Pascal Wehrlein clinches Formula E championship amid late drama as Evans falters in London finale
Pascal Wehrlein secured his first Formula E world championship title in a dramatic conclusion to the London ePrix.
The TAG Heuer Porsche driver finished second in Race 2, behind Nissan’s Brit Oliver Rowland, while title rival Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing suffered a heartbreaking finish in third after missing attack mode twice late in the race.
Wehrlein’s triumph came as Rowland capitalised on the intense championship battle to seize victory in his home event with just three laps remaining. Wehrlein, however, managed to outperform both Jaguar drivers, Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans, to claim the overall crown.
Wehrlein entered the series finale leading the standings after winning the previous round. Cassidy, who started from pole, and his team-mate Evans were both in contention for the title, with all three drivers knowing that a final race victory would secure the championship.
Speaking about his championship victory, Wehrlein, said: “I don’t know where to start. The race was hard. Obviously, I knew I had to attack and I had to get in front of the Jags. I think Mich defended quite hard, but I still tried to overtake and pass. I don’t know what happened in the end, if it was due to the safety car that got quite close to the attack mode or because he missed it. But nevertheless, I think what we did this weekend, especially, we knew that yesterday and today are the days and we need to be super focused, concentrated, and outperform probably what the car can do and what we could do here in London, because this has never been a track which is good for our car. I think we did that. I think we clearly showed some great pace. I’m very happy for myself, but even more for the team.”
“It feels good. I don’t know what to say, it’s definitely not expected. You turn up, you have a chance. But I always believed in it. The last couple of weeks, every day before my day was starting and my day finished, I said, I can do this. We can do this. Even if the last couple of races, the performance was not that strong and I was struggling a bit with the car and what I felt in the car. I said, It doesn’t matter. I could see it. I taught myself every day, and I’m just super proud of everyone in the team.”
Cassidy took an early lead, supported by his team, but Evans was unable to give him the necessary advantage during attack mode. The race, filled with safety cars due to the tight circuit, saw continuous battles among the contenders. Cassidy’s title hopes ended with a puncture that caused him to crash out.
Evans led for most of the race, locked in a fierce duel with Wehrlein. Both drivers delayed taking their attack modes until late in the race. Evans’ attempt to take the attack mode allowed Rowland to pass, but he missed the marker, forcing him to try again and giving Wehrlein the opportunity to move into second place, securing the championship.
Rowland, who started ninth, took the race win in front of his home crowd. “It was amazing,” said Rowland. “Starting ninth in today’s kind of race, we never expected to win, but it was a crazy race. I picked my moments early on and when I got to fourth, I didn’t want to interfere with the title fight. I was waiting and hoping something would happen, and it did. I managed to pick up the pieces and win the race.”
Wehrlein, under pressure despite his slender championship lead, started fourth on the grid and had to pass Maximilian Gunther before closing in on the Jaguar team-mates. As Cassidy and Evans battled each other, Wehrlein stayed close to Evans, applying relentless pressure.
Speaking about how the season ended, Mitch Evans, said: “I want to be happy for the team for winning the Teams’ Championship, but I feel like we’ve been off our game on this side this weekend and also yeah bit surprised at some of the calls made against me today. A lot of discussions to be held.
“This one was the most realistic and it was mine for a bit. I feel like my own team were working against me at one point, so that’s not nice.”
In the final laps, Wehrlein kept his composure, and despite Rowland’s race win, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver emerged as a deserving champion.
