McLaren may join Formula E as soon as the ’22-23 season should it choose to do soGETTY IMAGES
McLaren Racing is formalizing an evaluation to potentially enter Formula E, announcing this morning that it has officially obtained an option from the series to join as a team or manufacturer in two years. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has commented in the past that the English car maker could join FE as part of him building out the racing division’s portfolio beyond Formula 1, but today’s announcement formalizes a forthcoming evaluation. The joint statement stops short of a McLaren commitment to join FE, but it will essentially now have “first dibs” on a slot starting with the ’22-23 season should it choose to do so. McLaren will have the ability to either join as a full “factory” team, where the car company both owns and runs the team, or to partner with a pre-existing team. It has a pre-existing relationship with the series where its applied sciences division already supplies FE teams with car batteries. However, that deal expires after the ’21-22 season and McLaren will look at potentially stepping up its role with the series the season after. FE is a growing property that has attracted many big-name car manufacturers. Brown in a prepared comment wrote, “We’ve been closely observing Formula E for some time and monitoring the series’ progress and future direction. The opportunity to take an option on an entry and the completion of the McLaren Applied supplier contract with the FIA at the end of Gen2, gives us the necessary time to decide if Formula E is right for McLaren as a future competition platform.”
DIVING IN: McLaren has been building out its racing portfolio since the appointment of Brown, an SBJ Forty Under 40 HOFer, who left the sponsorship agency world to run the historic team starting in late ’16. Since then, McLaren has also entered IndyCar via a partnership with a pre-existing team, both of whom came together to form what is now called Arrow McLaren Racing SP. Car companies entering FE have the dual purpose of developing electric technology that they can transfer to their road cars, plus the ability to market their electrification efforts. FE CEO Jamie Reigle said of McLaren formalizing its option to enter the series, "It’s a much stronger commitment than (Brown’s) public comments that Formula E might be interesting; there’s now a contractual option to secure an available slot, so it’s a much more robust commitment.” FE recently saw Audi and BMW announce that they will leave the series after this upcoming season, but Reigle pointed out that the series still retains around a half dozen manufacturers, more than most series, and he’s in talks with others about joining including McLaren.
