After WEC announcement: McLaren plans to withdraw from Formula E in 2026, according to media report

McLaren will no longer be on the grid in the Gen4 era of Formula E. This is reported by the colleagues at The Race. However, team principal Ian James is to continue to lead the team - with new investors and under a different name. It would be the fourth name of the team that James has led since entering the electric series in autumn 2018.

According to the report, McLaren CEO Zak Brown is said to have informed the management of the Formula E team at the Jeddah E-Prix in February that the joint collaboration will end after four seasons at the end of the upcoming 2025-26 season. The deal with title sponsor Neom, the planned city in Saudi Arabia, is also set to end at this point and will not be extended.

The Ian James-led Formula E team will enter its fourth era if it succeeds in reorganising itself for the Gen4 era. The team originally debuted under the name HWA Racelab, but became Mercedes EQ after just one season, followed by its sale to McLaren three years later.

The reason is said to be McLaren's entry into the hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship in 2027, which was announced around a fortnight ago. Further details on the project are expected to be announced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. These are also expected to include James Barclay - currently still Jaguar team principal in Formula E - heading up the sports car project for the papaya-coloured team.

Hyundai works team in 2028 at the earliest

In addition to new investors, McLaren is also looking for a new powertrain supplier: The contract with Nissan expires at the end of the Gen3 era. James is said to be talking to all the manufacturers currently registered in Formula E for the period from the end of 2026 - Jaguar, Lola Yamaha, Nissan, Porsche and Stellantis - about a contract as a customer team.

In addition, talks with Hyundai are also said to have been held, as was announced at the end of last year. However, the Koreans would not be able to enter the electric series until 2028 at the earliest due to their current WEC project. It is conceivable that the team will already be entering its fifth era in Formula E by then.

McLaren's track record in Formula E has so far been manageable: in 37 races, the team, which won both world championship titles in 2021 and 2022 under the name Mercedes-EQ, has only managed a single race win by Sam Bird in Sao Paulo, with Rene Rast, Jake Hughes and Taylor Barnard achieving a total of five further podium finishes. In the 2024-25 Formula E World Championship, the team is in third place in the teams' standings after the fifth round of the season.