Felix Rosenqvist will make his FIA Formula E Championship return for the 2018/19 season-opener in Saudi Arabia in place of Pascal Wherlein.
Wehrlein joined Mahindra ahead of the 2018/19 pre-season test alongside Jerome D’Ambrosio as they replaced Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld for Season 5 in the all-electric championship which starts a new era with the Gen2 car.
Both the German and the Belgian tested the Gen2 car in Valencia. However, Wehrlein’s ties with Mercedes has now hindered his Formula E debut on December 15 – by when he will still be under contract to the German manufacturer.
His contract only expires at the end of December, meaning he can return to race in Morocco on January 12 with Mahindra having no choice but to opt for a SOS call to Rosenqvist alongside D’Ambrosio for the season-opener.
“I’m happy to be back with the guys at Mahindra Racing again for Riyadh,” said Rosenqvist. It will be a special occasion, marking the start of an exciting new era for Formula E with the commencement of Season 5.
“Whilst I didn’t attend the official pre-season test in Valencia, I did a lot of running in the new car during its development stages this summer, so I should be prepared.” The one-off appearance for Rosenqvist will follow with his first full season in IndyCar.
“We are delighted that Felix will be racing for Mahindra in Saudi Arabia in December,” said Team Principal Dilbagh Gill. “Felix has always been, and continues to be, a fantastic asset to Mahindra Racing and an important part of our family and history.
“We are looking forward to sharing more success with him in Saudi Arabia. He is extremely motivated, as are we, to secure the best possible results for the team as we begin our 2018/19 campaign.
“Working alongside Jerome, we have a huge amount of Formula E success and experience to get started with; five race wins from the two of them. We are then looking ahead to January when Pascal will join us.
“We are enthused and motivated as a whole team and cannot wait to hit the track in December.” For now, Rosenqvist is the only change ahead of the start of the new season with Nissan yet to confirm Sebastien Buemi’s partner.