Formula E rookie Jake Hughes had a late start to motorsport in comparison to some of his other competitors, making his professional karting debut in 2010 at the age of 16. The step-up to single-seaters followed shortly after, with only two years of experience karting, in which he competed in a handful of races in the Formula Renault Championship. 

His first full-time drive came only three years into his professional career in the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship, in which after an impressive campaign, he secured the championship title and trophy with four wins and six podiums (10 podiums in total). After two more seasons in Formula Renault with a second overall, he graduated to Formula 3, driving across the various championships, where he most notably narrowly missed out on the F3 Asia title despite gaining nine victories.

In 2020 fans saw Hughes take the next step up to race in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with partial campaigns in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, replacing drivers in multiple rounds, including for HWA after regular driver Jack Aitkin sustained an injury at the 24 Hours of Spa. His first points in the F2 Championship came after finishing fourth in the sprint race at the Sochi Autodrom.

Although the racing weekend schedule for Formula E is new to Hughes as a regular driver, the environment of the Formula E paddock is one he is more accustomed to, having combined his simulator role for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team with a test and reserve driver role for championship-winning Mercedes-EQ and ROKiT Venturi Racing.

Hughes saw his first chance to test an FIA Formula E car at the 2019 Rookie Test when the NIO outfit placed him in their #8 car for the day, in which he went on to record the nineteenth fastest time – two and a half seconds quicker than test teammate Jamie Chadwick. Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team gave the British driver his next chance in a FE car in the 2020 Rookie Test, in which he again outpaced his test teammate Daniel Juncadella to finish seventh fastest in the session. These impressive stints really cemented Jake Hughes as a future talent in the world of Formula E and impressed both teams and fellow drivers alike. 

Hughes made a lasting impression in his first race in Formula E this weekend at the 2023 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team finishing fifth after an intense battle throughout with seasoned racers Andre Lotterer and Lucas Di Grassi. After a performance like this in his debut race, fans, his new team, and critics alike are excited to see what Jake Hughes can bring to the rest of the Formula E season.