Written by Vyas Ponnuri and Jake O’Callaghan
A new champion crowned, once again, while others were left to rue what could have been, while another driver capped off a stellar season on a high, while drivers lower down managed to bring home valuable points to end their seasons on a strong note. DIVEBOMB picks out the winners and losers from a chaotic weekend at London....
Winner - Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche)
Arguably the biggest winner emerging from the weekend, this was Pascal Wehrlein’s moment in the sun. A crowning moment coming after many years of toil and struggle, in Formula E as well as outside of the all-electric racing series.
His years of struggle have stretched on in the past, after a faltering stint in Formula One for Sauber meant he was booted from the team at the end of 2017, finding a new home with Mahindra in Formula E.
However, with Mahindra not proving to be championship contenders just yet, Wehrlein made a move to Porsche in 2021, replacing Neel Jani and partnering Andre Lotterer. Even still, he was unable to close out strong campaigns, often falling short right at the end, like in season eight and nine.
However, season ten’s tale has played out in a different fashion, as Wehrlein’s channelled all his might and inner motivation to soar to a new high, overcoming the ghosts of previous years to finally score big when it mattered.
And score big he did, qualifying in the top six for the first time in his Formula E career, while he managed to win the race later in the day, a crucial, decisive victory with Cassidy only just being able to score a handful of points.
In the season finale, it was all about staying cool and making sure the car pointed ahead in a straight line.
While Evans and Wehrlein both left it late to grab their attack modes, the Jaguar driver was unable to activate extra power on the first go, costing him time and track position, as well as causing a precarious scenario of not exhausting attack mode by the time the chequered flag fell.
Wehrlein managed to activate and complete his attack mode, and then kept a cool head to finish second behind Rowland, winning his maiden Formula E championship. His showing this weekend was the perfect representation of any racing driver destined to become champion — score big at the right time?
Losers - Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans
It is an obvious choice that the two drivers that failed to secure the title are listed as losers here. That characterisation may be harsh for Mitch Evans, as double podiums on a conventional weekend is a phenomenal result for any driver. However, his efforts were futile in the bigger picture as he still failed to win the championship.
Nick Cassidy has had an abysmal run of form, and hasn’t stood on the podium since Shanghai race one. He once had a massive championship lead, but most of it was squandered after an embarrassingly poor weekend in Portland, where mistakes and contacts ended in a double non-points finish for the New Zealand driver.
At race one in London, an impressive recovery drive saw him recoup the places lost in a terrible qualifying, going from 17th to seventh. Sadly, race two will be one that he will want to forget for the rest of his life.
He was running strong, in the top four the entire race and battling hard with his rivals, however a misjudged lunge from Porsche driver Antonio Felix Da Costa ended in contact with Cassidy, giving the Jaguar driver a puncture.
That puncture caused Cassidy to slow dramatically and make contact with Max Guenther at the final corner, which ended his race and his championship hopes.
Winner - Oliver Rowland
Oliver Rowland’s weekend was a tale of two halves. In race one, he was running quite competitively and getting his elbows out. As he was racing Porsche’s Antonio Felix Da Costa, they made contact at the final corner, with both drivers coming to a stop. The collision proved terminal for Da Costa, whilst Rowland continued on. This contact unfortunately meant he came home in a lowly 15th place.
Race two was a completely different story. Starting ninth, he quickly climbed up the field, fighting in the top five after the first few laps. He would narrowly avoid contact between Da Costa and Cassidy, which ruled the latter out of the race.
Rowland made up a place on Wehrlein and Evans as they tried and failed to take Attack Mode as the Safety Car came out at the exact moment the two championship contenders attempted to take it. Rowland was judged to have overtaken Evans but not Wehrlein under Safety Car and thus had to cede position to the Jaguar driver.
On the Safety Car restart, Rowland would split the two championship contenders of Evans ahead and Wehrlein behind. When the Kiwi tried to activate Attack Mode again he missed the detection loop, losing the position to Rowland whilst still needing to activate Attack Mode.
After Rowland inherited the lead, Wehrlein would take second as Evans had to slow in order to make the finish after his final Attack Mode ran out, to avoid disqualification. Wehrlein would not challenge Rowland for the win, instead opting to tuck in behind as a second place finish for the German driver would seal the championship.
This handed the win to Rowland, his first victory on home soil. Despite a tricky race one, a victory in race two means Rowland deserves the moniker of ‘winner’ for the London ePrix weekend.
Loser - Andretti
London presented an important opportunity for Andretti to stake their claim on third in the teams' standings, and potentially aid Porsche’s collective charge for the newly-introduced Manufacturer’s Trophy.
Jake Dennis entered London’s ExCel Arena as the most successful driver around the track, having triumphed earlier in seasons seven and eight around the indoor-outdoor course.
Norman Nato too entered the event on the back of a podium at Shanghai and seventh at Portland, and looked to end what was a tough year on a high.
However, it all came crashing down in the season finale for the team, as Dennis was found guilty and slapped with upto 20 seconds worth of penalties for three separate incidents with Robin Frijns, Jean-Eric Vergne and Nick Cassidy in round 15.
The home hero was found to be responsible for another incident at turn two when he squeezed Mahindra racer Edoardo Mortara into the wall, causing the Swiss driver to break his steering arm and take both drivers into the barriers at turn three.
With Nato failing to score across the board this weekend, and Rowland finding his feet upon returning to take victory, the result meant Nissan managed to surge past into fourth, relegating Andretti to fifth in the standings. It capped off a rather disastrous weekend for the American team, a reflection of their outlook for season ten.
Winner - Nico Muller
Nico Mueller had an incredibly impressive showing in London. He was quick and consistent, coming home with a sixth place finish in both London races. The ABT Cupra driver has been in stellar form this year, with six points finishes form a team traditionally considered as backmarkers.
