After Formula E retirement: Lucas di Grassi plans the next stage of his career

Lucas di Grassi announced at the end of April that he would be ending his career as a racing driver after the current season. However, the Formula E veteran is by no means thinking about retirement: behind the scenes, the Brazilian is already working on his future in motorsport - primarily with his current team Lola Yamaha ABT, and perhaps even with the FIA in the long run.

For over a decade, Lucas di Grassi shaped Formula E like no other driver. However, at the age of 41, the champion of the third Formula E season has announced that he will end his involvement in the cockpit at the end of the 2025/2026 season. As di Grassi revealed to e-Formula.news now, the decision was a logical step. After 30 years of racing where his thoughts were exclusively focused on achieving faster lap times, he has decided to shift his focus.

"I feel good, feeling in peace with my announcement. It was something that I planned for a long time and I feel the opportunity is right. Basically the decision was made because I think I could add now more value outside of the car than inside."

The fact that the transition was carefully prepared comes as no surprise. While many professional athletes look for new challenges after the end of their career, the Monegasque-by-choice had already been thinking about his time after racing for years. In addition to studying at Harvard University, he has already gained plenty of experience at management level as CEO of the Roborace racing series and the eSkootr championship.

Focus on Lola Yamaha ABT

Di Grassi is currently keeping his exact future role under wraps. However, when talking to FE Notebook, he dismissed speculation about a possible role with the FIA. However, he does not want to rule out this option for the future. "Whatever I decide, I want to be hands-on for at least the next 10, 15 years and build something that creates a lot of value," he said.

For the time being, the veteran will focus on the new Lola Yamaha ABT project. In his future role, he wants to help the team achieve sporting success and at the same time strategically advance the Formula E World Championship as a whole.

"Gen4 is primed to build a bigger, better team", he added. "So I think Gen4 will be a game changer and that's where the opportunity lies. I think I could add way more outside than driving the Gen4. We can bring new drivers in. It's a good transition phase. But this opportunity of a big change like from Gen3 to Gen4 you can only get once every four years."

He may be retiring from racing, but the enterprising mastermind will remain in Formula E in a new role for at least a few years.