Lola appoint new deputy Team Principal, take a new direction for Season 13
Lola has announced an updated official team name going into Formula E’s Gen4 era. With the deadline for Formula E teams to register for the upcoming season having passed on Friday, 16 October 2026, Lola has registered its entity for the season as Lola Formula E Team.
The British marque joined Formula E back in Season 11, taking over the entry of the erstwhile ABT Cupra outfit. The new entry formed as a triumvirate, with Lola returning as a manufacturer to single-seater racing alongside Yamaha and ABT in Formula E.
Yamaha supplied the team’s powertrain, while Lola used ABT Sportsline’s facility in Kempten to house its Formula E operations for its maiden campaigns. However, the larger goal has been to run the team from Lola’s new in-house facility in Silverstone, and streamline their operations for the upcoming Gen4 era.
This eventually resulted in Lola announcing their decision to end their alliance with ABT at the end of Season 12, going into the Gen4 era as an independent outfit with operations consolidated in-house into their new facility within the UK.
Lola’s collaboration with ABT reaped success early in their career, with Lucas di Grassi taking a podium in Miami in only their fifth race start. He went one better the following season, taking a sensational win at Shanghai from 19th on the grid, in changing conditions.
From Season 13, the entry will be known as Lola Formula E Team, with Yamaha continuing as the technical supplier and making the team’s power units, continuing the deal between both parties long into the upcoming era.
“We are proud to be continuing this relationship with them for our GEN4 campaign, where they remain a core part of the team,” said Mishern Chetty, CEO of Lola Cars, on the announcement. “Since the inception of Lola’s Formula E program, Yamaha has been an invaluable technical partner, providing expertise and resources which has been key to our development.”
Chetty highlighted the importance of the change in the name for future seasons, highlighting the consolidation of more operations in-house for the Gen4 era. "The importance of our relationship with Yamaha was reflected through their inclusion in our team name and branding level in our initial seasons.
“However, following the decision to bring the race team in-house for GEN4 to streamline activities and increase expertise for future motorsport projects, we have updated our team name and positioning accordingly,” she concluded.
While Mark Preston will continue as the team principal into the next chapter of Lola’s Formula E journey, he will be joined by a new face on the pit wall as his deputy.
Gerry Hughes takes over as Deputy Team Principal going into Gen4
With former deputy Frederic Espinos departing Lola and heading to Citroën Racing, Lola has scouted for a new figure to join their squad from Season 13.
Gerry Hughes takes over as Mark Preston’s deputy, bringing in considerable experience to bolster Lola’s Gen4 charge.
Fittingly, he returns to the Lola setup, having served as the Head of F1 Engineering at Lola in 2009. Hughes has worked across a wide variety of Formula One setups, including Red Bull Racing, Cosworth, Jordan, Super Aguri and Caterham in a storied career.
His most recent stint came at Aston Martin as a Chief Engineer, overseeing the Young Driver Development Programme and TPC testing roles for junior drivers.
Hughes has also served as a Head of Chassis Development at Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing, gaining experience stateside to add to his tally over the years.
Within the Formula E setup, Hughes’ most notable stint came as team principal of the NIO outfit from 2016 to 2019, while he had also served in an engineering capacity at Super Aguri way back in 2014.
The return to Lola’s setup marks a full-circle moment for his career. Hughes had conducted a research thesis on suspension design with the team, while pursuing an MSc in Automotive Product Engineering from Cranfield University.
“Having worked for Lola on two previous occasions, the opportunity to re-join the prestigious British marque is something of a homecoming for me and one that I take great pride in,” Hughes said on his homecoming to the Lola setup.
“Joining Lola also marks the third time I have worked alongside Mark Preston and Peter McCool, so there are a number of familiarities which will help me hit the ground running.
Hughes also joins one of Formula E’s newest outfits at a critical point, having committed early to the Gen4 era with a view to achieving plenty of success.
“Formula E has certainly come a long way technologically since I bowed out at the end of Season 5, and I am excited to be returning to the championship as it enters this new era.”
Preston, who had worked alongside Hughes in the Super Aguri setup he had founded, was delighted to reunite with his former colleague. “It’s great to be working with Gerry again, having been teammates at Super Aguri as well as competitors in the earlier seasons of Formula E.
“This appointment continues our commitment to building a competitive in-house team with wide-ranging expertise and capabilities,” Preston said, delighted to work alongside Hughes and bolster Lola’s package for Season 13 and beyond.
One of these important elements for the Lola squad includes finalising its driver line-up, with several drivers linked to a seat at the British squad at the time.
A question of who? Lola’s unique driver line-up conundrum
As Formula E’s silly season has moved and evolved, one key question has remained in the air: Who drives for the Lola Formula E setup going into the Gen4 era?
Several names have been thrown into the ring from as early as the final weekend of the season. With Lucas di Grassi retiring from the sport and Zane Maloney switching to Nissan, Lola has two seats to fill for the Gen4 era.
Former Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum tested a Lola at Guadix in late August, with the team even potentially looking at their countryman as one of the drivers to take a seat at the team for the Gen4 era. But as the off-season went on, talks have fizzled out, with Fortescue Zero now the leading candidate to obtain Ticktum’s services for the Gen4 era.
While a newer team of Lola’s calibre may be looking at securing an experienced head to lead the squad, a fleet of rookies have been in touch for a Gen4 drive in 2027. Some of these drivers are even believed to bring financial backing along with them, making a commercially viable prospect for a growing team early in the Gen4 era.
F2’s third-place finisher in 2025, and Lola’s rookie tester Richard Verschoor, has been a figure of interest, while Victor Martins has also held talks with the team for a race seat in Season 13. However, neither driver has penned a deal, also stemming from ironing out their future commitments in the World Endurance Championship in 2027.
Super Formula racer Roman Staněk has also been in talks with the team for a potential race seat, before teasing a return to F2 with the newly-initiated LN4 Fusion outfit for 2027.
IndyCar’s Sting Ray Robb had privately tested the Gen4 package during the winter break, and briefly emerged as a viable candidate for a full-time seat. However, he isn’t the only one, with former McLaren driver Nolan Siegel reportedly in talks with Lola for a seat.
Robb, though, has also recently tested an LMP2 endurance car in recent times, as he searches for a future outside IndyCar, and may not step up to Formula E in the coming season.
A more recent name emerging in the race is Indy NXT runner-up Enzo Fittipaldi, who tested the Lola Gen4 machine at Alès-Cevennes, and is understood to be of firm interest for a seat at the team. Fittipaldi last raced in F2 in 2024, before moving to the European Le Mans Series in 2025 for CLX Motorsport. He was part of the Formula E Rookie Test with Jaguar in Berlin during his F2 days.
The front-running candidate, though, is Robert Shwartzman. The former Ferrari F1 junior who piloted the No. 83 entry in the World Endurance Championship, Shwartzman moved stateside to join PREMA Racing’s maiden IndyCar entry in 2025. He secured a landmark Indy 500 pole position in May 2025, a special moment to cherish.
But with the Italian squad unable to hold on to a spot on the grid in 2026, he was forced to leave the championship and look for alternative seats elsewhere. One such opportunity is the Lola Formula E squad, with whom Shwartzman has been in talks for much longer.
Despite securing an endurance drive for Peugeot’s hypercar squad in 2027, a special arrangement is expected to see him line up for Lola’s Formula E squad in the Gen4 era.
It marks a fascinating story to follow, and one to watch as it develops in the lead-up to pre-season testing at Jarama in mid-November, now only a month away.
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