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Mercedes Benz to quit Formula E Racing and EQ Team

Posted on 21-09-2021 by Suraj Dhirwani

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Brands: Mercedes Benz
Category: Formula E

Mercedes-Benz have announced their exit from Formula E. Mercedes-Benz have officially issued a statement that they will quit the Mercedes EQ Team and Formula E at the end of Season 8 in August 2022.


Formula E is an important motorsport that does not get the recognition of the legendary Formula 1. What can we about others, when we at MWTV, have a dedicated section and brand for F1!

But there is a Formula E, and we haven’t forgotten about it. In the coming days, it can be a hotspot of activity.

Speaking of activity, in case you missed it, Mercedes-Benz have launched a flurry of models, concepts ALL electric over the past few days. They now have electric versions of the G wagen, the E Class, the S class, the GLS – even the B and A!

One wonders, how did Mercedes come up with so much EV tech suddenly. Well it wasn’t sudden at all! 

For 2 years, Mercedes Benz have been trying their skills and testing their technology in the Formula E championships!

They first took to the track in Season 5 with the goal to create a benchmark team at every level. A first Mercedes win for Stoffel Vandoorne in the final round of Season 6 was followed by a strong start to Season 7, setting up the team’s championship challenge in only its second season. This culminated last weekend in Berlin when Nyck de Vries and the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team became the first ever all-electric motorsport world champions, by winning the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers’ and Teams’ titles.

Sadly, now Mercedes-Benz have announced their exit from Formula E. Mercedes-Benz have officially issued a statement that they will quit the Mercedes EQ Team and Formula E at the end of Season 8 in August 2022.

The reason for this move, as stated by Mercedes Benz is to re-focus strategic resources towards the development of electric vehicles.

Which adds up since in July-end Mercedes announced that they will go all-electric in most markets by the end of this decade! That’s a herculean task and will need the best German engineering prowess they can muster.

With that out of the way, fans of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team can breathe easy knowing that they don’t intend to quit Formula 1. The same ‘sigh of relief’ might not be extended by fans for some of their current drivers. But then that’s a different topic. One that we usually discuss under our F1 Drivers section here.

Here’s what some of the top bosses from Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes EQ Formula E Team had to say about this decision:

Markus Schäfer

Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO

In motorsport, Formula E has been a proof point for our electric drive expertise and a good driver for establishing our Mercedes-EQ brand, but in future we will keep pushing technological progress – especially on the electric drive side – focusing on Formula One.



Bettina Fetzer (Vice President Marketing, Mercedes-Benz AG)

Formula E has enabled us to showcase the Mercedes-EQ brand in a highly endemic and truly innovative format.





Ian James (Team Principal, Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team)

We have been extremely fortunate to enjoy the support of Mercedes-Benz in our journey so far, and I would like to thank them for this – and all the support we will be receiving in their last year of involvement with this team.





Toto Wolff (Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport & CEO, Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team)

We can be proud of our achievements in Formula E and especially the double world championship win, an historic milestone in Mercedes-Benz motorsport history.





This learning will be brought to life through future product architectures like the AMG.EA platform, the dedicated performance vehicle electric platform that will be launched in 2025, and projects such as the Vision EQXX.

While Mercedes-Benz will depart Formula E at the end of Season 8, the team’s leadership group has begun exploring options for the team to continue competing in the series during the Gen 3 era, including a potential sale to new owners.

What does the MWTV Community have to say about this news? 

Do you think Mercedes dropping out from Formula E reduces the chances of the sport gaining popularity?

Or

Should we, as enthusiasts, be happy that Mercedes will focus on bringing in some amazing EVs?


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