Written by Fleur Rogerson
As the dust settles on Season 10 of the Formula E season and the break begins, let's look at how Pascal Wehrlein's consistency took the Formula E title in the nail biting final round of the season.
2024 marked the sixth season of Pascal Wehrlein's Formula E career, and his fourth at TAG Heuer Porsche. The 29-year-old German joined the FE series back in the 2018-19 series with Mahindra Racing, scoring a podium in his debut season and eight out of twelve points finishes.
He showed steady improvement within the series since he joined, especially in his time at Porsche. In the last four years he finished 11th, tenth, fourth and this year taking the championship title.
Coming into 2024 paired with António Félix da Costa, Wehrlein set his sights high. The German driver took pole position in the opening round at Mexico City and then proceeded to win the race. He made it clear in Mexico that this was the standard he wanted to hold going into his sixth season in the sport.
Consistency quickly became vital for drivers in what was a chaotic season, with crashes and disqualifications across the grid. Wehrlein managed to stay focused on consistency and in the next four rounds of the season crossed the line to take points in each race.
The Misano double-header was a conflicting weekend for the Porsche team and Pascal Wehrlein. In Race 1, he suffered from damaged after a collision with the DS Penske of Jean-Éric Vergne marking his first of only two pointless finishes. However, in Race 2, Wehrlein benefited from Nissan's failing and Wehrlein took his second win of the season on the final lap.
In Monaco he took pole, but Jaguar began to show their true potential of the season and Wehrlein was no match for the duo, falling back to 5th. However, in Berlin, his hunger was clear when his fighting with Nick Cassidy for second place resulted in damage for the two drivers.
The Turning Point
Portland was where the tables turned and the cracks within TCS Jaguar enabled Pascal Wehrlein and Porsche to take the championship lead. The current championship leader Nick Cassidy had been looking strong before Portland, with eight podiums so far that season and a 25 point lead.
Cassidy tried to continue this strong run into Race 1 of Portland, but in the final few laps he spun out, resulting in him not scoring points. Pascal finished in the points. In race two of the Portland E-prix, Cassidy and Wehrlein lined up sixth and Wehrlein seventh. Cassidy fell out of the points while Wehrlein managed to fight his way up to fourth. Due to the struggles from Cassidy and Wehrlein remaining consistent, the championship gap into London was just 12 points between the top three.
London was a catastrophic weekend for TCS Jaguar, but Wehrlein made sure he was in the position to reap the rewards. Championship leader Nick Cassidy struggled through qualifying, starting 18th. While Evans took pole and Wehrlein started 3rd. Although Cassidy managed to recover to seventh, Wehrlein and Evans finished first and second.
In an unexpected Race 1 for the TCS Jaguar team, Wehrlein took the championship lead after winning. Evans was three points behind in second and Cassidy was four points behind his teammate. The disappointment from the Jaguar driver who had a 25 points lead three races earlier was palpable.
Things only got worse for Cassidy and TCS Jaguar in Race two. The New Zealander led the pack for the first portion of the race until, using his attack modes, dropped him back to third. Bad turned to worse when he made contact with da Costa, which took him completely out of contention. Evans managed to keep the title fight alive, with Wehrlein attacking but unable to pass the other New Zealander.
However, Jaguar suffered another blow when Evans failed to activate his second Attack Mode. He was forced to try it again or risk disqualification. Oliver Rowland had taken the race lead but with Wehrlein in second, no longer being challenged by the Jaguar drivers, the title was his.
Wehrlein's consistency and ability to fight back, and defend and put himself in the position to capitalise off opponents' failings, allowing him to claim his maiden title by just six points. Wehrlein had only two finishes outside of the points in a season where consistency was vital. Among his 14 points finishes, only three were outside of the top five.
The German driver will come back next season looking to defend his championship, hoping to continue with his impressive run of form.
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