Formula E looks less and less at former Formula 1 drivers

Team boss of the Mercedes Formula E team Ian James thinks that Formula E can increasingly become a stepping stone to Formula 1, instead of the well-run path from F1 to the electric series.

In the first few years of Formula E, many Formula 1 drivers who could not get a seat in F1 went on to Formula E. In the most recent years it seems to have decreased and the teams in FE are looking more to emerging talents, James also sees. "I think, FE as a series, is getting to a point now where we’re going to see the flow in both directions," he says in conversation with Motorsport.com.

"I don’t mean just from a drivers’ perspective. Take a look at the whole of the team personnel. The engineers, the mechanics, the team management and the drivers. I see an opportunity there where from year to year you’ll see people moving between the two series. There are some very sound reasons for that," James continues.

The British team boss thinks that Formula E has well deserved World Championship status. "It just goes to show again as we come into season seven, our first season as a world championship, that status is well and truly deserved and serves us well for the future," concludes James.