Mercedes is preparing to leave Formula E at the end of the 2022 season after the conclusion of the latest internal talks by Daimler board members over whether to commit to a Gen3 programme.
The Race understands that the final decision, which is likely to be made public next month, is set to confirm that Mercedes will join fellow German brands Audi and BMW in leaving the new world championship as an official manufacturer next summer.
The move would bring to an end Mercedes’ formal Formula E involvement after just three seasons, and leave Porsche as the sole German factory team involved in the Gen3 era.
Speaking to selected media at the Berlin E-Prix on Sunday, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff confirmed that a decision had recently been made but would not explicitly disclose exactly what it was.
“The decision has been taken, but we’re not going to communicate anything let’s say today,” said Wolff.
He called the reasoning over Mercedes’ Formula E future “an internal thing that we need to understand for us”.
Wolff added: “Does this work or not? And if you say, ‘yeah, it does work,’ then you can still go and speak with the series and say, ‘we believe that this needs to change’ and ‘we believe that qualifying groups shouldn’t cause so much variability and unpredictability.’
“Whatever our input is, and they can listen, take it on board or not.
“But it’s mainly for us making up our mind what we want to do in terms of motor racing going forward.”
If ultimately confirmed, the decision is set to be a major blow for Formula E as it will mean that one of the championship’s highest profile and biggest spending manufacturers will forsake its position in the series and potentially reduce the 2022/23 season’s grid to just 20 cars.
That is because the licence previously owned by Audi is presently idle, although The Race understands that new interested parties are holding talks with Formula E in the coming weeks for a potential 2023 entry.
Mercedes’ exit will be seen as a shock in many quarters as the current drivers’ championship leader was initially tipped to commit to the new Gen3 rules set that will begin at the end of 2022.
