Today we have a look at the 11 teams and 22 drivers strong 2018-2019 Formula E grid for the  season. The fifth season of the electric championship has introduced some exciting changes. The star of the show will be the Gen2, a single-seater with an innovative design and some revolutionary features such as the so-called ‘attack mode‘.

As far as teams are concerned, there are also new additions such as BMW, Nissan (in replacement of Renault) and HWA, all of which will increase the competitive level on the track. It remains to see if Jean-Eric Vergne manages to be the first driver to defend the coveted Formula E crown.

DS Techeetah

The DS Techeetah team came in second last year, two points behind Audi. The partnership of the Techeetah company and the French car manufacturer DS is bound to bear fruit. They also have current champion: Jean-Eric Vergne.

To date, nobody has been able to retain the title for two consecutive years. We’ll see if the French driver, included in the 2018-201 Formula E grid, can be the first one to do so. Vergne teammate will be Andre Lotterer. The German driver was eighth last season with 64 points and came in second in Santiago de Chile and third in Rome.

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffle 

The Audi  ABT Schaeffle has been part of the Formula E World Championship since its first edition in 2014 and is one of the favourite teams on the 2018-2019 Formula E grid .

Envision Virgin Racing 

Envision Virgin Racing, third at last year’s Constructors Championship is one of the two British teams on the grid of the Formula E 2018-2019 season. The team, which is the result of a partnership between Virgin and the digital energy company Envision Group, will be led by driver Sam Bird.

The Briton, who came third last year with 143 points, has taken part in the E-Championship on three occasions, all of them with Virgin. This time he will have Dutch driver Robin Frijns as teammate.

Mahindra Racing

The Indian team, one of the championship’s classics, brings new faces to its fifth season. Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist and  Nick Heidfeld have both been let go, despite their successes. 

For this season they have signed Belgian driver Jerome d’Ambrosio, from the Dragon team, who will couple with rookie and former F1 driver, Pascal Wehrlein. The Indian car maker sees racing as a testing ground for the development of new technology to bring back to their civilian vehicles.

Nissan e.dams 

The Japanese manufacturer Nissan enters the Formula E 2018-2019 grid as Renault’s replacement and in partnership with e.dams. They have won four of the five team crowns and hope to maintain their dominance with their new Asian partners.

With that goal in mind, the team is keeping their 2015-2016 champion: Sebastien Buemi. The Swiss veteran will have Oliver Rowland, Nico Prost’s replacement, by his side.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing 

The second British team on the upcoming season’s grid is Panasonic. This will be their third year in Formula E and they will be hoping to improve on the sixth place (119 points) they achieved last year.

Panasonic is keeping both its drivers; winner of the E-Championship in 2014-2015, Nelson Piquet, and New Zealander Mitch Evans. The dream of a first victory for Jaguar is not far-fetched.

Venturi Fórmula E Team

The Monegasque manufacturer, whose electric vehicles have beaten speed records, remains one of the pillars of the event. It joined the competition right at the start and, although they have never taken the victory, this could easily change.

Firm owner, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, has brought together an exciting couple. Their new recruit, former Brazilian Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa could be the perfect match for Edoardo Mortara, 13th in 2017-2018 with 29 points. 

NIO

NIO evolved from Team China Racing, with which Nelson Piquet won the first edition of the championship in 2014-2015.

This year, Oliver Turvey will drive with the team for a second time after finishing in 10th position last year and obtaining a second place in Mexico. His teammate will be Frenchman Tom Dillmann, from Venturi.

GEOX Dragon

Founded in 2007, Dragon is one of the central axes of the competition since its inception. After finishing seventeenth with 14 points last season, José María ‘Pechito‘ López faces his second year with the American team.

Together with his teammate, German debutant Maximilian Gunther, they aspire to improve on the penultimate position of the Jay Penske’s team last year.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport

BMW i Andretti Motorsport will no doubt be one of the grid’s favourites. The synergy between the German giant, in Formula E from the start, and the experienced American team, is expected to pay off on the track. The German manufacturer is here to stay.

Their dream: To one day dominate the ‘eco-racing’ category. Rookie Alex Sims and Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa, fifteenth with twenty points last season, will attempt to break ‘the curse’ of the team.

The Andretti drivers have climbed up the podium on five occasions, but never to the very top. This could change with the help of the Germans.

HWA Racelab

The eleventh and last addition to the 2018-2019 Formula E grid is called HWA. Beware the German team! Its parent company, HWA AG, develops components for Mercedes-AMG. They also have a long and successful career within other racing disciplines.

They own, for instance, the most successful team in the history of the German Touring Car Championship or DTM. They also participate in Formula 3 and various GT races.

The team also counts with two heavyweights within their ranks: Recent winner of the DTM, Briton Gary Paffett, and former F1 driver and partner to Fernando Alonso at McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne.