CUPRA KIRO Formula E Team has signed Jake Hughes for the 2026/27 Formula E season, completing a two-driver line-up with Pepe Martí.
The appointment was announced on 12 October 2026 as the team presented its GEN4 programme at the Paris Motor Show. Hughes returns to a full-time Formula E seat after racing in the championship from 2023 to 2025 with McLaren and Maserati.
Hughes adds development experience to the line-up
Hughes remained active during his season away from full-time Formula E competition. The championship says he worked as Mahindra Racing’s reserve driver, continued test and simulator duties with McLaren in Formula 1 and raced in the European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing.
CUPRA KIRO identified that development background as relevant to the move into GEN4. Team Principal Russell O’Hagan said the organisation values Hughes’ one-lap pace and his ability to contribute to vehicle development. Those are team assessments; the appointment does not guarantee a particular competitive result.
Hughes previously scored Formula E podiums in Shanghai in 2024 and Jeddah in 2025. The team has not disclosed his contract term, salary, race number, engineer or any performance clauses.
Team combines a returning driver with retained continuity
Hughes will partner Martí, whom CUPRA KIRO retained earlier in 2026. The pairing gives the operation one driver continuing from its previous campaign and another with experience across multiple Formula E teams and simulation programmes.
The same launch revealed the team’s GEN4 livery. MRI has not treated the colour scheme as a separate business announcement. Formula E’s published speed, power and all-wheel-drive figures describe the common GEN4 platform and should not be read as team-specific performance claims.
The verified change is Hughes’ full-time return and the completion of CUPRA KIRO’s 2026/27 driver pairing. No feature image has been used because reusable first-party permission was not established. The article is connected to the team’s exact MRI profile; no new logo asset has been invented.