Written by Jake O’Callaghan
This weekend will play host to the conclusion of the 2024 Formula E World Championship with the double-header London ePrix. The final two rounds will take place across Saturday and Sunday at ExCel London in the east of the city, with an indoor-outdoor circuit sure to test the drivers. As is often the case in Formula E, the championship is going down to the wire, with the top three drivers separated by a mere 12 points, and with a maximum of 58 points up for grabs, it means all is to play for. Here we will discuss some of those drivers and make the case for why they can become the newest Formula E World Champion.
Pascal Wehrlein
First to discuss is Pascal Wehrlein. The German driver has been an integral part of the Porsche team since he joined in 2020. He has seen his team quickly rise from a lowly eighth place in the teams’ standings after his first year, to an impressive second place in 2024, as it stands, before the final rounds.
Wehrlein has been the paragon of consistency in 2024. He has only finished outside the top 10 twice in 14 races, and not once has he failed to finish a race. He has two wins, in Mexico City and Misano respectively, with his only other podium being a second place finish in Shanghai. His consistency is really evident by seeing that he has finished in the top five in nine out of 14 races, and he has routinely added points to his season tally every weekend. He sits third in the standings, equal on 155 points with Mitch Evans, Wehrlein only behind on countback.
Wehrlein has shown better consistency than almost the entire field in 2024. Additionally, his accident avoidance, calm demeanour behind the visor, and impressive race craft has delivered him consistent high-points finishes. In the final two races, a crash or a silly mistake can derail your entire season, and Wehrlein has proven this year that he has ironed out those issues which so plagued him in previous years. For these reasons, he is a solid pick to become the 2024 Formula E World Champion.
Mitch Evans
New Zealand’s own Mitch Evans sits perfectly equal with Pascal Wehrlein in the points standings, only ahead on countback by virtue of one extra podium finish on the season. Evans, like Wehrlein, has struggled in the past with consistency. His seasons were often defined in peaks and troughs, winning two or three races in a row, before failing to score in the other races due to driver error or bad luck. This is not included as an insult to Evans, but rather to show how far he has come as a driver. 2024 has not been defined by those same issues, and he has displayed just as good consistency as his rivals. He took a triumphant win in Monaco, and backed that up by winning the inaugural Shanghai ePrix.
His only DNF of the season came due to technical issues at Misano which forced him to retire on the last lap of the race. His worst finish of the season was a disappointing 15th in Tokyo, where a penalty for impeding in qualifying left him mired deep in the pack, and in the desperate push to make up places he made contact with Robin Frijns and had to pit for repairs. He would never recover from this time loss and failed to score points. Impressively however, these were his only two non-points finishes of the season. His consistency has paid dividends and means he currently sits second in the drivers’ championship.
Mitch Evans is often known for dominating when he’s at his best. Double-header weekends are the Kiwi’s bread and butter, and has on multiple occasions before swept both races across the two days. Importantly too, Evans won race one at this event last year, and it is often a strong track for his Jaguar team. If Evans hits the ground running in London this year, he will be unstoppable.
Nick Cassidy
Mitch Evans’ teammate and fellow countryman Nick Cassidy goes into this weekend as the clear championship favourite, and why wouldn’t he be? He currently sits atop the standings, twelve points clear of the previous two drivers mentioned. He has more podiums than any other driver on the grid by far, with eight. Of those, two were wins: one in Diriyah and one in Berlin.
However, this season hasn’t been all plain-sailing for the Kiwi driver. A disastrous weekend in Sao Paulo saw him fail to make the duels, before contact in the race caused his front wing to break. It then detached from his car and lodged under the wheels at a high-speed corner, sending him helpless into the barrier in a huge crash. Additionally, damage sustained in race one at Misano forced the Jaguar driver into his second retirement of the season. He also had an absolutely abysmal weekend last time out in Portland, where mistakes, contact, and general lack of refinement meant he failed to score in both races and saw his championship lead shrink considerably. He will need to put that out of his mind and focus on the job at hand in London.
Despite these missteps, Cassidy is still one of the best drivers in the series. His race management, energy saving, and raw pace is outmatched by next to no one. He is helped by a healthy points gap between him and the rest of the field, and as long as he can stay out of trouble and drive clean, consistent races, he deserves to be the favourite for the championship. The abundance of podium finishes this season proves that the Kiwi has a tremendous amount of raw pace. He fell just short of the championship last year, finishing second while driving for Envision. He will aim to avenge that loss and take an incredible championship win in his debut year with Jaguar, rewarding them with their first-ever championship trophy.
Conclusion
In the end, the driver who is victorious will have to put everything into this weekend. Pace is important, but consistency is key. A DNF in either race will ruin your entire season. Due to the tight nature of the ExCel London track and the current style of Formula E racing, it will be a challenge to stay out of trouble. London is often a race of attrition, and the driver who can navigate the two races without drama will be rewarded massively.
Kommentare