Jake Hughes to race for CUPRA KIRO in 2026/27 Formula E season
CUPRA KIRO welcomes experienced Formula E driver, Jake Hughes, for the 2026/27 FIA Formula E World Championship season
CUPRA KIRO is excited to welcome Jake Hughes to the team for the upcoming 2026/27 FIA Formula E World Championship season.
By joining the American squad, Jake will return to Formula E after emerging as one of the World Championship’s leading qualifiers and most promising talents during his three seasons as a full-time driver.
The British racer made his Formula E debut with McLaren in the 2022/23 campaign and immediately made an impression by securing pole position for only his third race in the series.
Jake claimed a second pole position on the streets of Monaco later in his rookie season and claimed a further two pole positions in his second campaign before securing his maiden Formula E podium at the 2024 Shanghai E-Prix.
For the 2024/25 season, Jake competed for Maserati MSG Racing where he added a second career podium in Jeddah.
Jake performed Reserve Driver duties in Formula E during the 2025/26 season, while also competing in the premier LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series, where he claimed victory at the 4 Hours of Silverstone earlier this year.
Alongside his Formula E experience, Jake also holds significant experience in Formula 1, having held Test and Simulator roles for three seasons, most recently with McLaren across 2025 and 2026.
As part of CUPRA KIRO, Jake will partner Pepe Martí for the upcoming season as the team enters a new era of competition with the arrival of Formula E’s state-of-the-art GEN4 racing car.
The arrival of GEN4 marks the single biggest step in performance in Formula E history, with the vehicle featuring 600kW of power, active all-wheel-drive, and 700kW regenerative braking capabilities.
Pre-Season Testing for the 2026/27 season will take place at the Circuito del Jarama in Madrid, Spain, on 16-20 November ahead of the first event of the season on 18-19 December.
Jake Hughes, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
“I’m over the moon to be joining CUPRA KIRO. It feels like it’s been a long time coming. The team has built the foundations of something very special and hopefully, we can kick on and bring even more success. It’s very exciting to be heading into a new era with the arrival of GEN4 – we’ll have fast cars and a lot of technology which I think will suit my driving style really well. I’m looking forward to Pre-Season Testing, getting in the car, and getting to work. Hopefully we can win some races!”
Russell O’Hagan, Team Principal, CUPRA KIRO
“We’re very excited to welcome Jake to CUPRA KIRO for the coming season. He brings a wealth of Formula E experience, but also a very valuable background in car development having worked closely with some of the leading teams in both Formula E and Formula 1. Jake’s one-lap pace has always been a real strength of his, and he has an instinctive feel for extracting performance from a car. With the arrival of GEN4, having a driver who can contribute both on track and through the development process will be invaluable, and from what we’ve seen so far, the characteristics of the GEN4 should suit Jake’s intuitive driving style very well. Having Jake alongside Pepe also gives us a different dynamic to previous seasons, marking our first season as Kiro Race Co without a rookie driver. Having conducted some pre-season work with us last year, Jake already knows the team well and is settling in quickly. We’ve been working incredibly hard the last few months on everything GEN4, and now, we’re looking forward to getting Jake in the car, hitting the track, and seeing what we can achieve together.”