Maserati MSG will run an all-new line-up in Formula E next season, consisting of Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes in deals that are expected to last until the start of the Gen4 era in 2026.
As revealed by The Race earlier this month, Hughes and Vandoorne will leave McLaren and DS Penske respectively to join the Trident marque, which will enter its third campaign in conjunction with the Monaco Sports Group operational element of the entry.
Vandoorne’s split with DS Penske was officially communicated last week, while McLaren confirmed Hughes’s departure just ahead of Maserati’s confirmation on Monday morning that it had captured his signature.
With the formal farewell from Maserati MSG of Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala last week, Vandoorne and Hughes’s official signings were known to be imminent.
Guenther will be confirmed at DS Penske on a long-term basis shortly, while Daruvala’s future in Formula E is unknown.
Vandoorne endured two frustrating seasons at DS Penske, finishing 11th then 10th in the drivers' standings, failing to register a win, and achieving a best result of third at the 2024 Monaco E-Prix.
Hughes meanwhile took 12th and 14th in his two campaigns with McLaren, claiming four poles and a best race result of second at Shanghai in May.
Both Vandoorne and Hughes know the basis of the Maserati MSG squad having previously worked closely with at least elements of the team in the past. Vandoorne raced for Mercedes EQ when it supplied the team - then Venturi - between 2019 and 2022, while Hughes was seconded to Venturi in 2020-21 as a test and reserve driver.
Hughes said of his move: "The success that the team has had, as one of the founding teams in Formula E, speaks for itself.
"On a personal level, I have worked with the team previously so I know them well and I’m genuinely looking forward to going back. I know that the season has only just finished but I honestly can’t wait to get over to the HQ in Monaco and start working with the engineers, get on the simulator and really get cracking with our prep for season 11 [2024-25].
"This marks the start of an exciting new chapter in my career, and I know that the best is yet to come."
Vandoorne, who also drives for fellow Stellantis brand Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship, said he was "excited to start working with the team".
"Although I haven’t worked directly with them before, I know the team well, both from my time at DS Penske but also from my time with Mercedes when we shared a powertrain with Venturi," he said.
"They are a great bunch of people, very skilled, very determined and I’m really looking forward to working together moving forwards."
How Maserati got its new duo
The work needed to get Hughes's and Vandoorne's signatures for the 2024-25 season and beyond was long and laborious. But Maserati eventually got its drivers after a dramatic silly season started to finally fall into order earlier this month.
Hughes was known to be looking for a new home when it became clear he wouldn’t get an upgraded deal at McLaren around the end of May. That triggered Hughes’s management, led by ex-F1 driver Mark Blundell and the MB Partners company, to essentially go to market with their client.
It remains unclear precisely why a deal between Hughes and McLaren did not materialise, especially as Hughes has been consistently the best performer at the team over the last two campaigns.
McLaren is now forming a plan to try to do a deal with its current reserve driver Taylor Barnard, who has held a similar role to the one Hughes did before he got the race seat.
Vandoorne’s signing was a reasonably simple intra-Stellantis affair whereby he will continue with a dual programme that includes continuing to race with Peugeot in the WEC while also representing sister brand Maserati in Formula E.
The 2021-22 Formula E world champion knew there was a possibility of being let go by DS Penske as it had an option on his services for a third season in 2024-25. However with Vandoorne’s Peugeot WEC deal also up for renewal this summer, lengthy negotiations were had on how he could be kept within the Stellantis family.
This was only resolved completely around the time of the London E-Prix, with Vandoorne believed to have a viable option at the Envision Racing squad, as well as talking to other manufacturers in the WEC about a future programme.
With Daruvala understood to be under contract with Maserati MSG until the end of July, Vandoorne could not be finally rubber-stamped, leaving open a remote possibility that Envision could snatch him.
This though proved to be difficult because of Vandoorne’s connections to Stellantis through his Peugeot deal, meaning that an easier plug-in-and-play solution was to race with Maserati rather than the Jaguar-connected team.
Envision is expected to confirm it is sticking with Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns for a second season shortly.
Vandoorne, who is testing the Aston Martin Formula 1 car at Spa this week, is also expected to keep his reserve and development role at the Silverstone-based team alongside his new Formula E racing commitments for next season with Maserati.
An announcement on Peugeot’s WEC driver line-up for 2025 is not expected until later in the year.