Wehrlein & Rast clash at chaotic Formula E race in London: "Rene would do well to take a vacation!"

In the battle for the best positions for the Teams' World Championship, things got heated at the penultimate round of the 2023 Formula E season in London. Among others, the two Germans Pascal Wehrlein and Rene Rast clashed in Saturday's race. However, there is disagreement between the two about who caused the accident.

On the final stretches of the 2023 Formula E season in particular, the drivers of the electric series gift themselves nothing. For many of them, the duels for the best points positions - which are not least also relevant for the team classification of the championship - the London E-Prix was one of the tougher ones this year. Several times, safety car driver Bruno Correia was called to join the track in his Porsche Taycan, and twice race control even had red flags waved. ad even waving red flags.

An accident that took former title contender and overall leader Pascal Wehrlein out of the race for the top positions, however, only resulted in yellow flags - and a lot of frustration. "It's a shame. I think we would have fought for victory today because we were running well. But today my race was destroyed by Rast," Wehrlein told e-Formula.news after the E-Prix alluding to an accident in turn 1, in which Porsche driver hat attempted an overtaking maneuver on the outside.

Rast & Wehrlein disagree on accident responsibility in London

"I gave him enough space on the outside and had already passed. The next corner would have been a right turn. I would have easily overtaken him. But he probably didn't want that," Wehrlein said. Rast outbraked himself and overshot the apex of the corner, pushing his compatriot into the TecPro barrier. "The steering was completely off and at a 45-degree angle. Then during the red flag we had to change our nose, which means you have to line up at the back. After that, my race was completely over."

Rast describes the situation similarly. However, he doesn't necessarily sees himself to blame. "It was another chaotic race," the German told e-Formula.news. "I had hoped that we could also have a say in the end. Pascal then tried to overtake me on the outside in Turn 1. I hit the kerb on the inside, the car went up, I flew into him and took my front wing off in the process. Then the race was as good as over."

"Many like to drive 'harakiri' at the end of the championship"

Part of the reason for the accident was also due to the tight, winding track layout, Wehrlein suspects - but also due to the timing in the season. "A lot of the chaos comes from the track, of course," he speculates in response to a question from Motorsport-Magazin.com. "We're at the end of the championship. A lot of drivers like to drive 'harakiri'. And I think some also just need a vacation. For example, Rene. He'd do well to take a vacation."

But Wehrlein and Rast won't be going on vacation until after the last race of the 2023 season, which starts at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening. As usual, we will be covering the entire race day with detailed reports live from London.