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Perhaps Formula E's most-recognisable driver, and undoubtedly one of its most vocal advocates, Lucas di Grassi, is set to call time on his active racing career. The Brazilian will step away from the cockpit following the London E-Prix season finale in August this year.
Di Grassi announced his decision at the Berlin E-Prix, stating that his choice was made with "emotion, but also with peace".
"Every great race has a final lap, and I want mine to be driven with the same intensity, commitment, and love that brought me here," he said. "I will give everything in my final races and I will share more news with you soon about the bright future ahead."
This statement is widely believed to allude to a fresh challenge within the Formula E paddock, where he is expected to leverage his vast championship experience in a new, non-driving capacity.
The 2016-17 Formula E champion, who boasts an impressive 13 race victories and 41 podium finishes, will stand down from his racing duties at Lola-Yamaha Abt. However, he will continue to assist in the development of the Gen4 car ahead of the new ruleset debuting in December.
"After a lifetime dedicated to racing, 2026 will mark my final season as a professional racing driver and the beginning of a new chapter," added di Grassi. "Motorsport has been my life for as long as I can remember, giving me discipline and grit before I knew why I needed them, and purpose in moments when the road ahead was far from clear."
"Racing shaped my life in ways I could never have imagined. It changed me profoundly as a driver, person, father, and human being. I gave everything I had to this sport, and in return, it gave me a life beyond anything I could have dreamed of."
"I am deeply grateful to my family, who supported me from day one through every sacrifice, difficult decision, victory, and defeat. Without their love, patience, and belief, none of this would have been possible. It is with them, especially my wonderful wife and children, that I have made this decision."
Di Grassi’s motorsport journey began in Brazilian Formula Renault in 2002. By 2004, he had relocated to the UK to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship with Hitech, racing alongside future Formula E rivals Nelson Piquet Jr and Adam Carroll.
His trajectory included a prestigious victory at the Macau Grand Prix in 2005 with Manor Motorsport, followed by a four-season stint in GP2. He finished as runner-up to Timo Glock in 2007 and delivered a stellar cameo in 2008, scoring three wins and finishing third in the standings despite missing the first six races.
Graduating to Formula 1 in 2010 with the nascent Virgin Racing team, di Grassi and his teammate Glock struggled to make an impact in a vastly underdeveloped car. A stint developing Pirelli's F1 tyres in 2011 paved the way for a move to endurance racing in 2012.
As an Audi factory driver during the golden era of full-blown LMP1 Hybrid cars, di Grassi secured three podium finishes at the Le Mans 24 Hours in four attempts. Competing against Toyota and Porsche in the World Endurance Championship from 2013 to 2016, he claimed two victories and a best championship finish of second.
His versatile resume also includes appearances in Australia's Supercars Championship, Brazilian Stock Cars, the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and the DTM.
It was in Formula E, however, that di Grassi truly cemented his legacy. Hired in 2012 by series founder Alejandro Agag, he became one of the first individuals on the Formula E Operations payroll, tasked with demonstrating the original Formulec FE01 and the Gen1 car globally.
His competitive Formula E career launched spectacularly with Audi Sport Abt in Beijing in 2014, where he inherited the first-ever series victory following a dramatic final-corner collision between Nick Heidfeld and Nico Prost.
Di Grassi quickly established himself as a formidable force. The peak of his career arrived during the second and third seasons. After narrowly losing the 2015-16 title to arch-rival Sebastien Buemi—following a controversial first-corner collision triggered by di Grassi in Battersea Park—he exacted his revenge the following year. Despite being outscored 6-2 on race victories, he clinched the 2016-17 championship after Buemi suffered a disastrous weekend in Montreal.
He remained a potent threat throughout the Gen2 era, securing four victories for Audi and adding another triumph at the ExCeL during his sole campaign with Venturi in 2021-22.
The Gen3 era proved far less forgiving. A move to Mahindra for the first season of the new ruleset yielded only one significant result: a third-place finish at the season-opening Mexico City round. Frustrations over the car's late development led to an early parting of ways.
A return to Abt for the 2023-24 season reunited him with former Audi colleagues, but as a Mahindra customer team, results remained elusive. When Abt partnered with the new Lola project at the end of 2024, di Grassi became a driving force in development, earning a hard-fought second place at the Miami E-Prix at Homestead in April 2025.
However, the current season has been challenging for the 41-year-old, who is yet to score a point. Despite this, he remains integral to Lola's Gen4 development, participating in group tests and private sessions for the reborn British manufacturer.
Few modern competitors possess di Grassi's multi-channel intellect and intense curiosity. His interests span future racing technology, geopolitics, social ideologies, and medical breakthroughs.
What truly sets him apart is his unwavering belief in electric vehicle engineering and advancing efficiencies within the motorsport and automotive industries. His advocacy extends far beyond the paddock; from 2018 to 2024, he served as a Clean Air Advocate for the United Nations Environment Programme, promoting sustainable mobility via the BreatheLife campaign.
From a racing perspective, di Grassi will be remembered as one of the defining drivers of Formula E's first decade. While his aggressive driving style occasionally led to unavoidable accidents—most notably the Battersea Park clash with Buemi—his bruising reputation cannot overshadow his copious achievements.
As his final racing season draws to a close, it would be entirely fitting for di Grassi to extract one last jaw-dropping result from the unfancied Lola package. It would be a well-deserved final day in the sun for one of motorsport's most compelling characters.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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