McLaren will leave the Formula Electric Championship and at the end of the 2024/25 season to focus on Formula 1, Indycar and a new project for the debut at the WEC (World Endurance Championship), from 2027.
McLaren, the current world champion of Formula 1 builders, said in a statement on Friday (25) that the decision, after three seasons in Formula and followed a strategic overhaul of the operation.
“It’s the right time to explore other opportunities that are more closely aligning with McLaren Racing’s general strategic direction – in which our entry in 2027 in the FIA (International Automobile Federation) World Endurance Championship,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“For now, we are focused on preparing this great team for future success, working to ensure a new owner.”
A spokesman for the Formula and said that McLaren is still able to continue until the end of the current was Gen3 of the category in 2026.
McLaren is aiming at the so -called triple crown in motor racing, with the victory in the F1 Monaco GP, the 24 hours of Le Mans and the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.
Formula E, a ten -year -old category that started with street races in cities and also has a stage in Monaco, lacks a truly remarkable event.
Jeff Dodds, executive director of Liberty Global’s electric series, said brands come and go, and although losing McLaren is a blow, there is an opportunity for another manufacturer to get involved.
“I can’t brown the pill, it’s bad news,” he told journalists in a videochamada. “We cannot deny that McLaren is a powerful brand in motorsport and therefore we would prefer them to continue in the championship,” said the executive.
“But we currently have six manufacturers in the championship, and five of them have signed and committed to Gen4. And these are not small manufacturers: Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Stellantis Group, Yamaha, are great manufacturers recognized globally. So I think we’re in a very good position.”
McLaren itself has already taken over the Mercedes team in the formula and when the German automaker decided to leave the category in late 2022 to focus on Formula 1.
Audi and BMW have also come and have been over the years and Dodds said it is a complicated time for manufacturers, with tariffs and uncertainties in the global market, but it is a storm that the category will exceed.
Liberty Global, he added, has a long -term approach to his investment, with the formula and with a global base of nearly 400 million fans.
The McLaren team in Formula E, sponsored by Neom, Saudi Arabia, was founded in 2019 and operated separately, under the leadership of Ian James, Formula 1 and Indycar teams. She is third in the overall classification after five rounds.
“McLaren is what I would call a purely client team,” said Dodds. “The power train comes from the very successful Nissan team. In this sense, it is a branding exercise for McLaren.”
