The final piece of the Formula E grid jigsaw is about to be placed to complete an intricate driver market puzzle.
Whether or not it will be a neat fit or not is up for debate - but the Cupra Kiro team has gone through a tumultuous few months, where several drivers appear to have had one hand on the seat only for circumstance or other names to intervene.
The team itself is entering a crucial season both on and off the track. Its owner Forest Road will have got a feel for Formula E by now and will be judging how best it can maximise its new asset.
Additionally, Kiro will be in negotiation with its yet-to-be-decided Gen4 manufacturer supplier. Its relationship with present provider Porsche is strong and may continue but that in theory doesn't have to be decided until early 2026, once the coming season has already started. A strong start to that campaign can be viewed as critical to the attractiveness of a renewed deal.
The final decision will come in the next few days on who will be in the car for the Valencia test - but before that, The Race has heard much over the ongoing search for Dan Ticktum's new team-mate.
Formula E 2025-26 line-up
Porsche
Pascal Wehrlein
Nico Mueller
Jaguar
Antonio Felix da Costa
Mitch Evans
Nissan
Oliver Rowland
Norman Nato
Mahindra
Nyck de Vries
Edoardo Mortara
DS Penske
Taylor Barnard
Maximilian Guenther
Andretti
Jake Dennis
Felipe Drugovich
Envision
Sebastien Buemi
Joel Eriksson
Cupra Kiro
Dan Ticktum
TBC
Lola Yamaha Abt
Lucas di Grassi
Zane Maloney
Citroen
Nick Cassidy
Jean-Eric Vergne
The rookie option
Red Bull junior Josep Maria 'Pepe' Marti is under serious consideration for the seat alongside Ticktum - a former Red Bull junior himself, though their time at the programme never overlapped.
Marti has been in detailed talks with Cupra Kiro for several weeks now.
The Formula 2 race winner, who has competed for Campos Racing this season, currently sits sixth in the standings after victories at the Red Bull Ring and the Hungaroring.
But a code switch to Formula E is in the air for the 20-year-old - who is managed by the Fernando Alonso-fronted A14 Management stable.
After three seasons of F2, Marti has no realistic chance of getting to Formula 1, and is believed to present a strong and attractive package to Cupra Kiro in terms of experience and wherewithal to progress into Formula E.
He will also be an attractive proposition to Cupra as a brand based in Spain - and with a Spanish E-Prix set for Jarama in March, the first in Formula E for five years, some stars seem aligned for Marti to slot in. He is yet to test for the team but The Race understands that preparations are in place for him to do so in Valencia.
The proven package
Jake Hughes is believed to have been very close to getting the deal to race alongside countryman Ticktum.
The Race can reveal that Hughes even shook one of the Cupra Kiro cars down at Abingdon Airfield in early October. In theory, everything points to the team taking Hughes's experience and flair, which have been proven with some very accomplished performances in his three seasons in Formula E.
Granted, last season was tough for Hughes at an ailing and disconnected Maserati MSG. But it was tough too for team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, against whom Hughes stacked up very strongly indeed.
Vandoorne indeed also spoke to Cupra Kiro - but his intricate contract status with Stellantis earlier this year, and now his presumed move to another manufacturer, thought to be Genesis, ultimately meant talks of a deal ended before they really began.
There must be a reason that Hughes has not put pen to paper just yet - and that reason has to be Marti.
The wildest of wildcards
This time last year, as Cupra Kiro entered into its close technical partnership with Porsche, the manufacturer 'suggested' that David Beckmann might be a good fit for its line-up. He wasn't.
A single point was the return and, while that wasn't all Beckmann's fault, the tenure fell way short of expectations.
But what if a true wildcard, with bags of momentum as a recently crowned DTM champion, were to throw a massive, Turkish-forged spanner in the works?
Ayhancan Guven is that wildcard - and while he is really a rank outsider, his connections to Porsche (which he already tested for in Formula E last July) are such that he was and maybe still is in the mix for the seat.
It would be a sensational blindside move for the whole grid: a driver with zero single-seater experience perhaps channelling recent code switches of Colton Herta and Formula 2, Valentino Rossi and four-wheel endurance racing, Kalle Rovanpera and Super Formula.
