Frankfurt (AFP)

"Here is born the next generation of Mercedes racing cars": the German firm, dominating in F1, Wednesday unveiled its ambitions for its first season in Formula E with Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries for drivers.

"We're opening a new chapter, it's the first time we've gone all-electric and it's a very special moment," Toto Wolff, who heads Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, told AFP during the presentation. the team and its new electric car, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01, on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show.

- Goal: fight for victory -

"Our goal is to reach a position that allows us to fight for victories in the race or the league," he said in his presentation, but the first season "is that of learning." "We are newcomers, we must be modest."

"We are very aware of the challenge ahead," said Ian James, from Mercedes, who became the team's "main team".

For Wolff, the arrival of more and more builders in the discipline should allow him to gain more popularity.

"With the manufacturer's commitment comes a great marketing force," says the Austrian. "The platform is already developing very well, but with the arrival of Porsche and Mercedes this year alongside Audi and BMW, the series will receive an extra + boost."

- "Boost" for Formula E -

For the 2019-2020 season, which kicks off on November 22 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the star brand joins the young electric single-seaters championship launched in 2014 with Belgian driver Vandoorne, already a Formula E driver for HWA. Racelab (which served as a laboratory for Mercedes) last year, and the Dutch de Vries, current leader in Formula 2, the antechamber of F1.

"It's a real honor to wear Mercedes' star," said de Vries, whose arrival is a little surprise.

"Everything I did before Formula E was very different and I really enjoyed the switch to electric cars," explained Vandoorne, who has been involved in F1 racing with McLaren in 2017 and 2018.

From the "silver arrows" of the 1930s to the current successes of the British Lewis Hamilton in F1, to the world titles of the myth Juan Manuel Fangio in the premier category, Mercedes has marked the history of motorsport and dominates the world. elite since 2014.

In F1, she has won the last five titles of world champion builders and drivers, with Hamilton (four times) and German Nico Rosberg (in 2016).

The history of the brand is also confused with that of the sport car: she participated in the first race of the world, Paris-Rouen, in 1894.

Some of the best drivers took their place at the wheel of their Formula 1, including Argentinean Fangio, world champion with Mercedes in 1954 and 1955.

After the dramatic accident of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, when the Mercedes driven by the French Pierre Levegh landed in the crowd, killing more than 80 people, the brand decided to leave the car race.

She did not return until the late 80s and a few years later in Formula 1, as a motorist from 1994, then as a full-fledged stable from 2010, after 55 years of absence.

The name "EQ" of the team refers to the range of the same name electric cars marketed by the Daimler Group this year.

© 2019 AFP