Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, England, competing with an Indian racing license. It is part of the Mahindra Group. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship and has been since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, fielding a team in the junior 125cc category (later renamed Moto3) between 2011 and 2015. Mahindra later refocused on being a bike and engine supplier, until ultimately pulling out of the sport in 2017.
FIA Formula E World Championship (2014–present)
2014–15 season
Mahindra Racing competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship. They entered the Championship in the inaugural 2014-2015 season as one of the ten founding teams.
2015–16 season From the second season, the team developed its own electric powertrain, the M2Electro, to power their quartet of electric racing cars. The M2Electro impressed out of the box, with Nick Heidfeld scoring the team's first podium in the opening round in Beijing. Bruno Senna had a second place podium finish in the first of the two season finale races in London. The M2Electro also impressed with its efficiency and reliability, contributing to seven double points finishes throughout the season.
2016–17 season Rookie Felix Rosenqvist joined as teammate to Nick Heidfeld. Mahindra Racing developed the new M3Electro car, which proved to be a competitive package, powering the team to its maiden win at the hands of Rosenqvist at the 2017 Berlin ePrix. The team also scored nine further podiums, three pole positions and two fastest lap awards. These results were underscored by Mahindra Racing's third place in the Teams’ Championship standings.
2017–18 season Drivers Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld remained with Mahindra for the fourth season, piloting the M4Electro to two further victories, in Hong Kong and Marrakesh, and three pole positions. After a strong and encouraging start to the season, the team finished fourth overall in the team's championship, with Rosenqvist in the driver's title hunt for much of the season.
2018–19 season For Season Five, Felix Rosenqvist left the team to join the Chip Ganassi Racing team in IndyCar series and was replaced by former Dragon Racing driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio. Nick Heidfeld stepped down from his race seat to become a special advisor and official reserve driver for the squad and was replaced by former Manor and Sauber Formula 1 driver and DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein. Racing the M5Electro, the Mahindra drivers secured one win, two podiums, two fastest laps, a pole position and seven Super Pole appearances between them, finishing the Championship in sixth place.
2019–20 season
Wehrlein and D'Ambrosio were announced as continuing with the team for Season 6 at a launch event in Germany in October 2019. On 24 June 2020 the team announced that Alex Lynn would replace Wehrlein for the remainder of the 2019/20 Season. The team finished the 2019–20 season ranking ninth on the constructors standings. D'Ambrosio would later announce his retirement from professional racing after the season to take on a team principal role at Venturi Racing.
2020–21 season On 29 October 2020, Mahindra revealed the new M7Electro car, Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn were confirmed as the driver lineup for the 2020–21 Formula E season. Lynn secured a race victory in London Race 2.
2021–22 season Lynn was replaced by Oliver Rowland for the 2021–22 Formula E season.
2022–23 season Sims was announced to not return to the team for the 2022–23 season; he was replaced by Lucas di Grassi. Team principal Dilbagh Gill left the team in September 2022, entering a period of gardening leave; he was replaced by Frédéric Bertrand. In May, it was announced that Oliver Rowland would leave the team, and be replaced by Roberto Merhi for the 2023 Jakarta ePrix.
2023–24 season Despite being contracted for 2024, Mahindra announced that di Grassi have left the team on 26 September 2023. On the following day, Mahindra announced the signing of 2020–21 series champion Nyck De Vries and Edoardo Mortara for the 2023–24 season.
In January 2024, Mahindra drew significant criticism for using generative AI to create a fake Instagram brand ambassador named "Ava Rose" instead of hiring an actual woman. After the backlash, the "Ava Rose" account was deleted (along with the post announcing the partnership), and Mahindra Racing CEO and principal Frédéric Bertrand issued a statement announcing the discontinuation of the program.
Mahindra Racing Team and Drivers Season Drivers Car Drivetrain Tyres Operator / Management 2014–15 Karun Chandhok Spark-Renault SRT 01E SRT 01E / McLaren Applied Technologies Michelin Carlin Motorsport Bruno Senna 2015–16 Nick Heidfeld Spark-Renault SRT 01E Mahindra / Rockfort Engineering M2ELECTRO Michelin Campos Racing Bruno Senna 2016–17 Nick Heidfeld Spark-Renault SRT 01E Mahindra / Magneti Marelli M3ELECTRO Michelin Campos Racing Felix Rosenqvist 2017–18 Nick HeidfeldSpark-Renault SRT 01E Mahindra / Magneti Marelli M4ELECTRO Michelin Campos Racing Felix Rosenqvist 2018–19 Felix Rosenqvist Spark SRT05e Mahindra / Magneti Marelli M5ELECTRO Michelin Campos Racing Pascal Wehrlein Jérôme d'Ambrosio 2019–20 Pascal Wehrlein Spark SRT05e Mahindra / Magneti Marelli M6ELECTRO Michelin Mahindra Racing Jérôme d'Ambrosio Alex Lynn 2020–21 Alexander Sims Spark SRT05e Mahindra / ZF Friedrichshafen M7ELECTRO Michelin Mahindra Racing Alex Lynn 2021–22 Alexander Sims Spark SRT05e Mahindra / ZF Friedrichshafen M8ELECTRO Michelin Mahindra Racing Oliver Rowland 2022–23 Oliver Rowland Formula E Gen3 Mahindra / ZF Friedrichshafen M9ELECTRO Hankook Mahindra Racing Lucas di Grassi Roberto Merhi2023–24 Nyck De VriesFormula E Gen3 Mahindra M10ELECTROHankookMahindra Racing Edoardo Mortara Jordan King2024–25 Nyck De VriesFormula E Gen3 Mahindra M11ELECTROHankookMahindra Racing Felipe Drugovich Edoardo Mortara2025–26 Nyck De VriesFormula E Gen3 Mahindra M12ELECTROHankookMahindra Racing Edoardo Mortara
FIM MotoGP Series As a team (2011–2014) In 2011, Mahindra Racing made its motor racing debut in the 125cc class of the MotoGP championship, which was then in its last year. The team used the GP125 racing motorcycle produced by Italy-based Engines Engineering, which Mahindra had acquired in 2008. The team performed well in their inaugural season, capped off by Danny Webb securing the team's first-ever pole position in the last race, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. Mahindra Racing ended the season third in the constructors' championship.
