Maserati MSG Racing will field an all-new lineup in Formula E next season, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes both joining the team, replacing Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala.
Both drivers arrive at the team ahead of the introduction of the GEN3 Evo formula, and will make their debuts during pre-season testing in Valencia on the week of November 4-7 before Round 1 of the 2024-25 campaign, Season 11, in Sao Paulo a month later.
Vandoorne’s signing means he remains within the Stellantis brand, having moved over from DS Penske – the anticipated destination of Guenther – after two years. He also races for the company’s Peugeot brand in the World Endurance Championship.
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“I’m very happy to be joining Maserati MSG Racing next season and I’m proud to be associated with such an iconic name within motorsport as Maserati,” said the Season 8 champion. “I’m excited to start working with the team – although I haven’t worked directly with them before, I know the team well, both from my time at DS Penske but also from my time with Mercedes when we shared a powertrain with Venturi.
“They are a great bunch of people, very skilled, very determined and I’m really looking forward to working together moving forwards. Hopefully we’ll have a lot of success and fight for victories and championships together.”
Hughes was announced at Maserati a couple of hours after his exit from NEOM McLaren was confirmed. Hughes had been with McLaren since it entered Formula E, having taken over the former Mercedes entry for which he was a reserve driver for – a position which he also served his new team in Season 7 when it was in its guise as Mercedes customer Venturi Racing.
“I’m over the moon to be joining Maserati MSG Racing,” said Hughes. “The success that the team has had, as one of the founding teams in Formula E, speaks for itself.
“On a personal level, I have worked with the team previously so I know them well and I’m genuinely looking forward to going back. I know that the season has only just finished but I honestly can’t wait to get over to the HQ in Monaco and start working with the engineers, get on the simulator and really get cracking with our prep for Season 11.
“This marks the start of an exciting new chapter in my career, and I know that the best is yet to come.”
RACER understands that McLaren had attempted to retain Hughes but both sides couldn’t come to an agreement. As well as Maserati, he was also linked with a move to Nissan, which supplies drivetrains to McLaren.
“Leaving the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team will feel very strange for me in the coming weeks, based on the fact this team has been my home for the last four and a half years,” Hughes said. “I have a lot of thanks to give to so many different people within the team for what they have given me, and how they have prepared me and allowed me to grow into the racing driver I am today.
“Everything I am in Formula E is down to this team, and for that I am extremely grateful. I wish the team all the best, and I have no doubt that we’ll have some good times racing on track against each other in the future.”
McLaren team principal Ian James paid tribute to Hughes upon his departure, saying, “Jake has made a significant contribution to this team over the years, both on and off the track, and we are incredibly grateful for his input and dedication throughout.
“During this time, he has flourished into a proven talent in Formula E; particular highlights being his four pole positions – of which one came in only his third ever event in Formula E – and his P2 finish in Shanghai this year.
“On a personal note, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Jake. Alongside his natural talent as a driver, he is a consummate professional and yet has an easy sense of humour which has endeared him to all in the Formula E paddock.”
Similarly to how Hughes joined the race team, McLaren is expected to promote current test and reserve driver Taylor Barnard to race alongside Sam Bird for the team. Barnard starred with two points finishes earlier this year filling in for Bird when he was out injured.
Meanwhile, although Guenther is expected to fill the vacancy created by Vandoorne at DS Penske, Daruvala’s Formula E future is currently unknown.
“At the end of an intense Formula E Season 10, Maserati would also like to extend its sincere thanks to Max and Jehan for their incredible passion and commitment to the team,” said head of Maserati Corse Giovanni Tommaso Sgro. “In the last two years, Max has provided us with some of the most significant moments in Maserati’s modern history on the track: with his victory in Jakarta last season, he was the first driver to bring a Maserati single seater back to the top step of the podium since Juan Manuel Fangio.
“This year, he won in Tokyo and took a podium placing two years running in the Trident’s home race, in Rome and Misano… These memories will forever remain indelibly imprinted on this brand’s history on the track and we’re really proud of these results.”
