Robert Shwartzman is primed to join the Lola Formula E team and become a fourth rookie to race in the all-electric world championship next season.
Formula E Notebook has uncovered plans for the Stellantis contracted driver to join Lola for the 2026-27 season, where he is poised to complete a dual-programme of Formula E and the FIA World Endurance Championship as per Stellantis counterparts, Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Shwartzman looked set to put pen to paper with Lola much earlier this year, just after the Berlin E-Prix in May. That was when he spent most of the weekend in and around the Lola pit and held lengthy discussions with the team about a potential deal.
But several months passed before negotiations developed again with Shwartzman and his management team finally agreeing a way forward last week with the driver now set to race for Lola.
FEN understands that Lola could formally announce Shwartzman imminently, as it prepares for its third season of Formula E after a rollercoaster experience so far has seen triumph and despair.
An unexpected win for Lucas di Grassi at the Shanghai E-Prix in July was a clear high point. But the team has also faced significant adversity, notably through reliability and efficiency issues across the two campaigns, including a disastrous London E-Prix finale in August when an outgoing Lucas di Grassi ended his professional career with a car failure induced accident and a terminal powertrain issue respectively.
Lola is in the midst of a technical and team structural re-alignment with several new hires coming in to the team recently. This has included the appointment of a new Deputy Team Principal, with ex Aguri and NIO staffer Gerry Hughes joining the team, which will still be led by Mark Preston, who also employed Hughes at the Aguri team in 2016.
Who will partner Shwartzman?
Lola is talking to several potential partners for Shwartzman for the 2026-27 season but isn’t expected to get a driver to put pen to paper until early November.
The British manufacturer has recently tested Dan Ticktum and Sting Ray Robb, with the former off the market after agreeing to join the Fortescue Zero team, while Robb is unlikely to make the leap in to Formula E, and has recently tested an LMP2 car in Europe with an eye to a possible sportscar career.
Lola had been in discussions with both Victor Martins and Richard Verschoor but these are believed to have ceased over the summer months.
A new name on the list is believed to be Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of double world F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of Pietro. The 25 year old has recently just completed a season of the European Le Mans Series with the CLX Motorsport team.
Fittipaldi previously won two F2 races over a four season stint there racing with Charouz, Rodin Calrin and Van Amersfoort. He also took part in the 2024 Formula E rookie test at Berlin Tempelhof for the Jaguar TCS Racing team.
FEN understands that Fittipaldi, who is represented by the same management stable as Nick Cassidy, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sam Bird – GP Sports Management, has held talks with Lola but no deal is decided upon. But there is interest from both sides in attempting to get Fittipaldi in to Formula E.
Should that happen, Fittipaldi would join Felipe Drugovich as a second Brazilian in the series, after previous ever-present Lucas di Grassi announced his retirement last May, and took part in his final race with Lola at the London E-Prix in August.
