A new identity and a new leader await Lola Formula E as the team enters Gen4 with its new generation of challengers. Former F1 expert Gerry Hughes has joined the British outlet, and will take on the role and responsibilities of Deputy Team Principal.
A long-standing and wide-ranging motorsport career for Hughes
Hughes had first joined Lola Cars back in 1994, developing his Engineering thesis with the racing team at the time operating in Formula 1 and IndyCar, reuniting in 2009 as Head of F1 Engineering. The British built on his top single seaters experience joining forces with several teams, including Jaguar, Jordan and Red Bull.
He also served as Head of Chassis development stateside for Rahal Letterman Laningan Racing, before beginning his first ever electric racing experience with NIO, serving as Team Principal for three years.
In his latest official motorsport duty, Hughes followed the development and the drivers composing Aston Martin’s young talent rooster, the F1 Evolution Team. Within his new role at Lola Formula E, Hughes will team up with Team Principal Mark Preston to better structure the hard work at the Silverstone facility.
Preston confirms Hughes’s Deputy Team Principal role at Lola Formula E
Preston saluted the announcement of new colleague, with whom he had already had the chance to partner up in a previous racing experience, praising his long-standing career and deep motorsport knowledge.
“We are very pleased to announce that Gerry is joining the team. His vast experience across a variety of motorsport series will be integral to the team’s continued development as we enter GEN4. On a personal note, 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.”
New Lola Formula E Deputy Team Principal Hughes was rather content to rejoin forces with the brand for his third experience working for the prestigious team,
“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. 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.”
“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.” Hughes concluded, excited to resume his electric racing career.
A new age for Lola Formula E
Lola Formula E has also highlighted the end of their partnership with Yamaha as technical support and provider, marked by the dropping of the Japanese factory team name. Yamaha had joined forces with Lola and ABT back in December 2024, embarking on a new challenge with electric racing.
While ABT had announced their departure at the beginning of 2026, the Japanese outlet had appeared to be remaining within the Formula E team even after the end of Gen3Evo.
Lola Cars CEO Mishern Chetty commented on the decision, remarking the strong steps undertaken by the Silverstone-based team on their quest to build their standing in the electric championship.
“Since the inception of Lola’s Formula E program Yamaha has been an invaluable technical partner, providing expertise and resource which has been key to our development. We are proud to be continuing this relationship with them for our GEN4 campaign, where they remain a core part of the team.”
“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.”
“We will therefore compete next season as the Lola Formula E Team, with both companies continuing to build on the foundations established together in GEN3 Evo to develop a competitive platform which provides a unique platform for OEMs, technical and commercial partners looking to join Formula E.”
Lola Formula E will make their Gen4 debut at the upcoming Jarama testing session in November. The team’s line up is yet to be announced, following Lucas Di Grassi’s retirement from the championship and Zane Maloney’s move to Nissan Formula E.