In 2012, Mahindra Racing participated in the newly formed Moto3 class (250cc four-stroke) which replaced the 125cc class. The team utilized the Mahindra MGP3O motorcycle developed and built by Engines Engineering from the 2012 season. Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter raced for the team in the first eight rounds of the Moto3 World Championship. The team scored its first Moto3 points at Le Mans on 20 May 2012, when Schrötter finished on a strong 12th position. Before the ninth round, at the Mugello Circuit, Schrötter and Team Mahindra parted ways. Riccardo Moretti, who had until then been racing for Mahindra in the CIV, stepped in for Schrötter. The first year of the new Moto3 four-stroke class proved challenging, and prompted the team into a change of direction. In August 2012, Mahindra Racing announced a partnership with Suter Racing Technology to build an all-new MG3PO. The team also announced that it would move its base from Italy to Switzerland. In November of the same year, they announced that riders Efrén Vázquez and Miguel Oliveira would be racing for the team in the 2013 season.
The MG3PO for the 2013 season was built over a period of four months at the team base in Turbenthal, Switzerland, and debuted at the 2013 Moto3 season opener at Qatar, where the team achieved a double Top-10 finish. This result was followed by Oliveira's 5th-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas, Team Mahindra's best performance at that point. Mahindra Racing made history in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix taking the first-ever podium for an Indian constructor in the MotoGP World Championship Series. In the same season, the MGP3O recorded top-five finishes in 10 of the 17 rounds, a pole position, three circuit lap records, and third position in the Constructors’ Championship. At the end of 2013, Vázquez confirmed that he would no longer be riding with Mahindra Racing in the 2014 season, and was replaced by Arthur Sissis.
The 2014 season saw some success for Mahindra, with their MGP3O recording three podiums – including a best-ever second-place finish by their customer team, Ambrogio Racing's rider Brad Binder at the German Grand Prix. The first podium of the season was secured by Mahindra Racing rider Miguel Oliveira at the Assen circuit in the Dutch TT. For the entire season, the team riders Oliveira and Andrea Migno regularly challenged at the front of the tight Moto3 pack. The MGP3O recorded six Top-4 finishes in the entire season, as Mahindra finished third overall in the Moto3 Constructors' rankings at the end of the 2014 season.
Following the conclusion of the 2014 season, Mahindra no longer ran their own team and concentrated instead on development of the Mahindra MGP3O racing motorcycle. They switched from competing as a team, and focused on supplying bikes to customer teams, including the Mapfre Aspar Team, which served as Mahindra's factory team for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons. Mahindra Racing also moved their base to Italy, where they opened a new engineering and development centre in Besozzo.
As a manufacturer (2013–2017) Mahindra Racing supplied two Mahindra MGP3O motorcycles to Ambrogio Racing for the 2013 season, which was its first customer team. For the 2014 season, Mahindra Racing supplied Mahindra MGP3O motorcycles to Ambrogio Racing, CIP Moto3 and San Carlo Team Italia. Mahindra acquired a 51% controlling stake in Peugeot Motocycles in January 2015.
In 2015, Mahindra Racing became a full-scale independent constructor, supporting four customer teams in the Moto3 series, including a three-bike line up from 4 times World Champion Jorge Martinez's experienced Mapfre Aspar Team. The Aspar Team's Mahindra MGP3Os were piloted by the 2014 Red Bull Rookies Champion, Spaniard Jorge Martin; Italian Francesco Bagnaia, a graduate of the VR 46 academy, who switched from the Sky VR46 team; and Juanfran Guevara, contesting his third Moto3 World Championship. Mahindra also supplied bikes for CIP Moto3, San Carlo Team Italia, and Outox Reset Drink Team for the 2015 season.
In 2015, a Mahindra customer team recorded a podium finish at the French Grand Prix. 2016 got off to a strong start with Aspar Mahindra Moto3 Team rider Francesco (Pecco) Bagnaia securing a third-place podium finish at the opening round in Qatar. The Italian teen picked up podiums in Jerez (Spain) and Mugello (Italy) before making his historic first win in Assen (Netherlands) – Mahindra's maiden victory in the World Championship, and a first for a bike made by an Indian company. Two more victories followed with John Mcphee dominating the field in a wet Czech Grand Prix and Pecco taking a seven-second win in the Malaysian Grand Prix. At the Czech Grand Prix, the Indian manufacturer also scored their first-ever double podium with John Mcphee and Jorge Martin.
In 2016, Mahindra supplied MG3PO motorcycles to the factory Aspar Mahindra Team, CIP, Team Italia, Minimoto Portomaggiore, and Platinum Bay Real Estate/Motomex Team Worldwide Race. It also supplied MG3PO motorcycles under the Peugeot Motorcycles badge to the Peugeot Saxoprint RTG team.