Formula E

Formula E in London: Pascal Wehrlein secures 1st world championship title in dramatic finale!

Timo Pape

Hankook

Pascal Wehrlein is the 2023/24 Formula E World Champion! The Porsche driver prevailed over his two Jaguar rivals in an incredibly exciting and dramatic final in London. Second place was enough to secure him the title because Mitch Evans only finished third and Nick Cassidy retired following a puncture. Race victory at the London E-Prix went to Nissan driver Oliver Rowland.

At the start, everyone got off to a good start - especially Mitch Evans, who made up a place on Max Günther and followed his Jaguar team-mate Nick Cassidy into second place. Pascal Wehrlein, the third title contender in the group, finished the first lap in fourth place behind Günther. There were no other changes in the first 17 positions.

The first crash occurred on the second lap: Jake Dennis and Edo Mortara drove straight into the TecPro barrier in turn 3 - the end for both. Apparently Mortara had broken his steering immediately beforehand and therefore drove straight into turn 3. Dennis on the outside track had no chance to avoid the Mahindra and ended up in the barriers with him. The safety car came out onto the track for the first time on Sunday.

The race continued at race pace at the start of the fifth lap. Evans was keen to attack straight away and pulled away in the braking phases. Cassidy had to defend himself. The first real attack followed in turn 16, but Cassidy closed the inside lane. Another reason for the early attacks was that Cassidy slowed the pace considerably in order to save some energy as the leader. At the end of the sixth lap, Wehrlein attacked Günther and took third place!

Bird & Daruvala crash in the back

The next accident occurred on lap 7 - and the next safety car period: Sam Bird drove down the track to turn 6 - on the inside lane next to Jehan Daruvala. When turning in, the Indian in the Maserati apparently did not leave enough space for Bird, so that he could no longer fit through the bend. The McLaren first hit the inside left of the corner and then skidded straight into the TecPro barrier. Daruvala also spun, hit the rear and sustained serious damage to the rear end. He made it to the pits under his own power, while Bird's car had to be towed away.

The race continued with the start of lap 10. Cassidy was the first rider in the lead group to get his first attack mode and managed to stay ahead of his team-mate! Evans was already sending the first disappointed radio messages to the Jaguar command post, as he had slowed down the rest of the field to prevent Cassidy from falling behind Wehrlein. "I was fair - that was the last time," said Evans. On lap 13, Cassidy drove through the attack zone for the second time and this time fell behind Evans and Wehrlein.

Wehrlein was now putting a lot of pressure on the leader Evans. Jaguar had to do everything in its power to prevent Wehrlein from taking the lead, as the German had been impossible to catch the previous day on a clear run. Cassidy was now stuck behind Wehrlein with additional power and also radioed his frustration to Jaguar: "That's just not fair!" Wehrlein skilfully defended himself and at the same time made further pinpricks against Evans to drive him into a mistake. On lap 17 of 34, the title fight was still completely open.

First contact between Evans & Wehrlein

In the meantime, Oliver Rowland had worked his way up to fourth place behind the trio of title contenders. A few metres behind him at the halfway point were Günther, Antonio Felix da Costa, Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne. However, the action was mainly at the front. Wehrlein had an energy advantage of 1.7 per cent at this point. On lap 20, he attacked in turn 1! Evans fought back hard, making slight contact and forcing Wehrlein to drive over the kerb! Evans remained in front and both continued unscathed. The tension was already unbearable.

Evans received a warning for "moving under breaking", meaning he was not allowed to continue changing lanes in the braking zones to defend against Wehrlein. The German continued to put aggressive pressure on Evans, who was gradually getting into trouble due to his energy levels. At the same time, he was unable to drive through the attack zone without losing the position - and possibly the title - to Wehrlein. For Cassidy, on the other hand, who was the only one of the three to have already completed both attack modes, his chances improved because, like Wehrlein, he was able to save energy.

Behind them, Rowland, Vergne, Günther and Felix da Costa fought thrilling duels for fourth to sixth place. Rowland continued to hold fourth place on lap 28, while Felix da Costa had worked his way up to fifth position - but had to go through the attack zone again compared to his pursuers.

Cassidy is dramatically eliminated from the title fight

The first dramatic piece of the puzzle in the title fight then fell into place: Cassidy suffered a puncture after contact with Felix da Costa, which initially dropped him behind Rowland. Because he was driving so slowly, the other drivers also closed in on him. Günther finally made contact with him on the final corner and spun him slightly, damaging the front of the Maserati. Cassidy immediately came into the pits to change tyres, but naturally dropped to the back of the field - the end of his title hopes!

The safety car came out onto the track just as Evans and Wehrlein were approaching the attack zone. Both were unable to activate their attack modes, but lost the lead to Rowland! As the race continued, the two title rivals drove through the attack zone again, this time successfully. Felix da Costa skilfully blocked Robin Frijns, allowing Wehrlein to get back in front of the pair. Rowland let Evans through, supposedly on purpose, because he had taken the lead shortly after the safety car was declared. Evans now first ahead of Rowland and Wehrlein.

Missed attack mode decides championship

The drama continued: Evans wanted to get the second attack mode on lap 34, but missed the first activation loop - the title-deciding move! As a result, he had to drive through the attack zone again one lap later, which meant he lost second place to Wehrlein! Rowland was now in the lead ahead of Wehrlein and Evans - while Cassidy finally retired in the Jaguar pits. The race had now been extended to 37 laps due to the safety car phases.

It got even stranger: according to the regulations, Evans had to use up his attack mode completely by the end of the race, but the last lap was already underway. He therefore had to slow the race down extremely to avoid being disqualified - the final decision! Wehrlein was therefore able to finish relaxed and leave the home win to Rowland, while Evans ultimately finished third, some way behind.

The Formula E World Champion 2023/24 is now Pascal Wehrlein! It is the first FIA World Championship title for the 29-year-old. He was overcome with emotion on the team radio. Tears of joy for Wehrlein and Porsche. The official team world championship clearly went to Jaguar TCS Racing - also the first title for the British team!

That's it for the 2024 Formula E season! Before the eleventh championship year with the new Gen3 Evo car begins in December, the official pre-season tests will take place in Valencia in November. We will of course continue to follow Formula E for you until then.

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