, Toyota, all these guys at the end of the decade of the 2000s suddenly all left. So we had a little bit of that about a year ago and there were a lot of comments, ‘oh, what is this? What’s happening?’.
“Definitely, this is a huge rebound – I would call it – with Maserati, with Abt and now with McLaren. I think it’s great. It shows the strength of Formula E as its own pinnacle of electric motor racing. And it shows that Gen3 – which is a huge step forward for us – has the best actors ready to compete in the championship. So I think it’s a great, great sign for the future of the Formula E championship.”
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