Formula E

Formula E in London: Nick Cassidy wins on Saturday, teams' & manufacturers' championship still open

Timo Pape

Timo Pape

Craig Evans / Spacesuit Media

Nick Cassidy won the first race of the Formula E double-header in London. The Jaguar driver confidently beat Nyck de Vries (Mahindra) and Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche). Numerous incidents, time penalties and a late safety car made for a turbulent race, in which Cassidy impressed with his clever strategy.

The London E-Prix began with a confident start from pole-sitter Mitch Evans (Jaguar), who initially managed to defend his lead. De Vries and Wehrlein also maintained their positions in the first few corners. Cassidy gained a position against Dan Ticktum in the Kiro right at the start.

But there was a crash in the front midfield: Max Günther (DS Penske) first collided with Stoffel Vandoorne (Maserati). Shortly afterwards, he collided with Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) and came to a halt on track. The collision blocked the way for both McLarens, as well as for Zane Maloney and Jake Hughes, who had to retire with a broken front suspension. Race control then sent the safety car onto the track for the first time.

After the end of lap 3, the race was restarted. The drivers initially held back. Cassidy radioed his team: ‘This is the best car I've had all year.’ But he didn't know yet that he also had the best strategy of the leading group. At this point, the New Zealander was in 4th position – with a chance of a podium finish.

Jaguar with different strategies

On lap 16, Sam Bird (McLaren) opened the pit stop window. This was followed by the first attack mode activations by David Beckmann and Zane Maloney. De Vries and Wehrlein also took their extra power early, while Evans initially stayed out. Thanks to the different strategy, de Vries took the lead for the first time in lap 18.

Beckmann held third place ahead of Evans – a situation that caused some observers to frown, as Beckmann is part of the Porsche development team and thus gave Wehrlein an advantage. Cassidy, on the other hand, pursued a countercyclical strategy: he had already completed his pit boost but had not yet activated either of his two attack modes.

After the pit stops by de Vries and Wehrlein, Cassidy finally got within striking distance of the lead on lap 27 – and overtook de Vries on the start-finish straight while having attack mode activated. At this point, he still had one activation left, while his direct competitor in the Mahindra had already used up all of his options.

Ticktum causes 2nd safety car phase

The final stages of the race were turbulent. First, Lucas di Grassi received a 5-second time penalty after crossing the white line at the pit exit. Then there were several crashes: Jake Dennis (Andretti) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) collided, resulting in damage to the front wing of the Porsche. Just moments later, Ticktum drove into the rear of his rival Evans. The New Zealander spun and fell far behind. At the same time, Oliver Rowland drove into Nico Müller's car.

The highlight was an accident involving Ticktum on lap 32: the Briton crashed into the TecPro barrier after braking too late in turn 9, resulting in second deployment of the safety car. Wehrlein lost his attack mode during the neutralisation, which particularly benefited de Vries. The race was extended by one lap due to the first interruption.

At the restart, however, Cassidy was unfazed and confidently defended his lead. Wehrlein, on the other hand, lost ground. On the final lap, Cassidy didn't let anything slip and crossed the finish line first. It was the New Zealander's tenth victory in Formula E - and Jaguar's third podium in a row. De Vries celebrated another strong result for Mahindra with second place, while Wehrlein completed the podium.

Teams' & manufacturers' championships still open

The teams' and manufacturers' standings remain open ahead of Sunday's season finale, although Porsche has taken another step towards the title with Wehrlein's podium finish.

In less than 24 hours, the second round of the London double-header will follow and with it the season finale of the 2024/25 Formula E season. e-Formula.news will cover the race Sunday as usual with reports and live tickers for all sessions.

Results & lap times

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)

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