Mercedes confirms launch plans for Formula E team

Mercedes has confirmed it will launch its new Formula E team on September 11 ahead of its on-track debut later this year.

Mercedes announced back in 2017 that it would be entering Formula E at the start of the championship's sixth season, running the operation in place of its DTM project that closed at the end of last year.

The German manufacturer will formally launch its new team at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt on September 11, where the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 car will be presented by its driver line-up and the brand's motorsport chief, Toto Wolff.

Mercedes' new Formula E team will evolve out of the HWA Racelab squad that joined the Formula E grid for the 2018-19 campaign, laying the groundworks for the factory programme.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Gary Paffett raced for HWA through Season 5 as the team finished ninth in the teams' championship, scoring one pole and one podium finish.

Mercedes is yet to confirm who will form its line-up for Season 6, but has a number of drivers under consideration including Vandoorne and Paffett. Esteban Gutierrez and Nyck de Vries are also reported to have tested for Mercedes ahead of the start of collective testing in October.

The new Formula E season will start in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on November 22.