until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Alex Lynn will drive for the Mahindra Formula E team for the upcoming six races at the Tempelhof airfield in August after Pascal Wehrlein’s unexpected split with the team earlier this month.
Mahindra is expected to shortly confirm that Lynn will partner Jerome d’Ambrosio at the Indian entered squad that currently sits 10th in the points standings after a difficult start to the 2019/20 campaign.
The Race understands that Lynn is attending a private test in the UK today and will then spend several days with the team in its UK based simulator in the coming weeks to prepare for the Berlin races.
Earlier this month, The Race revealed that Wehrlein had effectively been dropped by Mahindra after agreeing a 2020/21 season deal with the Porsche squad while under contract to Mahindra for the next campaign.
Wehrlein subsequently posted an Instagram statement confirming that he was “no longer be part of Mahindra Racing” and adding “my interest was to finish the season but the current situation didn’t allow so. I can’t say much about my future, but will keep you informed”.
Lynn initially burst on to the Formula E scene in July 2017 when he scored a sensational New York pole position while deputising for Jose-Maria Lopez at the DS Virgin Racing team.
He went on to take Lopez’s seat and partner Sam Bird at the team for the following year but had a mixed campaign results wise and was eventually replaced by Robin Frijns for the 2018/19 season.
Lynn last raced in Formula E for Jaguar when he replaced Nelson Piquet Jr for seven races last season.
The 26-year-old’s best result at Jaguar was seventh place at the Bern E-Prix but he was later denied the chance of a likely victory at the first New York City race while running second due to a powertrain issue.
Lynn was the strong favourite to partner Mitch Evans at Jaguar for the present season but was surprisingly beaten to the drive by James Calado. Lynn was kept on as a test and reserve driver.
However, part of Lynn’s deal with Jaguar was that he was free to join a rival should a race seat become available.
Lynn said he had “high ambitions in this championship that match what Mahindra Racing wants to achieve”.
“I’ve raced twice in Berlin before and always felt that I went well there, including appearing in super pole last season,” he added.
“The format of Berlin is going to be exciting and challenging at the same time and I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running.”
Mahindra boss Dilbagh Gill said that he was “confident that together we can get results in the remainder of season six”, but also acknowledged that it would not be straightforward for Lynn to step in for the unique series of six races in Berlin.
“It’s not easy to jump in mid-season, especially with the unique way we will be running the races in Berlin, but Alex has a hunger, talent and experience that we are sure will pay dividends fast,” Gill added.
Gill also gave brief reference to outgoing driver Wehrlein by stating he and the team “would like to thank Pascal for his contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavours”.
