After Mercedes announced that it would be leaving at the end of this season, McLaren announced that it would be taking over its operation. It is partnering with Nissan for its powertrain while Ian James, current Mercedes FE Team Principal, will remain in that role and lead McLaren going forwards.
There will not be an overhaul of the team, so many of the current Mercedes personnel will be kept onboard leaving McLaren with the task of taking over what is already a championship-winning outfit.
The identity of the drivers is yet to be announced with Brown confirming that the current Mercedes pair — Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries — have “all gone on to something else”.
Felix Rosenqvist, currently driving for McLaren in IndyCar, has been retained for 2023, but has not been told whether he will remain in the US or be joining the orange cars in Formula E, where he has race-winning experience from his time with Mahindra.
“Ultimately, we’re trying to have the best driver lineups across all of our racing activities,” said Brown.
“Felix is unique, he’s won in IndyCar and he’s won in Formula E, so he can kind of race in either, so it’s really dependent upon either who our other IndyCar driver is or who our other Formula E driver is.”
McLaren will have two electric racing teams in 2023: its Extreme E outfit and the new Formula E squad
McLaren
Brown said that McLaren was entering the electric racing series, following its debut season in the Extreme E electric SUV championship, to join in with the rapid development of new zero-emission racing technology.
“When Formula E came onboard they had to change cars [in the pits], not recharge or refuel, and I think that showed where battery technology was then,” said Brown.
“Then they got rid of the second car, going for a lot more power output and I suggest taking a look at the [McMurtry] car that broke the record at Goodwood.
“If anyone thought you couldn’t get batteries to go fast, you should see it. So I think battery technology, just like our mobile phones, will continue to evolve, power range will get longer and I think Formula E is the motorsport platform that’s going to develop that battery technology and it is doing so as we speak.”
McLaren has announced that its Formula E title sponsor will be the Saudi Arabian eco-development, NEOM.
It is part of a partnership that will see McLaren open an offshoot in one of the development’s sectors called Oxagon, which is billed as a hub for clean industries.
“We are delighted to welcome NEOM to the McLaren Racing family,” Brown said. “This is an incredible way to kick off our entry into Formula E and to unify our electric racing series.
“Working with Oxagon’s innovative advanced and clean industries eco-system will allow us to make meaningful contributions through our bespoke Accelerator program which exists to leverage performance-driven data and translate this into the culture and thinking of our partners.”