Report: Ian James becomes new Formula E team principal at Jaguar after McLaren withdrawal

Just a few days after the news that no new investor had been found for the current McLaren team in Formula E, team boss Ian James is said to have found a new employer in the electric series for the coming season. As reported by Il Messaggero, the Briton will become the new team principal at Jaguar, succeeding James Barclay, who will join the endurance racing project at McLaren.

After nine seasons, an era is coming to an end in a few weeks: the Jaguar team is losing its long-standing team principal in James Barclay. The South African was with Jaguar for twelve years, managing the works team from day one in the electric series and leading it to its first team world championship title last season. However, he decided to turn his back on Formula E in the spring and instead head up McLaren's LMDh project in the World Endurance Championship.

His successor has now been announced: Ian James, currently still Team Principal at Neom McLaren. The Briton also has many years of experience as a team principal in Formula E: from 2019 to 2022, he led the Mercedes EQ Team, with which he won a total of four world championship titles - two each for the teams and drivers.

A lot of experience

When the team was sold to McLaren following the German manufacturer's withdrawal at the end of the Gen2 era, James remained in charge for three seasons. James was also Chairman of the Formula E Team and Manufacturers Association (FETAMA) from 2022 to 2024.

A lot of work awaits him at Jaguar: the team struggled considerably with the new Gen3 Evo powertrain, particularly in the early stages of the season, and little remains of the dominance of the past two seasons. Nevertheless, the team has already won four races this season. After two victories in Berlin by Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, Jaguar is back in fourth place overall after 14 of 16 races.