Formula E: DS Penske extends contracts with Vergne & Vandoorne for 2024 season

DS Penske will also compete in the 2024 Formula E season with Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne. The Franco-Belgian duo, who already competed together for the black and gold team last year, was officially presented by the squad on Thursday. Together, the team wants to find its way back to success.

163 points, only one win, 5th in the overall standings: the 2023 Formula E season was for DS Penske, measured against its usually high expectations, a clear disappointment. Nevertheless, in 2024 the team is banking on consistency, at least with regard to the driver pairing: As DS announced on Thursday, Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne will also compete together in Formula E next year.

The decision to extend the contracts of both drivers had been expected for months. "I am very happy to continue my adventure with DS Penske," commented Vergne, who has been associated with the French manufacturer from the Stellantis Group since 2015. "I love racing, and above all, I love winning: this is a very special feeling that I want to experience again with the team. I have a real relationship of trust with the engineers and the mechanics; their dedication and hard work is truly inspiring."

Vergne & Vandoorne "a solid duo"

Vergne's ambitions for the new year are clear: "At the start of a season, all the points go back to zero. With Stoffel, we form a solid duo. We had a couple of good races, and we are working extremely hard to come back to the top. We have just got to try to do better, and we will not stop until we do. My absolute focus and determination are at the highest, and my motivation is higher than ever to bring home some more titles with this fantastic team!"

Vandoorne, who did not finish higher than 11th overall last season after winning the 2022 World Championship, is also hoping for new successes. After a year in the service of the Franco-Belgian alliance, better results are now due, he knows: "JEV and I are one of the best duos on the scene. We have made some significant steps over the last season, and we are getting stronger together! Consistency in performance is our aim for this coming season. The ultimate goal is to win the championship. I am excited to help continue to build on that momentum and pick up plenty of trophies with the team."

DS to present car livery on 9 October

The team's aim, it said in a press release, was to return to the "highest level of competition from the first race". "We had some high points last year with victory in India, podiums in Cape Town and Berlin, and pole position at Sao Paulo, but we also experienced some more difficult moments," said DS motorsport boss Eugenio Franzetti, assessing the situation. "However, our drivers were consistently fast and always determined to deliver their very best, both on and off the track. For those reasons, we are very happy to continue this adventure along with our two champions."

The unofficial kick-off for DS' new Formula E season will be on 9 October, when the team unveils the new livery of the DS E-TENSE FE23, unchanged at least on the hardware side. This will be followed by the collective pre-season testing in Spain (24-27 October) before the cars are shipped to Mexico City for the season opener (13 January).

Overview: The Formula E driver field for the 2024 season

italic = rumour, driver unconfirmed