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PR Contact: val.mauduit@dspenske.com

DS Automobiles, one of Formula E's most successful marques, is set to begin a new chapter as partner of PENSKE AUTOSPORT, with the newly-christened DS PENSKE set to welcome incumbent World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne alongside double champion Jean-Eric Vergne for the start of the Gen 3 era.

DS was one of the first manufacturers to enter the series back in 2015, and the French marque has two titles two its name – with only French rivals Renault having scored more in Formula E history.

Founded by Jay Penske in 2007, the Penske team bearing his name is also a mainstay of Formula E – joining back in the inaugural 2014/15 season and has competed in every race to date.

With a history dating back to the first Formula E race in Beijing, 2014, the team entered the all-electric series after seven years competing in IndyCar. Founded by Jay Penske in 2007, DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT is headquartered in Los Angeles, California – the largest single metropolitan EV market in the world – with additional operations at Silverstone in the UK.

Getting off to a strong start, the team finished runners-up to Renault e.dams in the inaugural season before dropping to fourth the following year. For the third season of Formula E (2016/17) the team wound up eighth, scoring 41 points over the course of the season, and won Formula E’s first foray into Esports with its victory in the Visa Vegas E-Race. With Jose “Pechito” Maria Lopez and Jerome d'Ambrosio behind the wheel for 2017/18, the team finished a tough season in 11th spot in the Teams' running.

For the 2018/19 season, the team partnered with Italian fashion house Geox to be called the GEOX DRAGON. The newly branded outfit paired front man Jose-Maria Lopez with rookie Maximilian Gunther as they challenged for the title in the fifth season behind the wheel of the new Gen2 Penske EV-3. In the most challenging season to date, the team finished its fifth campaign tenth in the team standings without a podium finish.

For GEOX DRAGON's sixth season in the series, the team signed former World Endurance Car Champion Brendon Hartley and former Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler test and reserve driver Nico Muller. After completing the first five rounds of the season, Hartley and the team decided to part ways, with test and reserve driver Sergio Sette Camara his replacement.

The team ran under the DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT banner in Season 7 with Sette Camara and Mueller making their return. Frederik Rasmussen won the 2021 Formula E Accelerate Esports series racing for DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT, scoring enough points for the Team to finish second in the Accelerate Teams’ standings.

The American outfit showed pace and promise from the off, with Sette Camara and Mueller outstripping their Season 6 points haul inside two rounds, via a pair of top five finishes in Diriyah.

Mueller went better still with maiden silverware and second spot in Valencia but a tough mid-season spell with non-scores all-round until a pair of top 10 finishes in London left the squad 11th - with Joel Eriksson joining the fold latterly in place of Mueller.

Formula 1 star Antonio Giovinazzi joined the fold from Ferrari’s stable of drivers alongside the returning Sette Camara for Season 8 but a best of just a single points finish and ninth at London was not what any at the team would have hoped for.

For Gen3, and with DS and two champion drivers on board, expectations will be higher still.

25
Jean-ÉricVergne

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Date of Birth25 April 1990
BirthplacePontoise
Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne made history after becoming the first back-to-back champion in Formula E following his title-winning campaigns in 2017/18 and 2018/19. He's still looking for title number three, returning with DS as the marque joins forces with PENSKE AUTOSPORT for the Gen3 era, and partnering reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne.

With a long history in Formula E dating back to the inaugural 2014/15 season, Jean-Eric Vergne - more affectionately known as JEV - is the only driver in the series to have achieved more than a single title, and back-to-back championship titles, both of which he claimed with current team DS TECHEETAH.

JEV's motorsport career started earlier than most, as he entered his first karting race in 2000 aged just four years old. Progressing to single-seater racing with Formula Renault in 2007, it wasn't long until the Frenchman secured support from Red Bull and was admitted into its Junior Team.

With the outfit's backing, he won the 2010 British F3 championship before making his Formula 1 test debut for Toro Rosso that same year. He finished second in the Formula Renault 3.5 series in 2011, which earned him the opportunity to test with Red Bull Racing in Formula 1 as he earned promotion to its sister squad - Scuderia Toro Rosso. Over the next three seasons, Vergne took part in 58 grands prix, scoring 51 points and securing a best finish of sixth.

