Sports | Wednesday 6 November, 2019 3:19 am |

The sixth season of the ABB FIA Formula E weeks away, and this year it all kicks off at the Diriyah Circuit in Saudi Arabia on November 22 and 23 with a doubleheader and back to back championship races. With more teams entering the contest than ever before, with manufacturers Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, joining the fray, it’s likely to be the fiercest fought season yet. Ahead of ‘lights going green’ in the Kingdom, we meet the drivers who’ll be lining up on the starting grid on the iconic track in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage site on the outskirts of Riyadh to begin their campaign.

 

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler

Daniel Abt – Germany 

Racing for the family associated team since the inaugural race, Abt has had mixed fortune over the last four seasons. He has taken first place twice and been on the podium 10 times. He is sure to be hungry for more this season. 

Lucas Di Grassi – Brazil 

A seasoned Formula E veteran, he was the winner of the first ever Formula E race in the inaugural season in 2014. Last season he finished third behind champion Jean-Eric Vergne and second place Sebastien Buemi. He has racked up 10 wins in his career and been on the podium 30 times. 

 

BMW I Andretti Motorsport

Alexander Sims – UK 

Sims has raced for BMW for years in other racing series, and drives for the marque in the World Endurance Championship alongside Formula E. A successful debut season last year saw the Brit clinch his first podium in the all-electric series in the final race of the 2018/19 season

Max Guenther – Germany 

Guenther made his Formula E debut in Riyadh last year with Geox Dragon Racing after impressing at the Rookie test early 2018 and pre-season testing in Valencia. So far fifth is his best finish and will be hoping a new team can fire him onto the podium. 

 

DS Techeetah

Jean-Eric Vergne – France 

The youngest Frenchman ever to race in Formula 1 has been in Formula E since the first season, where he took pole position in his first race. More affectionately known as JEV, he is the only driver in the series to have achieved two back-to-back championship titles, both of which he claimed with his team DS Techeetah. The reigning champion for last year he has eight wins and 20 podiums to his name.

Antonio Felix da Costa – Portugal 

As one of the longest standing drivers in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Antonio Felix da Costa has driven in every season to date. After three campaigns with the BMW-backed Andretti outfit, da Costa joins reigning champions DS Techeetah for the 2019/20 season. He was won twice and made the podium five times. 

 

Envision Virgin Racing 

Robin Frijns – Netherlands 

After racing in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Season 2 and 3 (for BMW Andretti), Frijns made an incredible comeback to the series with Envision Virgin Racing last year finishing just outside the podium in fourth for the season. So far he has two wins and five podiums in Formula E.

Sam Bird – UK (Envision Virgin Racing) 

One of only three racers to win one race in each of the first three seasons, his Formula E career highlight was an impressive double win in the NYC E-Prix in season 3. He has stood on the podium 17 times, of those 8 on the top. Last year he finished in the top 10 coming ninth out of all drivers. 

 

Geox Dragon Racing

Brendon Hartley – New Zealand 

Double FIA WEC World Champion, and former Formula One driver, Brendon Hartley makes his all-electric debut with Geox Dragon in the 2019/20 campaign of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. 

Nico Muller – Switzerland

Nico Muller gets his first full-time drive in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with Geox Dragon. The Swiss driver joins Brendon Hartley for the teams sixth campaign in the 2019/20 season.

 

Mahindra Racing

Jerome d’Ambrosio – Belgium 

Having driven in every Formula E race since the series started in 2014, d'Ambrosio is one of the most experienced all-electric street racing drivers on the grid. The experienced Belgian returns to pilot Indian team Mahindra’s car with three wins and nine podium finishes to his credit.

Pascal Wehrlein – Germany/Mauritius 

Holding the record as the youngest driver in the German Touring Car Masters and the youngest winner of the title. After ADAC Formula Masters and Formula 3 he raced two full seasons in Formula 1 for Manor Racing and Sauber F1. He is racing together with seasoned Formula E racer Jérôme d’Armbrosio for Indian team Mahindra for a second season. So far he has one podium finish.

