September 25th 2025

Jaguar names James as new Formula E team principal

Jaguar TCS Racing has announced Ian James as its new team principal, replacing James Barclay who helmed the team from its inception.

James – who will also serve as managing director of JLR Motorsport – will join the team on October 1 from McLaren where he was managing director and team principal of McLaren Electric Racing during its time in Formula E and Extreme E. Prior to that, he also steered Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team to unprecedented back-to-back drivers' and teams' title doubles before the Silver Arrows setup was absorbed by McLaren.

“I’m incredibly proud to be joining Jaguar – a brand with a unique history of technical innovation through racing and now with an exciting all-electric future ahead of it,” said James. “To be able to lead the talented team at Jaguar TCS Racing to fight for success on-track while pioneering EV development through competition will be a privilege.”

James will report directly to JLR Motorsport chairman Chris Thorp, who said: “Our JLR Motorsport programs play a vital role within the business – developing and innovating technology for the future benefit of our customers and inspiring our global 40,000-strong workforce with a winning mindset.

“Ian joins Jaguar TCS Racing at a particularly relevant time for the Jaguar Brand – as hardware and software technology proven on-track will transfer to the next generation of Jaguar all-electric road cars previewed by Type 00 – and also for Formula E as we are only a year away from the GEN4 era of regulations. I’m looking forward to working with Ian on leading the team to further success.”

The move is something of a swap, with Barclay moving over to McLaren to run its new Hypercar effort, which will debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027. Barclay helped build the team from its founding, and oversaw all 128 of Jaguar's races in Formula E to-date.

In that time the team has won 22 races, and claimed the 2023-24 teams' and manufacturers' titles, while customer team Envision Racing also gave the brand another teams' title in 2022-23. It enjoyed a strong end to last season, winning five of the final six races, with Cassidy – who has since moved to Citroën Racing – victorious in four of those, including the last three consecutively.

Speaking to RACER at the 2024-25 season finale in London back in July, Barclay expressed confidence that Jaguar would continue to be a force in Formula E as it enters its new era.

“I can step away really proud of what we've achieved as a group and what I've achieved leading them, and I've worked really hard to set the foundation to the future here, both for GEN4 and for next season,” he said. “I think the team is in a great place for next season and beyond.”

For more information: www.racer.com

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