After a controversial exit in Formula 1 in 2014, JEV entered Formula E with Andretti for the series' debut season. Despite a stunning debut with the American squad, the Frenchman made a move to Virgin Racing for his second campaign. Although the switch allowed him to add to his pole tally, victory still proved elusive for Vergne.

Another change of scenary came for his third campaign as he linked up with TECHEETAH. It wasn't until the final round of the season that he finally made his breakthrough with an emotional maiden win in Montreal. Remaining with the team for the 2017/18 season, JEV continued to soar. With four wins and six podiums, he assembled a title tilt which he converted into his first Formula E Drivers' Championship at the New York City season finale.

Intent on retaining his crown, Vergne embarked on his fifth season in Formula E with his newly manufacturer-backed squad DS TECHEETAH, as the French automotive brand joined the fold. Despite a potent powertrain, JEV battled his way through a rollercoaster season which saw the title fight head right down to the wire in the New York City finale

With four title contenders in with a chance of scooping top honours, it was Vergne who held his nerve to emerge victorious from the battle in Brooklyn - making history as the series' first double champion. The Frenchman aimed to make it a hat-trick in Season 6, but new teammate Antonio Felix da Costa quashed his dream to seal the title for himself.

Vergne's as fired up as any driver, and with title-winning machinery beneath him, he has fire in the belly and as good a chance as any of taking top honours come the final chequered flag of the campaign. With one of the most competitive line-ups in motorsport history standing in his way in Season 7, though, and the reigning champion in the garage next-door, it won't be easy.

Vergne wound up 10th, with a Rome victory his highlight of the season and a podium in New York City in the shadow of Manhattan another high point. Both DS drivers, with three titles between them, were a match all season.

JEV was in contention for the Drivers’ title throughout Gen2’s final campaign. Podiums in Mexico, Rome, Monaco, Berlin and Jakarta filled a heady mid-season for the Frenchman, but retirements in New York and London hamstrung the double title-winner before he got to the Seoul finale.
7
MaximilianGünther

83
5
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Date of Birth2 July 1997
BirthplaceOberstdorf, Germany
Maximilian Guenther lines up for Maserati MSG Racing in Season 9. The young German star will be looking to further unlock his potential with the competitive outfit and add to his victory tally.

Fresh from a season in Formula 2 with BWT Arden, Guenther made his debut in Formula E with Dragon after serving as the team's reserve driver in the 2017/18 season. Prior to joining the championship full-time a year later with BMW i Andretti Motorsport, the German took part in the Formula E Rookie Test in Marrakesh, 2018.

Born in Oberstdorf in 1997, Guenther began his racing career in karts at the age of 10. After three years, the German driver progressed to the world of open-wheel racing in 2011 in the Formula BMW Talent Cup. In 2013, Guenther competed in ADAC Formel Masters from ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., ending the season second.

Guenther made his debut in the 2015 European Formula 3 campaign with Mucke Motorsport before joining Prema Powerteam in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, he finished a respectable fifth at the legendary Macau Grand Prix before moving up to Formula 2 in 2018, joining BWT Arden.

After running as the team's test and reserve driver, Guenther competed in 10 E-Prix with Dragon during his maiden campaign in 2018/19, finishing 17th in the Drivers' running and impressing with two Super Pole appearances.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport took the young Bavarian on full-time in Season 6 and he pipped then teammate Alexander Sims in the Drivers' Championship, finishing ninth, with breakthrough victories in Santiago and Round 8 from Tempelhof. The German's four non-finishes - including the loss of a podium in Diriyah for overtaking under the safety car - ultimately hampered his outright finishing position but his impressive performances yielded a second season with the BMW manufacturer squad in Season 7 - Formula E's first as an FIA World Championship.

For Season 8 the young German headed to Nissan e.dams alongside veteran Sebastien Buemi. His campaign mirrored the Swiss' with neither driver challenging the front-runners, Guenther's best was an eighth in London for 19th overall.

Still a promising prospect on the grid, Guenther's skills have been picked up Maserati MSG Racing for Season 9. With the outfit behind vice-champions Venturi running the Italian manufacturer's debut in Formula E, this combination could prove fruitful