Nyck de Vries will return to Formula E next season after signing a multi-year deal with Mahindra Racing, where he will team with Edoardo Mortara (pictured at left, above, with de Vries).
The Dutchman won the all-electric single seater championship with Mercedes in 2020-21 and earned a Formula 1 opportunity off the back of that success as a reserve driver for Mercedes and its customer teams Aston Martin, McLaren, and Williams. With the latter, he made his F1 debut, filling in for Alex Albon at last year’s Italian Grand Prix where he finished ninth.
The points-scoring debut was enough to earn him a full-time seat with AlphaTauri this year, but after failing to add to his haul in the first 10 races of the season, he was dropped in favor of Daniel Ricciardo. He now heads to a Mahindra team that’s going through a rebuild after team principal Dilbagh Gil was shown the door last season, and the recent exit of Formula E veteran Lucas d Grassi, whose departure was announced earlier this week after a single season with the team.
“It’s really exciting to be joining such a major automotive manufacturer as Mahindra, and to represent them in Formula E,” said de Vries. “I’m particularly excited about the future plans for the team. The basis is already strong, and the team has all the attributes to succeed. I believe going forwards we will be able to extract even more potential from the project and the organization, so to be a part of that process was very appealing for me.
Despite a seemingly positive start to the Gen3 era, with di Grassi taking pole and third in Mexico City, the team struggled for much of last season, and was even forced to withdraw from the fifth round in Cape Town after concerns were raised over the safety of its rear suspension setup. Points were hard to come by throughout the year, and Oliver Rowland — who scored in Hyderabad and Berlin — was replaced by former F1 driver Roberto Merhi with seven races to spare, while di Grassi saw out the season before his own departure.
“I think it’s no secret that the team has had a bit of a rough start to Gen3, although there were positive signs of improvement during the second half of last season,” said de Vries. “I believe the team can continue to build on those learnings and with the additional changes and plans in place for the future, we can make even greater steps forward in performance at the start of our new journey together.
“Coming back to Formula E will feel like coming home. I’ve been part of the Formula E family for three seasons — I know everybody very well. I’m looking forward to being back in a familiar environment, and to be back somewhere where ultimately, I’ve always enjoyed my racing.”
Mortara, who was de Vries’ rival for the 2020-21 title, joins the Dutchman on the team after recently making a surprise exit from the Maserati Formula E squad. Mortara also has signed a multi-year agreement with the Indian manufacturer.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Mahindra Racing. It’s a team that I’ve been looking at for several years now, they have been in Formula E since the beginning of the championship, so there’s a lot of experience there,” said Mortara, a six-time race winner in Formula E. “What I could also feel from the people here is that we share the same values. We have a great project in front of us, but I can see a lot of determination and motivation from everyone in the team, and this is so important.”
“Mahindra is also such a big automotive manufacturer, with a worldwide reputation. I’m extremely proud to join and be a representative of this prestigious group. I can’t wait to get started, and I’m sure that, if we put in the necessary amount of work, we will be able to be successful in this very competitive championship in the future.”
Mahindra Racing CEO Frederic Bertrand, who replaced Gil last season, stressed the long-term nature of the team’s rebuild, as it looks to once again become a title challenger.
“I am delighted to welcome Edo and Nyck to the Mahindra Racing family. As a team, we are all embarking on a journey to bring Mahindra Racing back to the front of the grid in the coming years,” he said. “With their speed and experience, Nyck and Edo will play a key role in driving the team towards that goal, and I know everybody is feeling very motivated to work with them. Equally important for the team are the drivers’ appetites for a long-term project, which makes them the perfect fit for Mahindra Racing at the beginning of this journey.”
“We anticipate next year will be another year of development and progress, and in a championship like Formula E, success is impossible to achieve overnight. But the signing of Nyck and Edo, along with new recruits within the wider team, puts down a solid foundation on which we can build.”