Lauda: Mercedes not dumping F1 for Formula E

Jul.30 - Niki Lauda says there is no risk Mercedes will dump F1 in favour of the increasingly-popular all-electric series Formula E.

Mercedes and Porsche made waves earlier this week by pulling out of DTM and Le Mans respectively in order to enter Formula E.

But Lauda, the Mercedes F1 team chairman, says there is no risk the decision is a precursor to Mercedes dumping its F1 programme.

"Formula one is our racing sport so an exit is not an issue at all," he told the German broadcaster RTL.

Rather, Lauda said entering Formula E is simply about the future. "We had to ask 'Where is the future going?'

"At the same time we have to try to make Formula E more attractive, because at the moment you even have to change the batteries."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agrees: "Formula E is still at the beginning of its development, but electrification is in full swing.

"I would not be surprised if in three, four, five years Formula E is completely different and we are talking about every single race."

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Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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