The world champion is coming home! - The XXL preview of the Formula E 2025 London races

The eleventh season of Formula E is coming to an end: after the preliminary decision for the drivers' world championship in favour of Oliver Rowland was recently made in Berlin, the final race weekend of the season now awaits us. As in previous years, the final double-header 2024-25 will take place in London. Rowland is travelling to his home country as the fresh drivers' world champion, but there is still a fight to be fought for the manufacturers' and team championships!

Where exactly will the Formula E races take place?

The metropolis of London is located in the south-west of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With a population of just under 8.9 million, it is the largest city in the country and is packed with historical sights. In addition to the world-famous Tower Bridge and the mighty London Eye, the royal family also lives in the heart of London. Buckingham Palace has been home to the royal family since 1837.

For Formula E, it's off to ExCeL once again. This is a large exhibition centre in east London not far from the banks of the Thames. The special feature of this location is the track, which runs through one of the exhibition halls and is therefore partly covered. Due to the lack of flexibility in track construction, it was questionable until recently whether the races could be held at the ExCeL in the future. For the time being, however, the contract has been extended for another year until the end of the Gen3 era.

Fast-Stats | London

• Jake Dennis and Nicolas Prost are record winners in London with two victories each. While Dennis won one race each for Andretti in 2021 and 2022, Prost won both races of the double-header in 2016, when the London E-Prix was still held in Battersea Park, around 15 kilometres to the west.
• New world champion Oliver Rowland has also already added his name to the list of winners in London. Last year, the Nissan driver won the season finale here. It was the first time that the Brit had finished in the points at his home race, having previously come away empty-handed five times.
• Pascal Wehrlein has a 100 per cent record in London: he has finished in the top 10 in all eight starts in the British capital. In addition to Wehrlein, Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi have also scored points eight times each in London - but both have already contested twelve races here.
• The driver with the greatest current run of success in London, however, is Mitch Evans: in the last four races in the ExCeL, the New Zealander in Jaguar service has finished on the podium every time.
• Mahindra Racing celebrated the team's last Formula E victory to date in London: Alex Lynn won Sunday's race in 2021, almost four years to the day before the 2025 edition.

Who is broadcasting the Formula E races in London on TV & livestream?

The London race weekend will once again be a double-header. This means that we can expect seven sessions. The 1st free practice session on Friday will take place at 5pm (CEST). The 2nd and 3rd free practice sessions will start at 11am (CEST) and the two qualifying sessions at 1.20pm (CEST). The two races will then follow on Saturday and Sunday at 6pm (CEST).

The broadcasters for the race and qualifying will depend on your region. But as usual, e-Formula.news offers English-language live streams for all three free practice sessions. On top of that, you can follow all sessions of the E-Prix in our popular Formula E Live Ticker.

All data in Central European Summer Time (CEST)

What characterises the race track in London?

We have already mentioned that the London E-Prix circuit is unique due to its partly indoor and partly outdoor layout. However, we can also expect the tightest track layout of the season with many very technical sections and a total of 20 bends. The Formula E drivers will also have to negotiate major height differences when entering and exiting the exhibition hall, which makes finding the right braking points even more challenging.

The first sector is by far the most technical and twisty part of the track. There have been many overtaking manoeuvres in Turns 1 and 2 in recent years, but at least as many accidents and jostling. The fastest section is the back straight on the outside of the track. The approach to turn 10 and turn 16 offer the best overtaking opportunities on the circuit.

In which order do the drivers start qualifying?

In Formula E, qualifying takes place in two stages: Group stage and knockout stage. For group qualifying, the driver field is initially divided into two halves, with all drivers in the odd-numbered championship positions (positions 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) competing in Group A and the drivers in the even-numbered positions in Group B.

The four drivers with the fastest lap times in their group after twelve minutes will then go through to the quarter-finals, where they will duel for the best grid positions. The qualifying groups for the first London race are as follows.

What will the weather be like in London?

At the moment, it looks like we will finally have another completely dry race weekend - and in particularly wet England! The chance of rain is vanishingly small, even the sun will show itself most of the time. Temperatures will be summery at 22 to 24 degrees. The season finale is likely to take place in ideal conditions.

Farewell?

The London E-Prix not only marks the Formula E season finale, but also the last race for the McLaren team. Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird will be racing for the iconic brand for the last time and even with a special livery. For the time being, this will be the last time we see eleven teams on a Formula E race weekend, as there will only be 20 drivers on the grid next season without McLaren.

For some drivers, the London E-Prix could be the race of destiny. With two fewer seats available, the battle for a regular place in Formula E will be tougher. Norman Nato, David Beckmann, Jake Hughes, Sam Bird and Zane Maloney are all performing below expectations this season. If they fail to score points, the Formula E chapter could be over for good, especially as talented drivers such as Felipe Drugovich, who impressed on his debut in Berlin, could also force their way into the series.

Who are the favourites?

The battle for the drivers' world championship has been decided. However, it is very close between Nissan and Porsche in both the team and manufacturer standings. We will probably see both teams fighting for victory, with a slight advantage in favour of Porsche. Norman Nato will return to the cockpit at Nissan, having skipped the two races in Berlin, but having struggled before that as well. On the other hand, Oliver Rowland will be able to drive with complete freedom now that the title is mathematically out of his grasp.

Do you think that another driver will win? Then sign up for our free community betting game on Kicktipp.