Lucas di Grassi has confirmed he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 Formula E season, drawing a line under one of electric racing’s most familiar careers. The Brazilian has been part of the championship since the very beginning, and his exit will feel like the end of an era as much as the departure of a driver.
Motorsport coverage does not often get the chance to say farewell to one of its founding figures with a proper record behind him. Di Grassi is not just stepping away; he is closing a chapter that mirrors the rise of Formula E itself, from an experimental series to a fully fledged world championship.
Retirement confirmed before the closing stretch
The announcement came ahead of the Berlin E-Prix. Di Grassi said 2026 will be his final season as a professional racing driver, with his career set to end in London on 15 and 16 August. That leaves him a few more races to bring down the curtain on a 24-year journey that began in 2002 in Formula Renault Brazil.
There is something neat about announcing retirement before the last lap has even been completed. It gives a driver control over the ending, rather than letting results and circumstances make the decision for them. In a sport built on precision, that feels entirely fitting.
A natural fit for Formula E
Di Grassi has always been closely tied to Formula E because he was there at the start. He was the first driver to sign up for the championship when it launched in 2014, and he won the opening race in Beijing. For a new series trying to establish credibility, that was about as clean a statement of intent as it could get.
He has competed in every Formula E season since then, becoming one of the championship’s constant reference points as the grid, the cars and the profile of the series evolved around him. His 2016-17 title with Abt and 13 victories tell the story of a driver who stayed relevant by being consistently difficult to beat.
A career that stretched well beyond electric racing
It would be wrong, though, to define Di Grassi only by Formula E. His CV also includes a runner-up finish in the World Endurance Championship with Audi in 2016, his final full season in the WEC. He also claimed three Le Mans podiums for the German marque.
Before that, he spent 2010 in Formula 1 with Virgin Racing. His spell there was brief, and Jérôme d’Ambrosio replaced him for 2011 alongside Timo Glock, but it remains part of a wider career that ranged across several top-level categories. Di Grassi was never just a one-series specialist.
The final seasons have been tougher
The ending, however, has not matched the highlights. Since 2023, he has not finished higher than 15th in the championship, and in the first six races of the 2025-26 campaign with Lola he has yet to score a point. In a tightly packed series such as Formula E, that sort of form tells its own story quickly.
That makes the retirement decision feel less like a grand final flourish and more like a controlled handover. Di Grassi is leaving before the sport leaves him behind, which is rarely the glamorous route but often the wiser one.
Formula E loses one of its original names
The championship is not merely losing a driver here. It is losing one of its best-known links to the early days of the category. Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds made that point clearly, describing Di Grassi as inseparable from the series from day one and crediting him with helping to shape its development.
That matters because Formula E has always needed familiar figures to help explain what it is trying to be: a credible racing category built around electric mobility and technological progress. Di Grassi has served that role for years, and his absence will leave a noticeable gap in the paddock as well as on the timing screens.
A dignified exit, with a few races still to run
Di Grassi’s next steps are expected to be announced later. For now, he says he wants to finish his final season with the same intensity he has shown throughout his career. That is hardly a surprise from a driver whose career has been defined by persistence, adaptability and a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
For Formula E, his departure will mark the end of one of the championship’s most important links to its origins. For Di Grassi, it offers the chance to bow out on his own terms. He may not be ending on a winning run, but he is still leaving with a record that carries real weight. In that sense, it feels like a sensible time to stop. He has done more than enough, and Formula E will be poorer for losing one of its original faces.
Key points on Lucas di Grassi’s retirement
- Lucas di Grassi will retire at the end of the 2025-26 Formula E season.
- He was the first driver to sign up for Formula E when the championship began in 2014.
- His Formula E record includes the 2016-17 title with Abt and 13 wins.
- His recent form has been quieter, with no points in the opening six races of 2025-26 with Lola and no better than 15th in the championship since 2023.
- His wider career includes a runner-up finish in the WEC in 2016, three Le Mans podiums and a 2010 Formula 1 season with Virgin Racing.
- Formula E loses one of the drivers most closely associated with its early years.
