Formula E: Mahindra Sign Lynn as Wehrlein’s Replacement

Former DS Virgin and Jaguar Formula E racer Alex Lynn will return to the series with Mahindra, after being signed to replace the outgoing Pascal Wehrlein.

German Wehrlein left the team with immediate effect after losing the FE Race at Home Challenge championship to Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne, however it is understood this is not related to his departure. He is expected to join Porsche for Season 7, replacing the underperforming Neel Jani.

Alex Lynn will race at the 6 Berlin races in replace of Wehrlein, partnering Jerome d’Ambrosio. The 2014 GP3 series champion has a fair amount of Formula E experience, with 21 starts to his name across 3 seasons, however has only completed 1 full season in FE.

The Brit took pole on his debut in the 2017 New York ePrix for Virgin, however retired from both New York races that weekend. A full time seat with Virgin followed in Season 4, but an underwhelming season saw him finish 16th in the standings.

He returned in Season 5 with Panasonic Jaguar Racing, replacing the sacked Nelson Piquet Jr mid-season. He scored 10 points to finish 18th that year, but with 3 retirements damaging his points total, and was not retained for Season 6, with Jaguar opting for Lynn’s WEC GTE rival James Calado instead.

Lynn racing for Jaguar at a wet Paris ePrix in 2019

Speaking about his return to FE, Lynn said, “I am really excited to be able to represent Mahindra Racing in Berlin.

“I have high ambitions in this championship that match what Mahindra Racing wants to achieve. I just can’t wait to get started.

“I’ve raced twice in Berlin before and always felt that I went well there, including appearing in superpole last season.

“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 CEO and team principle Dilbagh Gill said about the announcement, “[Alex] has achieved some fantastic highlights in his career already and we’re confident that together we can get results in the remainder of [the 2019-20 season].

“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.

“We would like to thank Pascal for his contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Lynn will look to help turn Mahindra’s dire 2019/20 season around, with the team having been plagued by reliability issues from a new gearbox supplier. They lie 10th out of 12 in the teams standings with only 15 points, d’Ambrosio only having scored 2 of those points.