 

 

 

Mercedes-Benz EQ

Stoffel Vandoorne – Belgium 

Vandoorne embarks on his second campaign in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with the debutant Mercedes-Benz EQ team after a successful first season with HWA Racelab with one podium finish. Prior to Formula E, Vandoorne climbed through the ranks of F4 Eurocup and GP2 to stepping in as a replacement driver for Fernando Alonso for the Williams Formula 1 team. 

Nyck De Vries – The Netherlands

Young single-seater hotshot Nyck de Vries joins the Mercedes-Benz EQ after completing rookie tests with Audi, NIO and Envision Virgin Racing. The young driver started in motorsport at an early winning back-to-back Karting World Championship in 2010 and 2011, de Vries stepped up to single-seater racing in Formula Renault 2.0, then Formula 2 and drove in Formula 1 support series.

 

Nio 333

Oliver Turvey – UK 

Despite securing both Super Pole Positions in the London double header in season 2, Turvey has yet to win a Formula E race with car trouble in season 2 and 3. He is sure to be hungry for more podiums than the one he has been on to date, he will drive the NIO car to its limits. 

Ma Qing Hua - China

Ma Qing Hua is a Chinese racing driver who has been competing internationally since 2005. He is most famous for making a number of free practice appearances in Formula 1 during test driver stints at HRT and Caterham. Ma already has experience in Formula E, having raced for Team Aguri in 2015 and then for Techeetah in 2016/17. 

 

Nissan e.dams

Oliver Rowland – UK 

After a successful debut season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, which saw him clinch the Rookie of the Year award and two podiums, Rowland embarks on his second season with Nissan e.dams, once again partnering with veteran driver Sebastien Buemi.

Sebastien Buemi – Switzerland 

After a season-long battle with Lucas Di Grassi, Buemi claimed the season 2 title, but was unable to defend it in season 3. Last season he missed out again finished second behind Jean-Eric Vergne. He has stood on Formula E podium’s around the world a whopping 25 times, 13 of those on the top. He is a competitor the other drivers will look out for.  

 

 

 

Panasonic Jaguar Racing

Mitch Evans – New Zealand 

Winning the New Zealand Grand Prix at age 16, Evans got his schooling in the GP3 and GP 2 series before joining Jaguar for the marque’s entry in Formula E. He has one win and four podiums to his name. 

James Calado - British

Ferrari World Endurance Championship driver James Calado has been signed to race alongside Mitch Evans at the Jaguar Formula E squad in 2019/20. Calado, who finished second in the 2011 GP3 championship and third in the '13 GP2 series before joining Ferrari's AF Corse sportscar squad, will make his FE debut in the upcoming campaign.

 

Tag Heuer Porsche 

Andre Lotterer – German 

Andre Lotterer moves from DS Techeetah to Porsche after two successful years with the Franco-Chinese team. The German driver is reunited with former endurance racing teammate Neel Jani at Porsche ahead of the 2019/20 season. His career in the series included three victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the drivers' title of the FIA World Endurance Championship. He has four Formula E podiums under his belt.

Neel Jani – Switzerland

Jani joins the German powerhouse manufacturer as it makes its debut in Formula E. He has been a Porsche works driver since 2013 and at the wheel of the Porsche 919 Hybrid he took outright victory at Le Mans in 2016 and became FIA World Endurance Champion the same year.

 

Venturi Formula E

Felipe Massa – Brazil 

Massa joined Formula E from the fifth season, debuting in the electric racing machine in Saudi Arabia December 15 last year. So far he has one podium in Formula E but the Formula 1 legend with 11 wins to his name feels he has much to prove this year.

Edoardo Mortara – Switzerland 

The Swiss driver joined Formula E for season four after success in the German Touring Car Masters and Formula 3, where he won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix two years in a row. He has so far won once and been podiumed three times.