Formula E’s record race winner has found a new home. Mitch Evans will drive for the Opel GSE Formula E Team from the 2026/27 season, bringing 16 career victories and ten years of series experience to the German manufacturer’s brand new works outfit.
The 32-year-old New Zealander lines up alongside rookie Théo Pourchaire, with Sophia Flörsch completing the roster as test and development driver. It is a move with plenty of British interest, because Evans arrives at Rüsselsheim after a decade with Jaguar TCS Racing and will spend next season racing against his former team, plus Nissan, Porsche and Envision Racing, in machinery from a brand UK buyers know as Vauxhall.
Opel is not being coy about why it has spent the money. “We have secured our dream team. Mitch Evans was the preferred candidate for our Opel GSE Formula E Team from the very beginning. His commitment once again underlines the seriousness of the entire project,” said Opel Motorsport Director and Team Principal Jörg Schrott.
“We have already met Mitch on and off the racetrack. In addition to his undisputed exceptional sporting pedigree, he also fits perfectly into our team as a person. After so many years with another manufacturer, he was deliberately looking for a new challenge. Now the Opel family and Mitch are taking this next step together. In doing so, we are sending a clear message: We are joining the World Championship to challenge at the front.”
Evans is chasing something he has never quite managed to grab. He was denied the first world title of his career by a whisker at the London finale, and the score remains unsettled.
“I am proud to be an Opel works driver and to be part of this new chapter in Formula E. It’s great that we can finally make this step official,” he said. “After ten years with a manufacturer, it was time for me to take on a fresh challenge. The leap to the GEN4 cars represents the perfect moment to start something new. I immediately felt how much energy and passion Opel is putting into the Formula E project. The team isn’t just coming into the series to compete: Opel is here to win, and that’s exactly what I aspire to.”
He added: “The world championship title clearly remains the big goal for me, in this respect, I still have a score to settle in Formula E. That’s exactly why the move to Opel feels like the right new challenge for me. Starting a new Formula E generation with a new team and being successful right away is anything but a matter of course, but that’s exactly what appeals to me. I want to contribute my experience from ten years of Formula E and play a strong role in the world championship together with Opel and Théo.”
Showroom spin-off for UK drivers
The racing programme is not happening in isolation. Opel is using Formula E as a shop window for its all-electric GSE performance models, the Mokka GSE that is already on the road here wearing a Vauxhall badge, and the hot Corsa GSE arriving this year. Evans made his first appearance in Opel colours this week as a surprise guest at the international media drive of the battery-electric Corsa GSE.
Progress has been brisk since Opel confirmed its Formula E entry in March, a commitment set out in the official Stellantis announcement and welcomed by the championship itself. The GSE 27FE prototype broke cover at Le Castellet, the driver line-up is now settled, and the finished race car design will be revealed with Evans and Pourchaire at the Paris Motor Show on 12 October 2026.
