The merry-go-round of Jake Dennis’ partners at the Andretti Formula E team looks as though it will continue for a sixth consecutive season. But who will hop on this time - and will it prove to be a more permanent ride?
Current team-mate Nico Mueller was generally a disappointment in 2025. The errors were many and the results were few, although the Porsche factory driver, who was essentially seconded to Andretti, did perk up noticeably in the second half of the campaign and actually finished closer to Dennis (45 points off) than any team-mate since Maximilian Guenther, who was 25 off then teammate Dennis in 2021.
How far ahead was Dennis every season?
2020-21 25 pts (Dennis 91, Guenther 66)
2021-22 102 pts (Dennis 126, Askew 24)
2022-23 206 pts (Dennis 229, Lotterer 23)
2023-24 75 pts (Dennis 122, Nato 47)
2024-25 48 pts (Dennis 93, Mueller 48)
Still, it feels unlikely to be enough for a second season with Andretti for 2026. It's much more likely to either be a promotion to the factory Porsche team to replace a potentially departing Antonio Felix da Costa or a slot-in with Dan Ticktum at Cupra Kiro, Porsche’s other customer entity.
This, compounded by the lateness of seats being filled for next season, which is mostly a legacy of the ongoing da Costa-and-Porsche saga, means that it might not be until late-September that the entire grid is locked in. That will be less than a month until the pre-season test at Valencia, which begins on October 27.
“I think the whole market is very strange compared to previous years, because usually by the time you get to London pretty much everybody's settled and knows where they're headed,” Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths told The Race this month.
“[But this year] coming out of London, there's vacant seats left, right and centre. It’s still super volatile.”
One of those seats is beneath Griffiths’ nose - and he and Andretti are not wanting for choice.
First choice (but the timing's off)
If Jak Crawford didn’t have a shot at the Formula 2 title and was untethered from potential 2026 Formula 1 roles, whether as a race driver or a more active reserve driver, then he’d likely already be signed up as Dennis’ 2026 Andretti team-mate.
A reserve at Andretti since early 2024, Crawford has tested on three occasions and showed an immediate aptitude for the Gen3 and Gen3Evo Porsches.
But life is not that simple in Formula E. Timing is often everything and in Crawford’s case it's working against him committing to doing a Zane Maloney and filtering off into a professional career outside of the F1 dream.
There is a decent reason for that. He has the potential of a role in F1 should he get a superlicence.
“Jak won't get confirmation on that superlicense until probably after we're going to have to have made a decision around drivers,” admits Griffiths.
“So, the timing is not great there. It's not our friend, in either case, for Jak or for us. We have to see how that plays out.
“For sure, he's super interested in Formula E, and we're super interested in him. Potentially, he wants to be able to say he was an F1 driver, so we get that as well. I don't think we would hold him back if an opportunity came to him [in F1].”
The continuity option
Nico Mueller might end up being the best option after all.
That could happen, which would at least bring the ‘merry-go-round’ narrative to a halt.
But the hurdles are substantial. Apart from Mueller’s unconvincing season in 2025, there is also the high likelihood that Andretti will want to distance itself politically from its car supplier Porsche as it firms up an expected deal with Nissan in 2026 for the Gen4 period.
The fact that Mueller will have a chance at da Costa's seat should it be available, and also a slot at Cupra Kiro, means that Porsche has alternative options for one of its factory drivers.
But should Andretti take a pragmatic approach rather than prioritising building its driver roster for beyond the upcoming season, then retaining Mueller would surely be a sensible decision.
The no-risk option
Jake Hughes is likely to be at least talking to Andretti and could be just the team-mate for Dennis next season, even if it were just for a single campaign.
Solid, largely error-free and capable of qualifying heroics, Hughes has the requisite experience and also knowledge of two other manufacturers – Stellantis and Nissan – that would be very useful for the final season of Gen3.
The Great British Jake-Off? Andretti might have a potential show-stopper on its hands if it goes that way.
The safe pair of hands
The series' 2022 champion Stoffel Vandoorne has been in discussion with Andretti in recent months - but the feeling at present is that he is fading from the reckoning.
This could be tied to an extrication from his Stellantis contract and a move to another manufacturer for 2026 where he would race in the World Endurance Championship, possibly exclusively.
But Vandoorne is still an attractive possibility for Formula E teams and would be a very useful addition, with an average points score since his 2022 title season of 98 points.
The big unknown
Frederik Vesti is among a clutch of drivers, such as fellow ex-Formula 2 frontrunners Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire, who feel as though they need a full-time drive soon to rebuild their single-seater careers.
Racing drivers should race, it stands to reason. Vesti's test at Berlin was solid and promising. But did it do enough to wow Griffiths and Andretti?
It appears that Crawford is still the preferred route but, as explained above, that might be out of Andretti’s hands to a large degree.
That could free up Vesti nicely - but he’s also a bundle of risks because fresh in Andretti’s mind is Oliver Askew, who raced in 2022 as a complete rookie. He showed strong promise but was sufficiently off Dennis at the time for Andretti to get cold feet on a second season.
Incidentally, Askew is now back with the team as a reserve and development driver. Sadly though, a route back to a race drive seems non-existent - which is a shame, because his efforts at certain stages of 2022 stack up reasonably well in hindsight compared to what has come since.
One for the future?
Drafted in at Berlin as a stand in for WEC-busy Nyck de Vries at Mahindra, the above-mentioned Felipe Drugovich impressed by grabbing a couple of points - something which should not be underestimated coming in so cold.
The 2022 F2 champion confessed to The Race in early July that "for next year, whatever happens, whatever category I will be in, I want to be racing fully and that's something I need at the moment".
"Technically, mentally, I think I need to get back racing and have a routine, rather than just be waiting for calls," he added.
Andretti could tick many boxes for Aston Martin F1 reserve Drugovich - via not only a race programme in Formula E but possible scope for F1 work with the new Cadillac programme.
Drugovich retains freedom in where he could race in Formula E for Gen4 if his career indeed goes in that direction. What better preparation for that era than a 2025-26 season with minimum pressure but maximum experience value alongside one of Formula E’s top performers?
The fantasy long shot
Mick Schumacher in Formula E. The former Haas driver is a racer and loves to be busy - but would a WEC drive, F1 reserve role and Formula E campaign be too much?
Well, Sebastien Buemi and Stoffel Vandoorne execute similar programmes - so why not Schumacher?
It's unlikely as it stands. He has never expressed any significant interest in Formula E, despite the suspicions from some engineers in the paddock that he might adapt to it very well.
The Race uncovered recently that he could be on his way to a WEC seat at the factory Cadillac Jota-run operation for 2026 - and that an F1 role is likely to accompany it. So there's at least a clear mechanism for that to also translate into a Formula E gig.
Schumacher would also be a dream for the promoter - which needs a boost right now and sporadically lust after a big name to add to those already self-cultivated.