He has been on a particular hot streak in recent weeks, with four points finishes in a row, with fifth and sixth place finishes in respective Portland races prior to the London weekend.
His impressive results have single-handedly dragged ABT Cupra into a ninth place finish in the Teams’ standings. The team secured a total of 56 points across the season, with 52 coming courtesy of Mueller.
His teammate, 2016-17 Formula E champion Lucas Di Grassi, has had a comparatively awful year, only managing four points across sixteen races.
That contrast serves to show just how impressive Mueller has been this season. In fact, these performances have been so good that it has reportedly caught the eyes of teams further up the grid, and Mueller is rumoured to have been signed by Porsche, to be placed in a Porsche-supported Andretti seat next season.
Time will tell if those rumours come to fruition, but if so, it will have been a well-deserved promotion.
Loser - Maserati MSG Racing
In all fairness, London simply did not go the way of the blue team in their second season of the sport. Maserati MSG had already endured a tough run-up ever since Gunther inherited third at Misano.
The Maserati powertrain hasn’t been able to match up to the likes of Porsche and Jaguar in the recent rounds, often falling short of points, or securing only a handful of points at most.
Gunther has found it difficult to build on the stellar return he had in season nine, scoring points only three more times after his third at Misano, while rookie Jehan Daruvala is still finding his feet in the series, having scored a best result of seventh at Berlin.
It looked to be going well in round 15, as Gunther had climbed up to second at one point, overtaking Evans late in the race, but was denied with an electrical issue only a lap later, pulling off to the right at turn 13 and triggering a full-course yellow.
The following day’s events were gutting too, as the German racer was forced to retire after clouting a slowing Cassidy in the final corner, having suffered suspension damage as a result of the incident.
With teammate Daruvala too unable to finish the finale, and scoring no points across both races, the Italian, Monegasque-owned team slid down to eighth in the standings, losing out to Envision Racing who experienced a late resurgence this weekend.
Winners - Mahindra
London was Mahindra’s best weekend over the past three seasons in terms of points scored, with both Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara scoring heavily for the team to round off their seasons on a high.
De Vries finished fourth on Saturday, his best result on returning to the series, while Mortara brought home another strong result in fifth, backing up a fourth from Portland to highlight Mahindra’s improved form over the season.
It can almost be considered a full circle moment for the Indian manufacturer, whose best result came at this circuit back in 2021, when Alex Lynn took the team’s latest victory to date.
The result comes at a time when the Banbury-based outfit are slowly starting to make a breakthrough, and occasionally finding light at the end of a long tunnel.
It’s been a tough road in the past two seasons for Mahindra, the team notching up only one podium finish in the Gen3 era at Mexico City in season nine, but the team have steadily improved under the guidance of team principal Frederic Bertrand.
Signing de Vries and Mortara, two highly-rated names in the series, was on the former FIA delegate’s radar, and the results of the signings are already starting to show. It only speaks of Mahindra’s improving position in the series, and how they are on track to achieve Bertrand’s targets in the future.
Loser - Sam Bird
It would actually be surprising to put Sam Bird in this section, given he actually finished in the points despite being caught up in a lap one altercation with Robin Frijns, and how impressive his recovery was.
Although, it was a home weekend to forget for Bird and NEOM McLaren, who lost out on sixth in the standings to a recovering Envision Racing, with Sebastian Buemi and Frijns putting in strong showings at Portland and London to recover the green team’s tough season.
Round 15 saw Bird caught up at turn 11 with the green Envision of Frijns, managing to recover and keep going on the track to eventually rise to eighth on the road, benefitting from penalties to Jake Dennis and Sacha Fenestraz ahead.
However, the final round of the year, round 16 saw Bird miss out on another shot at points. Having qualified eighth and made it into the duels, Bird was involved in an incident at turn six with Maserati’s Jehan Daruvala, and was eliminated on the spot.
It wasn’t the ideal way the Sao Paulo race winner was looking to cap off his first season for the British team, but victory at Sao Paulo coupled with an ever-improving Nissan powertrain will provide a glimmer of hope that there is more to look forward to in season eleven.
What better opportunity to make a mark than the scene of Bird’s victory this year, with the Brazilian city kicking off the new season.
Winner - Formula E
Formula E prides itself on its close racing, fierce battles, and tight competition. It often has to work hard to earn the attention of the wider motorsport community, but it pushes those ideas as they have a universal appeal to racing fans. This weekend in London, all of those ideas were exemplified in the most perfect way.
A three-way battle for the championship going into the final race, with just four points separating those drivers was a dream for Formula E management. The races themselves did not disappoint either, with nail-biting action right until the closing laps. Dramatic moments made for social media were happening minute-by-minute.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a direct fight for position in the end as both Jaguar drivers were taken out of contention before the race’s climax by simple misfortune, but the race was an absolute hit regardless. The intense racing, paired with the perfect narrative, absolutely makes Formula E a winner this weekend.
Losers - The fans
A raft of complaints from fans emerged online following the conclusion of race one in London. There were significant issues involving security and lack of communication, with many fans not allowed onto the track for the podium ceremony despite having paid extra for tickets that allowed them to do so. Fans that did manage to get onto the track were not let on in time to see the podium ceremony.
User @formulaesource said on X (formerly Twitter):
“People who had paid £99 for guaranteed access had to queue with those who had free wristbands, missed the start of the podium and had to sprint down the start/finish straight to see the trophy lifts.”
Many other fans echoed their sentiments, sharing their own difficulties with track security and the management of the race. Ultimately, the fans are categorised as losers as many missed out on a core experience of motorsports, despite having paid extra for that experience.
Thankfully it seems these issues were mostly resolved for race two, but it did not remedy what occurred the day before.
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