Formula E: Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne seals Season 8 Championship
Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his first Formula E World Championship with a second-place finish in the Seoul E-Prix.
Despite Jaguar’s Mitch Evans setting up a final day title decider with his victory in Round 15, the Kiwi would have needed another win and for Vandoorne to finish eight or lower.
However, that outcome seemed almost impossible after Evans qualified in 13th, with Vandoorne in fourth. DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa claimed pole, starting ahead of ROKiT Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara and Andretti’s Jake Dennis.
As the lights went green in the final race of Season 8 – and of the Gen2 era – it was Mortara and Dennis who got away fastest, with the pair jumping in front of Da Costa in the first corner. The rest of the grid piled into that same corner, with almost every other car coming into contact with someone else.
With bits of debris flying off everywhere, Evans managed to avoid any damage and kept himself in the race, with the Jaguar man desperate to hold on to any chance of an upset.
Although Evans had been pushing hard to force his way into the top ten, he struggled to make it any higher than seventh place, whilst Vandoorne pushed his way into the top three.
Mortara had checked out fairly on in the race, and despite a Safety Car being deployed halfway through the race, the Swiss-Italian had great pace and managed to hold off any advances from Jake Dennis.
It was Mortara’s fourth victory of the season, a bitter sweet finish to a campaign that offered so much for the ROKiT Venturi man, but a run of three races without any points saw his championship bid fall away.
Vandoorne, who crossed the line in third place but was bumped up to second after Jake Dennis was issued with a five second time penalty for an incident with Da Costa, means he comfortably wrapped up his first Formula E World Championship victory.
The Belgian started the season with a pole position in the first race of the season in Saudi Arabia, and continued to rack up the points throughout the year, only falling outside the top ten once out of the 16 races.
Speaking after the race, Vandoorne acknowledged the intense championship battle between himself, Evans and Mortara, with the leaders of the drivers’ standings chopping and changing throughout most of the year.
The win also sealed the Teams’ Championship for Mercedes EQ, with the German manufacturer claiming its second title in as many seasons.
The final race of Season 8 also marks the end of Formula E’s Gen2 era, with the series preparing for the all new Gen3 era from next year. It is all change for the series as well, with Mercedes bidding farewell to Formula E, with McLaren set to take its place.
