News that Nick Cassidy is set to leave Jaguar at the end of the 2024-25 Formula E season has naturally prompted the question of who his replacement might be.
Mitch Evans is contracted at the team with which he has been an ever-present until the summer of 2026 - but who will line-up alongside him in the final Gen3 season?
Antonio Felix da Costa
The favourite?
Can a driver who has a current option on his services for next season with a major rival manufacturer (Porsche) really be considered a favourite for the seat? In the case of Antonio Felix da Costa, yes.
The Race understands that talks have taken place between da Costa's camp, ably led by former Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro, and Jaguar recently. A proven winner, champion and close friend of Mitch Evans feels like a natural fit to replace the outgoing Cassidy.
Da Costa's often fractious relationship with Porsche is well-known, and at present it feels like something of a fragile relationship once again. That is because what seemed like a very decent chance to challenge for his second title this season is now all but over. Yet, that is the case for pretty much everyone else in the field after Oliver Rowland blitzed everything before him in the first half of the season.
That fact might be telling for Da Costa's future now. Not in the sense that he has somehow failed, far from it, but more so that after three seasons he now looks like a driver who needs a new challenge.
But there is a major complication in both the future of Da Costa and who will sit alongside Pascal Wehrlein at Porsche for next season. Plan A had always been Nico Mueller kicking on from his excellent 2024 with Abt Cupra and slotting in after a strong season with Andretti. That equation has simply not materialised though, which might cast doubts on actioning the plan centred upon the Swiss driver for next season at least.
But also, if Porsche doesn't take up the option on Da Costa, then would Jaguar be an attraction for him?
In normal times you'd say unequivocally "yes". But with Jaguar licking its wounds from a fraught season so far, a fixed-in homologation for next season, and the probable incompatibility of doing a dual World Endurance Championship programme, all of a sudden it doesn't look so obviously nailed-on for Da Costa.
Again though, before all that, Porsche must surely be thinking about stalling the Mueller plan and taking up its option on Da Costa after all.
All this means Jaguar may have to get creative for 2026. And you don't get more creative than our next suggestion.
Dan Ticktum
The wildest of wildcards
Is Dan Ticktum ready to represent a manufacturer? Is the world ready for such a wild ride?
Most will scoff, even at the merest notion. Especially the notion of that manufacturer being Jaguar, which had a conservative streak to its operations. But had is the operative word there.
Jaguar's late-2024 facelift to its image and branding with the divisive and 'high art' Copy Nothing caught the headlines. Could Ticktum fit into all that? In a way he's been breaking moulds (as well as many other things) for years, so perhaps he could.
On performance and flair, Ticktum is a no-brainer for Jaguar. But the all-round package is so much more than that. Corporate responsibilities and branding awareness are important to Jaguar, so the eternal question remains: Is Ticktum (still) too much of a loose cannon?
The answer is only really within the man himself and on the evidence of the Tokyo E-Prix earlier this month then he's worth taking a chance on.
Whether or not Jaguar will do so or not is up to Jaguar. But he's there for the taking, and if the manufacturer caresses - rather than fires - Ticktum's own personal trigger, then it could be a sensational bit of business.
Taylor Barnard
The future pick
Barnard's ascent in formula E has been truly meteoric - and astonishingly, for one so young, he already feels like a proposition screaming out for manufacturer attention.
Is his future more complicated by the fact NEOM and McLaren are exiting Formula E this summer? Undoubtably yes, although his current team principal Ian James would soothe that claim very quickly.
James is confident that he has ring-fenced the talent he helped nurture and grow tightly. Yet the very future of the entry he manages is presently in the balance. If there is no team, clearly Barnard will be free to get a seat elsewhere.
Would he be ready for a major manufacturer drive that incorporates a new car being exhaustively developed in conjunction with a full racing campaign next season? It would seem on the evidence of the way he has run the first half of the current one that he absolutely is already.
Barnard is being courted by several other teams at present - and why wouldn't he be? Jaguar will have been one of those that has at least talked to him.
If Barnard's present team survives, then he may not be free to engage or indeed there could be a tumultuous tug of war that spreads out well into the post-season period.
Jake Dennis
The outsider
Dennis is way off fighting for another title this season, but he is driving as well as ever with some recent brilliance displayed in Monaco and Tokyo. Yet, those points scores aren't threatening to add to his six E-Prix wins so far, which has to be frustrating.
At the age of 29, will that start to gnaw away a bit and could it trigger a jump at a manufacturer offer such as one that could be on the table with Jaguar?
A British champion in a British-based manufacturer car has a nice ring to it, and Dennis is a good all-round package now who would certainly add a great deal to Jaguar's programme. The only problem is that he is tied up at Andretti until next summer at least.
That means an expensive buyout of one of Andretti's key assets. That won't be easy, nor the work of a moment, and as it stands seems highly unlikely.
Jake Hughes
What about another Jake?
Hughes is a podium proposition, this is proven. But this season has been tough with Maserati MSG and has yielded just 27 points so far in a car that has proved to be erratic track-to-track.
With Cassidy believed to have signed to Stellantis, Hughes is likely to be scouting for drives elsewhere.
While a long-term deal may not be in the offing, even a one-year agreement could make sense for both parties here. A season whereby Jaguar gets a third opinion on its package from someone who is known to be adept technically might be beneficial, as might the prospect of investing in Hughes for Gen4 should he be able to deliver and match Evans.
Norman Nato
Familiar face #1
Nato was highly thought of in his short time as a Jaguar reserve and development driver in 2022, and he performed very solidly in a cameo performance at Seoul when Sam Bird fractured his hand at the London E-Prix.
The Frenchman is fast this season but unable to capitalise on that with points. Currently 150 shy of team-mate Oliver Rowland, Nato will eventually score big but might it be too late to stay at Nissan for next season?
Should Nissan move on, Jaguar could be interested in his services again either as a reserve or as a one-season-only (something that Nato has been forced into accepting often in Formula E) plug-in.
The only problem is that, despite a great paucity of points so far this season, Nato has proven to be quick. Might that be enough for Nissan's Tommaso Volpe to hand him a rare contract extension for the final Gen3 season before going big and trying to tempt Evans away from Jaguar for Gen4 to join Rowland?
Tom Dillmann
Familiar face #2
One of the unsung heroes of Jaguar's Formula E programme, Dillmann contributes a great amount as a test and sim driver.
He is one of the most underappreciated drivers in Formula E history, having shown very well in a handful of appearances with Venturi and having then battled his way into some elevated positions in a wretched NIO car back in 2018.
Since then, he's pulled off brilliant wins in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series and at Daytona and stabilised his reputation as a very capable driver.
However, it would be a major surprise to see him return to the cockpit as a race driver for Jaguar, although should it be for one season only there are few who would be more deserving.
Joel Eriksson
Familiar face #3
Like Dillmann, Eriksson is highly thought of at Jaguar and has held the position of reserve and test driver since 2023. He also made a decent cameo for Envision at Berlin last season, and was the only one of the 'plug-in' drivers that weekend to claim points with a decent ninth place.
But an elevation to the race team feels highly unlikely for the quietly spoken Swede, who also showed decently for Dragon in 2021.
Like Hughes and Dillmann, any possibility of a seat alongside Evans would only come if a stop-gap one-season deal is in the offing ahead of Gen4.
