"Give me more pressure!" - Pascal Wehrlein passes Formula E masterclass, "but only 50 per cent"

What an exclamation mark from Pascal Wehrlein in the first race of the London E-Prix! In a thrilling Formula E race on Saturday, the German Porsche driver came from third on the grid to defeat his rival Mitch Evans (Jaguar) and take the lead in the drivers' world championship ahead of the final race of the season. After the race, he was overjoyed and spoke about his title chances.

Wehrlein crossed the finish line in first place after 39 turbulent laps in London. The Sindelfingen-born driver has rarely been seen so emotional. "Give me more pressure!" he radioed to his Porsche pit box, full of adrenaline. He will automatically get it on Sunday, as Wehrlein goes into the decisive final race with a three-point lead over Evans and a seven-point lead over Nick Cassidy.

"The Jaguars were a bit faster than us in qualifying, but that didn't stop us from going into the race with confidence," explained Wehrlein shortly after the end of the race on Formula E's TV world feed. "We delivered a good performance and had the perfect strategy," he praised his team.

Towards the end, all Wehrlein fans were once again worried when the 29-year-old's lead dwindled due to a safety car phase. However, "nothing" was going through his head in this regard. "I just tried to concentrate on my job and the processes, not make any mistakes and bring it home."

Evans saddened: "Just didn't execute it well"

For his title rival Mitch Evans, things looked good for a long time. In an outstanding qualifying session, the Jaguar driver secured pole position and thus pulled three championship points away from Wehrlein, who was level on points up to that point. In the race, he alternated with Sebastien Buemi at the front for long stretches until Wehrlein launched an attack on the start and finish straight on lap 22 and overtook him on the inside.

Wehrlein SNATCHES the lead from Evans ?

The two title contenders are putting on an absolute show in London! @Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/QGW3cr6vbW

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 20, 2024

Wehrlein then managed to build exactly as much of a lead for each of his two attack mode activations as he needed to stay in the lead. Evans first lost out on lap 23 and then again on lap 27. After losing pace for a while, Evans ultimately benefited from a technical defect suffered by Max Günther in front of him. He finished in second place and also scored the extra point for the fastest lap.

SIDE-BY-SIDE ?

Wehrlein takes a second ATTACK MODE and fends off an attack from Evans to retain the lead!@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/uiLikKsWDb

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 20, 2024

However, Evans had hoped for more - to go into the world championship final as the points leader. "I'm very disappointed because we had the pace to win. I gave it my all, but we went about the race the wrong way. We simply didn't execute it (the attack mode strategy) well. Credits to Porsche and Wehrlein."

Title decision completely open: "Tomorrow is another important day"

Before Sunday's title decider, Evans is three points behind Wehrlein and could therefore equalise already with another pole position. The maths is simple: If he scores four points more than Wehrlein, Evans will be champion for the first time, should team-mate Cassidy finish behind him again. He therefore remains confident: "The pace is there - it's just the execution that was a bit off today."

Of course, Wehrlein has the best chances on paper. If he finishes ahead of Evans and Cassidy, the first FIA World Championship title will definitely be his for the taking. "It was a great day. But today was only 50 per cent, because tomorrow is another important day. We're happy for a few minutes now, but then we'll focus on tomorrow," says Wehrlein, putting the brakes on the euphoria. The driver's championship is still completely open.

The teams' standings are a little clearer: Porsche is 36 points behind Jaguar. Even with a Porsche one-two victory with pole position and fastest race lap (maximum 47 points), a fourth place would be enough for Jaguar to clinch the first team title. In the manufacturers' championship, however, everything is still wide open, with a slight advantage for Porsche: the Swabians lead here by eight points ahead of Jaguar.