After a season away from the team, it’s been officially confirmed that Robin Frijns will be rejoining Envision Racing for the 2024 Formula E World Championship.
Envision confirmed on Tuesday morning that Frijns had returned to the Silverstone-based team, to replace season nine runner-up Nick Cassidy, who’s switch to Jaguar TCS Racing was announced on Monday.
Frijns originally left the side at the end of season eight ahead of the Gen3 era, which he started with backmarker ABT CUPRA. It’s believed that the Dutch driver became frustrated this year with the non-competitive nature of Mahindra’s powertrain, which proved to be one of the weakest on the grid.
Frijns returning to ABT was supposed to be a fairytale story, with the driver having competed in DTM with the Kempten-based team from 2018-2020. It ultimately didn’t work out as expected and was more of a nightmare, which started with a series of surgeries following a heavy crash at the Mexico City season-opener.
The 32-year-old is quite literally going from the bottom to the top by returning to Envision, with the side having recently won the Constructors’ Championship, whereas ABT CUPRA finished last. It really was a miserable season for Frijns, who’s standout performance was his incredible pole position in Berlin.
Returning to Envision feels like “coming home” for Frijns, who is eager to “win the championship” in season 10.
“I’m really excited about getting started again with Envision Racing after a year away from the team, it really does feel like coming home,” stated Frijns.
”It will be great to be joining a championship winning team. Envision Racing have been fighting at the top pretty much every season, and I can’t wait to get started. We have a great car, and the aim is to be competitive, which I am sure we will be, and I am driving to win the championship.”
Prior to ditching Envision for ABT CUPRA for season nine, Frijns had spent four seasons with the British side. In that time, he claimed two victories, a pole position and a further 10 podiums. He’s an experienced Formula E driver who certainly has the pace to be at the front when given the right machinery.
Envision Team Principal Sylvain Filippi knows exactly what he’s getting by re-signing Frijns, who he recalls was “always pushing at the front” during his previous four-year stint with the team.
“It is great to have Robin back with the team after one year away,” Filippi said.
“He enjoyed some memorable moments with Envision Racing over the years and was always pushing at the front and regularly fishing on the podium. The combination of Robin and Sébastien will be a strong one, and we can’t wait to get started for Season 10.“
