It's Round 5 of Season 9 and we're off to a new location for the second consecutive race. Hear from NEOM McLaren Formula E drivers Jake Hughes and René Rast, and Team Principal Ian James as they prepare for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix. 

Key info

Round	5
When	24 - 25 February
Where	Cape Town, South Africa

"I’m really looking forward to racing in Cape Town, it’s one of the races that I’ve been most excited for since the calendar was announced. I’ve always wanted to visit the city, so to have a race there on the coastline and around the stadium will make for a fantastic event. For Formula E, to have another race in Africa is crucial and very exciting.

"The track looks quite fast, flowing and very risk versus reward, which is something I’ve always enjoyed about street circuits. I am going into the weekend with confidence, the result wasn’t there in India, but there were reasons for that. The goal again is to get both cars into the points, we’ve looked very strong over one lap in qualifying, and I believe that it is something that we can achieve, with the support of all the team."

"I’m looking forward to Cape Town. It’s one of my favourite cities, so I’m very happy to be racing there. From a racing perspective, I am excited about it as we have been looking quite strong so far, especially our qualifying performance seems to be good. I’m optimistic, despite not getting the results we hoped for in India. Hopefully our pace is something we can continue and we can get some more points. I’m looking forward to the event, hopefully we have a good one."

Ian James, Team Principal

"Race week is upon us again and we’re heading to the second new race location on the calendar for this season: Cape Town. We are all very excited to come to this amazing place, seeing us visit yet another continent in 2023. It’s great for the championship, it’s stakeholders and the fans to be able to race here this weekend.

"Our most recent outing, in Hyderabad, wasn’t what we wanted it to be from a results perspective. Despite the performance of the package being strong for the majority of the weekend, we lost a lot of valuable points through a combination of mistakes and misfortune.

"We’re confident we have done our homework, and in the past I have seen this team learn and grow from their mistakes, so there is no doubt in my mind that the team will perform to the best of its abilities this weekend. I’m super excited and looking forward to the opportunity to set things right in Cape Town."

When and where to watch

Free Practice 1 (24 February)	16:55 local / 14:55 MTC
Free Practice 2 (25 February)	09:05 local / 07:05 MTC
Qualifying (25 February)	11:40 local / 09:40 MTC
Race (25 February)	16:03 local / 14:03 MTC

• Free Practices: Channel 4 Sport YouTube, Eurosport Player, Formula E YouTube

• Qualifying: Channel 4 Sport YouTube, Eurosport 2 (delayed), Eurosport Player

• Race: Channel 4 Sport YouTube, Eurosport 1, Eurosport Player

Find the broadcast options in your territory here. 

Don’t miss out on any of the action and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram. 

SERIES ARTICLE BIG

Join the team

McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan loyalty programme, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programmes in F1 & esports.

Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.