Formula E considers reduction of starting licences: "There is a very strong argument for that"

Following the withdrawal of McLaren at the end of last season, Formula E will have to start season 12 with a reduced field. After it was recently announced that Citroen Racing will now compete instead of Maserati MSG Racing, only ten teams and a field of 20 cars will start the coming season. Formula E sees this as a bitter pill to swallow and is confident that there could be twelve teams on the grid again at the start of the Gen4 era. But who is eligible for the two remaining starting licences and what led to McLaren not being able to find a suitable investor?

For the first time since the 2017/18 season, there will once again only be ten teams on the grid next season. McLaren announced its withdrawal from the championship in April. Despite an extensive search, no investor was found to take over the team. One reason for this was that Maserati MSG Racing had been struggling financially for several seasons and was simply ahead of McLaren in the queue for new investors. A combination that ultimately spelt the end for the team.

James: "The situation has limited our options"

Former McLaren team principal Ian James described the situation on The Race: "I can't go into the contractual details for obvious reasons, but certainly there was a complexity throughout because of various different agreements and situations which certainly hindered the opportunities for us," said the Briton, who was recently confirmed as the new team principal of Jaguar TCS Racing.

"To expect a new team to join in the final year of a generation is silly. That's not going to happen," Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds, on the other hand, had very little hope from the outset that McLaren would find a new investor before season 12.

This means that two starting licences are once again in the possession of Formula E. Rumours have been circulating for several months that Stellantis would like to secure a licence at the start of the Gen4 era in order to bring the Opel brand to the starting grid in the future. It was only recently announced that MSG Racing will compete under the Citroen Racing name from Season 12. Stellantis would therefore potentially have two irons in the fire from the Gen4 era onwards.

Dodds: "Why not reduce starting licences if there are fewer teams?"

The twelfth starting licence would therefore still remain. Within Formula E, however, this is not seen as an emergency - rather the opposite. Dodds even brings up the possibility of reducing the number of licences if there are no twelve teams in the future: "If it wasn't 12, and it was 11, then there's a very strong argument to say, 'Why don't for Gen4, we tap out 11?' That way we are a number of licences that match the number of teams and we create scarcity through degeneration. I think there is a very strong argument for that."

"But it's a little early to make the call," he continues. "The teams need to go through the process of signing up for Gen4 over the next six months. We've got a little bit of a window left on manufacturer sign up for Gen4, just a little bit. I think within probably the next three or four months, we'll know the answer."

Laudenbach: "I don't see it necessary right now"

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach also commented on the subject on The Race: "If you really saw that the interest is not there, it would probably be the right way to reduce the amount of licences. I think it would still be healthy. To me, a figure between 10 and 12 is fine, as a series. It can work with 10, it can perfectly work with 12, it can work with 11."

"But in order to judge whether it makes sense to reduce them, it's really down to how big is the interest of other manufacturers, investors, whatever, in buying one of these licences," Laudenbach continues. "And from all my talks with Formula E and with Jeff [Dodds], they are very open to any solution. I think they are very much interested really in having it stable and healthy. I don't see it necessary right now, with the information that I've got, that we need to reduce it now to keep it stable."

In the eleven years of its history, Formula E has already proven several times how steadfast and ambitious it can be. For the final season with the Gen3 Evo cars, the bitter pill has been swallowed and only ten teams will be taking part. The pre-season test will take place next month, while the official starting signal for season 12 will be given on 6 December in Sao Paulo.