McLaren Formula E team thinking beyond papaya

Ian James has been here before. At the end of the 2021-22 season, Mercedes withdrew from Formula E, leaving its back-to-back double championship-winning team searching for a backer. Now the same thing is happening again, only this time it's McLaren – who stepped in to fill the Mercedes-shaped void previously – that is walking away, while title sponsor NEOM isn’t expected to be returning either.

“I think that when we made the transition last time around, or even when the decision was taken, we were just coming out the back of the pandemic,” James tells RACER. “Nobody was really sure about the direction in which the world was going at the time, and what impact that would have on especially such a young sport.

“But having said that, we found a solution for the future of the team which worked incredibly well. So the transition to McLaren [and the] title partnership with NEOM, we had all the ingredients there to continue.”

Although the headlines all shout about McLaren’s impending departure from Formula E, and bring doom and gloom with them, the reality is rather different. A known name and an eye-catching papaya vinyl wrap are on their way out, but the team likely isn’t.

“I am optimistic,” says James. “I think that for me, it's less about staying in the championship or not, it's more about how we stay in the championship and making sure that we've got, that right structure, with the right resources, at our disposal – the right ingredients at the end of the day.”

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The way the team is set up, as an independent business with its own headquarters and infrastructure makes it a more attractive proposition. A prospective buyer isn’t just getting an entry, it’s getting a turnkey operation in its entirety.

“We set it up deliberately in that way,” James says. “When we set up as Mercedes-Benz Formula E limited, we cherry-picked from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and brought together this team, but the structure of the team itself, although it was 100 percent owned by Mercedes-Benz and a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, was, for all intents and purposes, a standalone entity.

“When we transitioned across to McLaren, we decided to increase that autonomy a little as well. And that doesn't mean that we don't rely on McLaren Racing or leverage the opportunities that we have there. Quite the opposite, that's something that we've been doing throughout. But we are, in terms of setting ourselves up for the next chapter, up and ready.

“We have the infrastructure that we need. We not only have the operational and technical strength in our departments and team, but we have a great commercial operation as well. And that means that we can lift and shift as required.”

That brings up the question about James’ own extended role within McLaren. James was announced as the director of motorsport for McLaren Automotive last November, a role that has him overseeing all of McLaren's customer GT efforts. He took on the role alongside his position of managing director of McLaren Electric racing and team principal of its Formula E team. Could he continue in both roles?

“It very much depends on that structure, the investors that come in, [and] ultimately the brand that we will be working with as well,” he says.

While James has left the door open to keep working with McLaren alongside his Formula E commitments, he insists that the Formula E team will remain his priority.

“Up until this point, there's an opportunity to continue,” he says. “Unfortunately, there's only 24 hours in a day, and whatever happens, I see my personal future here, very much with this team with Formula E.

“If there's enough bandwidth to do something alongside that and make sure that neither activity is, in any way, shape or form, compromised, then I very much like the opportunity to do that. But let's wait and see.”

James is keen to see the expertise McLaren has built up in Formula E carry on under new branding. Andrew Ferraro/Getty Images

McLaren entered Formula E in the 2022-23 season after absorbing the back-to-back double championship-winning Mercedes team following the German brand’s departure from the series. It is currently enjoying its best season as McLaren, with four podiums and two pole positions from nine races so far this season – all courtesy of Taylor Barnard – leaving it fourth in the teams' championship standings at present.

As James mentioned, the Formula E team has tapped into McLaren’s vast knowledge pool of Formula 1, IndyCar and marketing expertise, but breaking away from that also opens doors. Not having to fall in line with a uniform approach that ties it in with a portfolio of brands, the Formula E team could have more freedom to spread its wings – of course, depending on who comes in to fill McLaren’s shoes. And there’s been plenty of interest on that front.

“We're really in a very good position at the moment where we've got some discussions ongoing with some potential investors that are very strong,” says James. “So it's now not so much about finding the interest, it's about making sure that we've got the right partners on board with the right structure in play.

“Obviously, it depends on what we have, what happens with our OEM partner, because we will need a manufacturer to work alongside as well. That can take its form as a customer team as we are today, we could align or become more integrated, that we become more of a works team going forward and have therefore more influence on the development of the technical package.”

A manufacturer could be the team’s new backers. Stellantis – which already backs the Penske Autosport and Monaco Sports Group entries with its DS and Maserati brands respectively – has been mentioned as a potential suitor, while it’s known that the team was in discussions with Hyundai about a works partnership starting mid-way through the upcoming GEN4 ruleset.

James admits that a works partnership would be good, saying, “For me personally, and maybe a little bit selfishly, I enjoyed the time that we were a works team – I think that's something which the team here has missed a little bit, simply because of the lack of opportunity to have that influence. And if we find a way that we can regain that in some way, shape or form, that would be, that would be incredibly attractive.

“We've been speaking with many, many manufacturers, both those that are already here in Formula E, and those that are yet to take the decision to come in, but have definitely an interest in coming in at some point in time.”

Despite that, James says that the team doesn’t necessarily need to be supported by a brand with any automotive connection. Aside from McLaren, which runs as a Nissan customer, four of Formula E's current 11 teams – Jaguar, Nissan, Mahindra, and Porsche, are run directly by a manufacturer – and another three have title sponsorship from carmakers, but in other categories – namely F1 Academy where brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Charlotte Tilbury have lent their names to entries – teams are backed by companies outside the automotive space entirely.

“[Formula E] is a fundamentally different proposition,” he says. “It's a different sport. It attracts, to a certain extent, a different interest as well, certainly from a commercial perspective. And I think actually, in a way, by positioning ourselves more independently, it allows us to turn the volume up a little bit and make sure that we can attract partners going forward that have a significant interest in what Formula E is doing as a championship as well as what we would do in the future as a team.

“What we do need to ensure, however, is that whatever the next chapter looks like, we have a strong brand under that entity, because that's naturally going to ensure that we have the profile necessary to attract other partners alongside that brand.”

Whatever happens next, the team-soon-to-be-formerly-known-as McLaren will almost certainly remain. And with championship-winning pedigree from its previous incarnation and race-winning pedigree from its present iteration, you can expect it to remain strong.

“For me, it's making sure that we have the strongest future possible,” James insists. “The one thing that we've been very consistent in saying is that we're not here to make up the numbers. We're here to put ourselves in positions to challenge for race wins, [and] ultimately for the championship as well. And whatever decision we take, it will be very much focused on that top-level performance.”