Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche Formula E Team) claimed his second ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship following a chaotic Season finale in London, while DS PENSKE’s Taylor Barnard secured a historic victory in Round 17 ahead of Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara.
The title standings shifted repeatedly throughout the race as Wehrlein defended against pressure from Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans and Andretti’s Jake Dennis.
Strategic moves on Lap 27 reshuffled the order after Wehrlein’s engineer instructed him to let a faster Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing) pass. A squeeze from da Costa allowed Dennis to overtake for eighth during his first ATTACK MODE, briefly moving Dennis to the top of the virtual standings as Wehrlein dropped to 12th.
On Lap 31, contact at Turn 16 between Wehrlein and Envision Racing’s Joel Eriksson forced Wehrlein further down the field. The resulting incident caused race-ending damage to Dennis’s car, ending his title bid.
Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) ran fourth but needed a win to claim the Drivers’ title. With Barnard and the two Mahindras opening up a gap at the front, Evans was unable to make up the necessary ground.
Barnard managed his late ATTACK MODE activation to pass Mortara for second before making a nailbiting pass up the inside of de Vries into the final corner with just two laps remaining. At 22 years and 76 days old, Barnard became the youngest race winner in Formula E history, taking victory in DS Automobiles’ final appearance in the series.
While Evans finished fourth, his points secured the ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship for Jaguar TCS Racing, after Porsche won the ABB FIA Formula E Manufacturers’ World Championship earlier in the season in Tokyo.
Citroën Racing Formula E Team’s first season in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship came to an end in London on Sunday with a strong double points finish. At the end of a particularly tactical final battle around the unique ExCeL London Circuit, Nick Cassidy and Jean-Éric Vergne crossed the finish line in sixth and seventh positions respectively.
“P6 and P7 is a strong way for the team to finish here in London,” commented Cassidy. “It was an exciting race and, even though I made things more difficult for myself by missing the Attack Mode activation twice, we still managed to come back and finish P6.
“The car was really good today and the team did a great job. It’s been a pleasure to race with Citroën this season. We’ve had some really big highs and, as competitors, we’ll always want more, but I think we’re building something really positive for the future. I’m looking forward to coming back even stronger next season.”
Comments