Formula E is a series notorious for its dramatic races, intense battles and bittersweet podiums and London didn’t disappoint. Rounds 15 and 16 were held at the Excel for another year, hosting the season finale once again where we saw Pascal Wehrlein clinch the lead in the championship following his race win on Saturday before taking the season 10 trophy Sunday. Porsche’s positive weekend continued as they went on to win the manufacturers championship, just missing out on the teams, before a late penalty for da Costa saw the team denied of a double trophy.

By Alice Cook

Qualifying

Jaguar headed into the weekend with Nick Cassidy holding onto the top spot of the championship while Mitch Evans sat in third, joint on points with Wehrlein. A poor qualifying saw Cassidy knocked out of Group A after finishing 9th while Wehrlein sailed through to the Duals after setting the fastest lap. But, Jaguars championship hopes weren’t all lost as Mitch found himself quickest in Group B while Porsche’s da Costa merely missed out on his opportunity for pole position. Wehrlein was joined by Buemi, Frijns and championship contender Rowland while Evans headed through with Muller, Nato and Vergne.

Wehrlein found himself up against Frijns in the quarter finals, beating the Dutchman to the semi finals. He went onto go head-to-head with Frijns’ teammate, Buemi, and found himself just missing out on a place in the finals. With the German being matched on points with Evans, the three pole position points were vital for his championship hopes.

The Kiwi joined Vergne in the quarter finals, sailing his way into the semi finals where he met with Nato. Evans proved his pace, solidifying his spot in the finals where he joined Sebastian Buemi. After an intense last lap, it was Mitch Evans who hailed victorious, slotting his way into P2 in the championship standings and taking home the pole position trophy.

Round 15

With the lights out and the penultimate race in action, Evans’ quick get away was exactly what he needed as he continued to lead the pack through lap one which saw an early safety car as reigning champion Jake Dennis squeezes Frijns into the wall who subsequently collected Bird and clipped Gunther, ending the Dutchman’s race. Lap 5 saw racing resume for a singular lap before Dennis found himself in another collision, only this time it was with Jean-Eric Vergne as they came together out of the attack mode exit.

Vergne and Dennis’ get together wasn’t the final collision of lap 6 as championship contenders, Antonio Felix da Costa and Oliver Rowland found themselves in the wall after Rowland cut across, taking da Costa with him. The Portuguese driver suffered suspension damage as a result after the pair managed to drive off, ending his race and championship hopes.

The Andretti driver of Jake Dennis received a 10-second penalty for his collision with Frijns and further 5-seconds for his clash with Vergne as he finds himself under investigation once again for making contact with Nick Cassidy. The Jaguar driver was able to recover the car and continue his climb for the points he needed. His tango with Dennis wasn’t the only drama Cassidy had to withstand on Saturday as the Kiwi comes together with Stoffel Vandoorne where he finds himself sliding into the wall.

With 15 laps to go, Evans slips from the lead as Wehrlein gets ahead. With both drivers delaying their attack modes, it was still all to play for. The German driver made the leap first, slipping off the track and taking his attack mode, coming out ahead of Evans to retain his lead. What better way to take attack mode against your rival than doing it twice? Wehrlein took his second attack mode while still keeping ahead of Evans. Missing out on two opportunities to take the lead, Evans race continued to drop as Gunther manages to slip ahead into second.

The safety car hit the track once again as Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz find themselves in the wall together for a second time this season. Green flags waved once again momentarily before a full course yellow neutralises the race as Maserati’s Gunther stops on track. Pascal Wehrlein crosses the line to take his third win of the season, shooting himself to the top of the standings with one race to go and 4 points splitting the top 3. Mitch Evans finished P2 while Cassidy takes valuable points in P7. Evans and Wehrlein were joined on the podium by Envision’s Buemi in third. Pascal’s win means Porsche continue their win streak of 4 in-a-row.

Qualifying

After missing out on vital points, Jaguar were eager for redemption as they stepped onto the track for the final time in season 10. Cassidy’s Sunday held more success as the Kiwi topped Group A ahead of championship rival Pascal Wehrlein who crossed the line in P2, joined by Sam Bird and Robin Frijns. Jaguar’s joy continued into Group B as Mitch Evans went second quickest while Maximilian Gunther took to the top with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Wehrlein met with Bird in the quarter finals while Cassidy joined Frijns, with both championship contenders coming head-to-head in the semi finals. Mitch Evans joined Vandoorne in the quarters, pushing his way into the semis. The qualifying session was cut short for Jaguar’s Mitch Evans as he failed to beat Gunther in the semi finals however, Jaguar still had Nick Cassidy in the running for pole position as he went on to beat the Maserati driver and clinch the vital points in the championship.

Round 16

Off the line for the start of the final race of season 10 proved to be successful for the Jaguar TCS Racing team as Evans makes the move on Gunther to slip into P2 behind Cassidy. With one smooth lap completed, the safety car is deployed in lap 2 as Dennis and Mortara come together to end their season. The cars were quickly cleared and racing resumed into lap 5 with Cassidy keeping the lead at the restart.

But, it wasn’t ever going to be smooth sailing in the Jaguar garage as Evans attempts to get past Cassidy as both drivers competed for the championship. Amidst their battle, Wehrlein slips ahead of Gunther to P3 and makes his chase for his championship rivals.

It isn’t long before the safety car makes its second outing when Sam Bird hits Daruvala in the side, ending the McLaren drivers race while the Maserati continues on with the wait of a severely damaged car. Daruvala later goes on to wiggle his car side-to-side down the straight in an attempt to remove his broken rear wing before heading to the pits. We go green for a third time, the three championship contenders continue their dash at the front for the crucial points. Cassidy is the first to take attack mode but continues to hold his lead.

Much to Cassidy’s dismay, his second attack mode fell unsuccessfully as he rejoins in third behind Evans and Wehrlein. The battle ahead of Cassidy continued with Wehrlein attempting to lunge down the inside of Evans but settling back to P2. With 5 laps to go, Cassidy’s championship hopes disappear after Rowland makes the move to P3, dropping the Kiwi to P4 ahead of Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese driver clips the rear of Cassidy, puncturing his tyre and ending his race.

With a safety car called and Rowland slipping into the lead, pressure is placed on the shoulders of Evans and Wehrlein who are yet to take their attack mode. Three laps to go as the pair take 2 minutes of attack mode, Wehrlein coming together with Frijns on the exit but, thanks to his teammate, the German is able to slip into P3 once again.

With 3 additional laps and four minutes worth of attack mode left; Wehrlein, Evans and da Costa all slip off track to activate their final four minutes but its all down hill for the Kiwi as he manages to miss the activation zone while leading the race. Mitch Evans takes his attack mode in the following lap, yielding the car as he drops behind Wehrlein to slow down his car to avoid disqualification. A close call found Evans crossing the line a few seconds after his attack mode finished.

Oliver Rowland went on to win the race for a second time this season, the first in which he could celebrate on the podium while second place finisher Pascal Wehrlein clinches the drivers championship in the final lap. Jaguar TCS Racing went on to win the teams championship with Jaguar inheriting the manufacturers after da Costa found himself with a 5-second time penalty following his collision with Cassidy that cost him the title.