Maximilian Günther will return to the BMW i Andretti Motorsport Formula E team for the 2020–2021 season, while Alexander Sims will move to Mahindra.
Both drivers were winners in the series’ Season 6 that ended in Berlin last week; Sims won the season opener at Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and Günther won at both Santiago and Berlin. As reported here earlier, while the team and both drivers went into the six-race Berlin event as strong contenders, the event was a rough one for BMW outside of Günther’s win; as a result, he dropped to ninth in drivers’ points for the season while Sims finished thirteenth.
BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt said, “I’m delighted to take on the next Formula E season with Maximilian Günther. It is incredibly valuable for the team to have a driver so focused, professional, and fast despite his young age at BMW i Andretti Motorsport. His two victories this season in Santiago and Berlin were real highlights. Maximilian will build on the experience gained in Season 6. The team and he will be even better in tune with each other. All this will hopefully lead to even more success on the racetrack. As far as the departure of Alexander Sims is concerned, the key thing for me is that we go our separate ways in Formula E by mutual agreement. We had two great seasons together. Alexander has matured from a rookie to a winner at BMW i Andretti Motorsport. It was a great pleasure to watch him during his big weekend in Diriyah. We regret that we won’t race together next season, wish him all the best for the next chapter in his Formula E career, and look forward to the sporting contest on the track.”
Sims, who is replacing Jerome d’Ambrosio at Mahindra, said, “I’m delighted to be joining Mahindra Racing and continuing my Formula E campaign. It is an exciting opportunity to bring on the team’s package and challenge for strong results. Promoting sustainability and electric mobility is important to me personally and competing in Formula E provides a strong, innovative, and forward-looking platform to raise awareness. I want to thank BMW i Andretti Motorsport for all its support during the past two seasons and wish the team well for the future. It’s been a huge learning curve coming into Formula E—it’s such a different discipline in motorsport and brings with it great new challenges. I’m excited to continue learning and to use my knowledge to support Mahindra Racing in the upcoming season.”
Season 7 of the ABB Formula E championship begins on January 16 in Santiago, Chile, and ends on July 24–25 in London. The series returns to Brooklyn, NY on July 10. The schedule for the entire season is shown here.—Brian S. Morgan
[Photos courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
