Formula E reveals star creators for Evo sessions at Jeddah E-Prix
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula E's Evo sessions will return in 2026, with the second edition taking place around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on February 15, a day after the Jeddah E-Prix weekend comes to a close. The first set of celebrities taking part were revealed, along with a new format for the sessions.
The galaxy of stars taking part in the event will be divided into two groups of five each, facing off in a series of knockout style duels against each other. After the drivers have laid down their lap times, the quickest from each group will face off in a high stakes, winner-takes-all duel, to be crowned the winner of Formula E's Evo Session.
The first round of Formula E's Evo sessions in 2025 featured several stars, ranging from Mr Beast driving for Cupra Kiro, to Season 12 ambassador Lucien Laviscount, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, YouTuber and former racer Scott Mansell (Driver61) and American automobile YouTuber Emelia Hartford.
There's no doubt a different set of stars will take to the track in 2026, as Formula E attempts to widen its reach and attract a newer demographic of fans around the world.
This format is a change compared to the year prior, when 11 celebrities faced off against full-time Formula E drivers around the Miami International Autodrome. With the celebrities themselves facing off against each other, expect the competition to be intense, testing them to the limit in the Formula E Gen3 Evo car.
While the entire roster is yet to be revealed, the names of the teams have already been revealed: Senõr Frogs and QuickStars.
Team Senõr Frogs will be led by English YouTuber Joshua Larkin (AKA TheBurntChip) driving for Jaguar, with William Jonathan Lenney (AKA WillNe) driving for Mahindra Racing; while Jersey-based YouTuber Arthur Frederick (Arthur TV) will take the wheel for Envision Racing in the Evo sessions.
Also on the Senõr Frogs contingent are Izzy Hammond, daughter of former TopGear and The Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond, driving for Lola ABT Yamaha, while English YouTuber Ethan Payne (Behzinga) will be driving the DS Penske car during the session.
As for Team Quickstars, their roster will be revealed at 3 pm GMT on Saturday, February 7. They will be headed up by Vikram Singh Barn (Vikkstar), who is also as a member on the famous YouTube group 'Sidemen'.
With a combined following of over 300 million for the 10 stars taking part in the Evo sessions, the event is expected to bring in plenty of viewership from outside the realm of Formula E. In addition, the Evo sessions will be live-streamed on YouTube, allowing the championship's fans to tune in and follow the sessions live.
Formula E has also partnered up with Arcade Creative, the digital media agency involved in managing the Sidemen crew, the most influential creator group in the United Kingdom, to maximise the production output from the Evo sessions and cater to the YouTube world.
Alongside the duels taking place, expect plenty of content to be created as the drivers get used to the forces and the speed of the Gen3 Evo car in short order.
Formula E's CEO Jeff Dodds was upbeat about the Evo Sessions in Jeddah the following weekend, saying:
“EVO Sessions is about pushing motorsport into places it’s never been before. By putting the world’s most influential content creators into the GEN3 Evo car, and giving them a genuine competitive format, we’re opening Formula E to hundreds of millions of new fans in a way that feels authentic, exciting and bold.
"This year, we’ve really stepped up a gear to create what we know will be a truly entertaining experience for fans to follow. It’s never happened before in motorsport and we are proud to be leading the way.”
Ellie Norman, Formula E's Chief Marketing Officer, too echoed the sentiments of Dodds, mentioning the importance of content creators intersecting with sport, and being the road ahead for motorsport.
“This is what the future of sport looks like. Content creators are how the new generation of fans discover and connect with sport. Evolving EVO to work with some of the world's biggest content creators is critical to our growth strategy and will allow us to reach new audiences and bring new fans into Formula E, as we strive to become the defining youth culture of motorsport.
"Whilst working with Arcade, the great minds behind the internet sensation, the Sidemen, allow us to bridge the gap between elite performance and YouTube culture. We are co-creating the defining youth culture of sport in real-time.”
Formula E's upcoming race weekend will be the Jeddah E-Prix, held from Thursday, February 12, to Saturday, February 14, kicking off the season's first double header, before the Evo sessions take place on February 15.
