Mercedes has announced it will withdraw from Formula E at the end of Season 8 in 2022.
The German manufacturer only officially joined the electric series at the start of Season 6 in 2019 and last weekend secured both the Drivers’ with Nyck de Vries and Constructors’ Championship in a dramatic finale in Berlin.
However, on the morning of the race, it was reported Mercedes had made the decision not to continue in Formula E when the new Gen3 cars are introduced for Season 9.
And on Wednesday, the news was confirmed by the Brixworth-based team.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we have committed ourselves to fight climate change at full force in this decade,” Markus Schafer, board member for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz said in a statement.
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“This demands the accelerated transformation of our company, products and services towards an emission-free and software-driven future, and to achieve this, we must give full focus to our core activities.
“In motorsport, Formula E has been a good driver for proving our expertise and establishing our Mercedes-EQ brand, but in the future, we will keep pushing technological progress – especially on the electric drive side – focusing on Formula 1.
“It is the arena where we constantly test our technology in the most intense competition the automotive world has to offer – and the three-pointed star hardly shines brighter anywhere else.
“F1 offers rich potential for technology transfer… and our team and the entire series will achieve net-zero status by the end of the decade.”
This is a big win for F1, which has struggled to gain the attention of manufacturers, while Formula E saw its grid grow significantly in recent years.
That has begun to change, however, with Mercedes now the third brand, after Audi and BMW, to pull out in less than a year.
At the same time, F1 is trying to attract itself to those OEM’s as it shapes its next-generation power unit from 2025/26, with electrical power output expected to be much more significant and the introduction of 100% sustainable fuels.
“We entered Formula E with an open mind about the series and its innovative approach to motorsport,” Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff added.
“A lot of hard work went into building the team and making it competitive – and we have seen an incredible group of talented women and men deliver at the highest level.
“We can be proud of our achievements and especially the double world championship won last weekend in Berlin, which will stand as a historic milestone in the long motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz.
“We will be giving everything to make sure that we finish our Formula E adventure in style.”
Formula E has confirmed it is working with Mercedes to find potential buyers for the team to keep the current 24-car grid for Season 9.