Opel has announced that 16-time race winner Mitch Evans will spearhead its entry into Formula E in the 2026-27 season.
The Kiwi joins the German manufacturer after spending a full decade at Jaguar’s factory team, where he claimed the all-time wins record but fell short of winning the championship on several occasions.
He will join 2023 Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire, who will be making his Formula E debut after racing for sister brand Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship this year.
Evans is understood to have agreed a deal with Opel in the summer, having revealed back in April that he will be departing Jaguar. But the Stellantis brand opted to wait until after the end of the 2025-26 season to announce his signing.
“I am proud to be an Opel works driver and to be part of this new chapter in Formula E. It’s great that we can finally make this step official,” said Evans. “After 10 years with a manufacturer, it was time for me to take on a fresh challenge.
“The leap to the GEN4 cars represents the perfect moment to start something new. I immediately felt how much energy and passion Opel is putting into the Formula E project. The team isn’t just coming into the series to compete: Opel is here to win, and that’s exactly what I aspire to.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
“Score to settle”
Evans and Jaguar entered Formula E together in 2016-17, forming one of the most successful partnerships in the series’ history.
But their relationship was strained by several near-misses, with Evans coming agonisingly close to the title on multiple occasions. Most notably in 2023-24, both he and then team-mate Nick Cassidy lost out to Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, leading him to remark that “my own team was working against me” in the championship fight.
Evans and Jaguar have since largely repaired their relationship, with the Kiwi playing a key role in helping the manufacturer win the teams’ title for a second time this season.
As Evans embarks on an ambitious new chapter with Opel in Gen4, the 32-year-old is targeting a drivers’ title that has eluded him so far in his Formula E career.
“The world championship title clearly remains the big goal for me, in this respect I still have a score to settle in Formula E,” he said.
“That’s exactly why the move to Opel feels like the right new challenge for me. Starting a new Formula E generation with a new team and being successful right away is anything but a matter of course, but that’s exactly what appeals to me.
“I want to contribute my experience from 10 years of Formula E and play a strong role in the world championship together with Opel and Theo.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing
Photo by: Oscar Lumley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Opel replaces DS
Opel will become Stellantis’ second brand in Formula E next season, effectively taking the place vacated by DS’s departure from the championship.
But while Citroen took over the existing Maserati MSG operation, Opel is building a race team from scratch, while also helping Stellantis develop the new Gen4 powertrain that will jointly be used by both of the group’s factory teams.
“We have secured our dream team. Mitch Evans was the preferred candidate for our Opel GSE Formula E Team from the very beginning. His commitment once again underlines the seriousness of the entire project,” said Opel motorsport director and team principal Jorg Schrott.
“We have already met Mitch on and off the racetrack. In addition to his undisputed exceptional sporting pedigree, he also fits perfectly into our team as a person.
“After so many years with another manufacturer, he was deliberately looking for a new challenge. Now the Opel family and Mitch are taking this next step together.
“In doing so, we are sending a clear message: We are joining the world championship to challenge at the front.”
Meanwhile, the team Jay Penske ran in collaboration with departing Stellantis brand DS is yet to communicate its future, as it ponders whether to enter Gen4 as a manufacturer in its own right or buy an off-the-shelf powertrain from an existing supplier.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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