WEHRLEIN WINS IN LONDON AND TAKES CONTROL OF THE FORMULA E TITLE FIGHT
Pascal Wehrlein has won the first race of the London double-header, taking a major step towards the Formula E title. The Porsche driver started from pole position and controlled the E-Prix to return to the top of the championship standings before the final race of the season tomorrow.
Jake Dennis finished second after a strong and controlled race, limiting the damage and keeping himself close to Wehrlein in the championship. Mitch Evans, however, lost important ground after finishing only eighth.
Wehrlein made the most of his pole position from the very beginning. His Porsche teammate Nico Müller helped him in the opening laps by keeping the cars behind at a distance, allowing Wehrlein to build his race.
The situation changed when a Full Course Yellow was brought out after Lucas Di Grassi hit the barriers. The Brazilian driver suffered an accelerator problem, which caused the incident and forced the race to be neutralised.
The Full Course Yellow had a major impact on the strategies behind Wehrlein. Evans was one of the biggest losers after having already completed his Pit Boost before the neutralisation. The Jaguar driver was unable to recover the lost time and eventually finished eighth.
Antonio Felix Da Costa took advantage of the situation instead. The Porsche driver moved through the field in the final stages and secured third place after a strong battle with Dan Ticktum.
Dennis also produced an important result for his championship hopes. Starting from fifth, the Andretti driver avoided unnecessary risks and brought his car home in second place.
Wehrlein now leads the championship with 169 points, while Dennis has 164. Evans remains mathematically in the title fight, but he is now 21 points behind the leader.
The Teams’ Championship is also still wide open. Jaguar leads with 276 points, only five ahead of Porsche on 271. Andretti Global is third with 229 points.
Sébastien Buemi finished fourth in what is his final Formula E weekend, ahead of Taylor Barnard and Ticktum. The latter had been fighting for a podium position for much of the race but lost ground in the closing stages after contact with Edoardo Mortara.
Mortara initially crossed the finish line ahead of Ticktum, but a five-second penalty for hitting the back of another car at Turn 1 dropped him to seventh. Evans therefore finished eighth, followed by Nick Cassidy and reigning champion Oliver Rowland to complete the top ten.
Nico Müller finished only 11th after spending much of the race helping Wehrlein. The Porsche driver played an important role early on by holding back the cars behind him and protecting his teammate’s position.
The race also saw several retirements. Both Lola Yamaha ABT cars of Zane Maloney and Lucas Di Grassi were forced to retire because of technical problems.
José María Martí and Jean-Éric Vergne also failed to finish after making contact at Turn 16 on the penultimate lap. Martí was judged responsible for the incident and will receive a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s final race.
With Wehrlein now leading Dennis by five points, the championship will be decided in the final E-Prix of the season. Jaguar and Porsche are also separated by just five points in the Teams’ Championship, setting up a decisive final race in London.
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