After first setting foot into the world of electric racing in the 2022 Extreme E championship, Formula E was always the logical next step, and CEO Zak Brown says we couldn't turn down the opportunity to acquire two-time champions Mercedes-EQ.

Mercedes-EQ won the 2021 and 2022 championships, taking seven wins and 22 podiums across a highly successful three seasons in the series.

The newly formed NEOM McLaren Formula E Team will utilise their knowledge and experience to attack the 2023 championship, with Zak saying that acquiring the team and a large proportion of their staff – including Team Principal Ian James and Team Manager Gary Paffett - will help to shortcut our transition.

"Of course, we still have a lot to learn, but it was a fantastic opportunity to acquire the team that's won the last two championships, and to keep the team intact, led by Ian James, who's very successfully led them to their last two world championships," Zak said.

"The team has been there and done it, and Mercedes were already a great partner of ours in Formula 1, who have a great history with us, which also makes this special.

"Mercedes were happy for us to be the custodians of this team and the new owners and to make it McLaren. It was important for them that they looked after their people, and they are now McLaren members, so it worked out really well."

Formula E is entering a new era in Season 9, with the Gen3 car set to shuffle up the field, increasing speed, power and performance through technological advancements, making it an ideal time for a new team to join and become competitive in a shorter time frame.

"We felt it was a great opportunity to hit the ground running with an existing team that already knows how to win," continued Zak. "There's a bit of a reset going on, and we decided to enter in.

"In a very short period of time, we saw how successful Extreme E was for our fans, our employees, and our partners, so we felt we should double down because sustainability is really important to us."

René Rast and Jake Hughes will partner up in papaya for the 2023 campaign, forming a classic combination of experience and youth.

Rast arrives with an extensive motorsport CV: the German is a three-time DTM title winner (2017, 2019 and 2020) and has prior experience in FE, scoring a podium for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in the 2020/21 season.

The 34-year-old has also enjoyed overall wins at the 2012 and 2014 24 Hours of Spa, the 2014 24 Hours of Nürburgring and class wins at the 2012 and 2016 24 Hours of Daytona.

Jake steps up to a full-time drive, having spent the past two seasons as a Reserve and Development Driver for Mercedes-EQ, making significant contributions to their title wins with his input in debriefs, sim sessions and at race events.

The British racer has more than 10 years of experience in junior single-seaters as a former BRDC Formula 4 title winner and in both Formula 3 and Formula 2.

"René is a champion," Zak continued. "He is recognised to be an extremely fast racing driver, and he is experienced. He's also been in Formula E, and we were very happy to get René . Meanwhile, Jake has a great history with Mercedes-EQ as their Reserve and Development Driver.

"Ian felt he and the engineers knew Jake well. He had done a lot of development work for them and had earned his opportunity. It's great, and I'm looking forward to seeing both of them on the grid next year."

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