The ongoing sort out of Stellantis’ commitment to Formula E and its structures around likely new brands Citroen and Opel is having a major impact on the driver market right now.
That's even before considering the other ongoing saga of Antonio Felix da Costa and Porsche's driver situation for next season.
So, how will Stellantis - which currently has DS Automobiles and Maserati in Formula E - work everything out when its new brands are introduced and which seats will be filled for 2026?
Cassidy in, but where exactly?
Nick Cassidy has signed a big deal with Stellantis Motorsport for next season onwards. Formal confirmation is expected after the end of the present season as the Kiwi enters a new phase of his career following his split with Jaguar.
Cassidy and his team at GP Sports Management jumped early and there are several dividends that will come as a result of this policy.
One is that he will be front and centre of Stellantis’ Gen4 development which will kick-off later this season from a track testing standpoint. The other considerable benefit is that Cassidy is also likely get a chance to return to the World Endurance Championship, with Peugeot, possibly as early as next season or in 2027 when its expected new-look Hypercar hits the track.
Additionally, Cassidy can also now relax and not get caught up in the driver market tumult. Because of the presently unanswered da Costa/Porsche situation and the moving pieces that it dictates, the who goes where questions may be delayed until after the end of the present season.
The only unresolved question is exactly where in the Stellantis teams Cassidy fits in - in terms of a seat - for next season. On paper and as it stands it seems like it can only be with the Maserati MSG team, whether it is known as that or not next season.
Because Cassidy is contracted to Stellantis, the issues with the MSG element of the team in terms of its financial stability are not of any particular concern to him per se. But it may only be in his orbit anyway for a single season.
This is because that licence is being maintained by Formula E, which cannot afford to lose another team, especially if the current McLaren team cannot find a new owner its licence is returned to the promoters this summer.
So, next season could just be a one-off for Cassidy in terms of racing for the team which is based literally around the corner from his abode in Monaco. Unless the Maserati name exits a year ahead of Gen4 and becomes Opel or Citroen, it is highly likely that the shape of the team will change significantly and have much more Stellantis influence and potential ownership of some kind for Gen4.
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All of this is being discussed in the corridors of Satory, Stellantis Motorsport's base near Paris, right now. Decisions on how the squads with its brands will be constructed are expected before the August holidays.
There's urgency to those decisions as manufacturers will begin operational and first testing of their Gen4 manufacturer cars at the end of the present year, something which Cassidy will already be relishing.
Vandoorne out, Pourchaire in?
While Jake Hughes is definitely looking elsewhere for a seat - and given his performances over the last the seasons he will be an attractive proposition - his Maserati MSG team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne is by no means a certainty to stay and be a team-mate to Cassidy next season.
Vandoorne is talking to rivals, especially for a WEC seat next season, and if he were to find a lucrative one then could he forego Formula E altogether, especially as he has an Aston Martin Formula 1 reserve role too?
Perhaps though, a tidier scenario for the 2022 champion would be to find another customer team in Formula E, thus forsaking much of the Gen4 development work, and go with a new WEC manufacturer for 2026 and beyond that doesn't have a Formula E presence of its own.
Vandoorne, like his Peugeot stablemates, has been frustrated with life in the WEC over the last two seasons at least, which will be a key reason why he will be talking to non-Stellantis group teams.
He did talk to Envision Racing extensively last summer and is known to be of interest to the team again. But so is Hughes and at least three other possibilities up and down the grid.
The Race has also learned that Envision is again looking at an unchanged line-up for 2026 with Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns both in negotiations about a possible new deal.
Of course, Vandoorne could also remain at Stellantis for another season - he gets on very well with Cassidy and could partner him. But longer term, if Vandoorne wants to stay in Formula E with Stellantis, he will have to be immersed in the Gen4 test and development in conjunction with a likely all-new Peugeot Hypercar challenger for 2027. Each of those prospects is still alive.
Should Vandoorne move away from Stellantis then it seems inevitable that Theo Pourchaire, already ensconced there as a reserve and test driver for both WEC and Formula E, will slot in pretty quickly. He is highly rated by senior Stellantis figures and they believe he is ready for a race seat from next season onwards.
Pourchaire will get testing time with Stellantis again this summer and should also be at the Berlin rookie test next month. Around that time should be crucial in understanding what his precise chances are of making his Formula E race debut this December in Sao Paulo.
Guenther is secure but is Vergne?
Maximilian Guenther has a long-term deal at Penske and unlike team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne is not affiliated to Stellantis Motorsport contractually and thus is protected from the swirl of uncertainty right now.
It’s very significant because it means that Guenther, who has outqualified and outscored Vergne this season, will lead Penske into Gen4 where it is expected it will race with Porsche powertrains for at least the first homologation.
An assumption has abounded that Vergne will be at the centre of Stellantis’ Gen4 plans but that is no given. The double champion has been generally excellent over the Gen3 period but has only taken a single victory (in Hyderabad in February 2023), albeit in a car that has not been consistently on par with Jaguar, Porsche and Nissan packages.
Vergne is much more than just a driver, though. He has ambitions to recreate his glorious Techeetah days, something which he was involved in from the start from a business, back-office start-up point of view in 2016.
What might that mean for Vergne’s racing for 2026 and beyond?
No one quite knows at the moment and while he is believed to have at least an agreement to race for DS Penske in their final season together for 2025-26, there have been rumours recently that this plan might not be entirely nailed on.
Should a move transpire then where could Vergne race?
One possibility could be within a new entity, and that might be with whatever NEOM McLaren becomes. Or could Vergne swap with Cassidy and race with MSG in whatever guise it is in next season, with Cassidy hooking up with Guenther for one season only at DS Penske via his Stellantis deal?
That all feels a bit unlikely. But as with this bewildering, Tetris-style set-piece puzzle of the 2025/26 barking mad silly season, nothing appears off the table at the moment.
