Nyck de Vries’s return to the Formula E World Championship has not come as much of a surprise to many following the Dutchman’s brief stint in Formula 1, having been given the sack by AlphaTauri after just 10 races.
More surprising is his return to the all-electric championship comes with Mahindra, given the Indian manufacturer’s recent and unimpressive form. A quick look at last year’s teams’ standings makes for grim reading, showing that Mahindra finished 10th out of 11 teams. The 11th? Customer squad Abt Cupra.
It might seem like a fall from grace for de Vries, who won the 2020-21 Formula E title and four races during a three-year spell with Mercedes prior to his move into F1. The 28-year-old’s services certainly would not have been in short supply up and down the Formula E grid given his previous success, but the fact de Vries has gone with Mahindra hints of a bigger picture.
Frederic Bertrand has been in his role as Mahindra’s chief executive officer for just short of a year after leaving his position at the FIA, where he served as its director of Formula E, but has already made big changes and even bigger statements during that time.
This has included parting ways with Lucas di Grassi after just one season, while ties were also cut with Oliver Rowland after just nine races in 2023. As outlined earlier this year, Bertrand’s vision to make Mahindra a successful and winning Formula E team again spans three years, and which fundamentally involves developing the team into a manufacturer, rather than the other way around.
Expanding its Banbury base, hiring new staff and increasing morale have been some of the short-term goals, all of which has all helped persuade de Vries and new team-mate Edoardo Mortara to join Mahindra.
“That’s what we collectively believe in,” de Vries exclusively tells Autosport about the team’s vision. “I think it shouldn’t be underestimated that the team already has great fundamentals but it’s just about getting everybody together on the right path. And with some changes and additional recruitment I think we can only enhance and speed up that learning and development. We collectively believe in this project.”
Source: Autosport