Tag: London E-Prix

Wehrlein holds title advantage after win in London E-Prix 1 thriller

Pascal Wehrlein won a chaotic first race of the London E-Prix to snatch the championship lead with one round still to go as Nick Cassidy’s own championship ambitions took a mammoth hit. TAG Heuer Porsche driver Wehrlein engaged in an intense duel …

Pascal Wehrlein won a chaotic first race of the London E-Prix to snatch the championship lead with one round still to go as Nick Cassidy’s own championship ambitions took a mammoth hit.

TAG Heuer Porsche driver Wehrlein engaged in an intense duel with championship rival Mitch Evans during the 39-lap race (extended from 37 owing to an early race safety car), and managed to build enough of a gap between his two late-race Attack Mode passes to resist the New Zealander.

He grabbed the lead into Turn 1 on lap 22, and having saved energy in the build up to the move, had enough in reserve to pull out a gap in the race’s closing stages. But another safety car on lap 32 followed by an immediate full course yellow two laps later, just after the race returned to green, wiped that out.

Nevertheless, he was able to hold on to lead Evans home by 0.617s and return to the championship lead for the first time since April’s Monaco E-Prix. Evans put a small dent in Wehrlein’s points haul, however, setting the fastest lap on the penultimate tour with two purple sectors to take a bonus point.

Sebastien Buemi finished third, having started on the front row of the grid and led early on, with Nyck de Vries taking his best result of the season in fourth. Edoardo Mortara made it Mahindra’s best team result of the year, too, with fifth, while Abt Cupra’s Nico Mueller was sixth.

Evans’ Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Cassidy had a disastrous race, but salvaged seventh and six vital points.

Starting 17th, he was already up against it, but a missed Attack Mode on lap 5, hard contact with Jake Dennis seven laps later, then further contact with Stoffel Vandoorne on lap 20 — which left him with bent steering — seemed to dash hopes of a points finish — which was sorely needed after his lead slipped to nine points after qualifying. However, a late race charge and penalties for Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz and Andretti’s Dennis, who finished on the road ahead of him, further aided his cause.

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Sam Bird was eighth for NEOM McLaren, ahead of Vandoorne who came away unscathed after his brush with Cassidy.

Andretti’s Norman Nato completed the top 10 despite ending up in the Turn 1 wall on lap 31 after a coming together with Fenestraz that resulted in a five-second penalty for the Nissan driver.

Nato’s teammate Dennis was classified in 16th after being hit with a 10-second penalty for a lap 1 collision with Robin Frijns, then two further penalties of five seconds (and a penalty point) for collisions with Jean-Eric Vergne and Cassidy. The shunt with Frijns, which brought about the first of the two safety cars, resulted in the Envision Racing driver being taken to a local hospital for checks, an apparent wrist injury being the issue.

Antonio Felix da Costa, who came to London on a run of three consecutive victories, had his championship hopes ended on lap 7 after a collision with fellow title chaser Oliver Rowland at the final turn. The clash left da Costa with broken steering and Rowland — who was eventually classified 15th — with a five second penalty.

Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther was another high-profile casualty, being in the thick of the victory fight in the late going until he suffered a rare gearbox failure as the race resumed from its second safety car period on lap 34. He came to a stop on the exit of Turn 17, which necessitated the full course yellow.

Wehrlein’s victory was a record seventh this season for the factory Porsche team, and means he goes into Sunday’s season finale with a three-point lead over Evans. The number of drivers in title contention was reduced from seven to three with Cassidy, despite his tough day, remaining in reach, just a further four points back.

Jaguar TCS Racing still leads the teams’ championship, with a 36-point advantage and 47 still up for grabs on Sunday. The manufacturers’ trophy picture is less clear, with Porsche’s advantage at just eight points ahead of the final race.

RESULTS

Evans takes pole for first London E-Prix

Mitch Evans beat Sebastien Buemi to pole for the first race of the London E-Prix as championship leader Nick Cassidy failed to advance to the head-to-head Duels stage. Evans’ Jaguar TCS Racing teammate went for a double push at the end of the first …

Mitch Evans beat Sebastien Buemi to pole for the first race of the London E-Prix as championship leader Nick Cassidy failed to advance to the head-to-head Duels stage.

Evans’ Jaguar TCS Racing teammate went for a double push at the end of the first group session, and while two session best sectors were enough to momentarily bump him to fourth — and a position to advance — a messy final sector left him vulnerable. He failed to improve on his final flying lap, as Oliver Rowland (Nissan), Sebastien Buemi (Envision) and Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) made late vaults up the order.

In the Duels final, Buemi had the upper hand in the first sector, but a mistake at Turn 16 cost him time, giving Evans the advantage over the final two parts of the lap. Evans’ pole time was ultimately a 1m 10.622s, just 0.069s quicker than Buemi.

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En route to the final, Evans topped the second group session ahead of Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra), Norman Nato (Andretti), and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske). He defeated Vergne in the Duels quarter finals with a stunning lap that was 0.369s better than Vergne’s run. Evans then beat Nato, albeit with a lap six tenths slower than his one from the previous stage.

Buemi made the Duels for only the second time in the last 14 races, finishing second in the first group — which began in drying conditions after a brief morning shower — behind Wehrlein, with Rowland and his Envision Racing teammate Robin Frijns also advancing

In the Duels, Buemi defeated former teammate Rowland, and championship contender Pascal Wehrlein to lock himself into the Final for the first time since the season opener in Mexico.

Pole for Evans is his third of the season, matching both Vergne and Wehrlein. And with the three points that come with it, he narrowed the gap at the top of the championship to just nine points ahead of Saturday evening’s race.

Behind the front row of Evans and Buemi, Wehrlein will line up third with Nato fourth. Vergne will start fifth, ahead of Mueller, Rowland, and Robin Frijns (Envision), with Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) and Jake Dennis (Andretti) rounding out the top 10.

Maximilian Guenther will line up 11th, ahead of Sam Bird, Sacha Fenestraz,  Nyck de Vries, and Jehan Daruvala, with Edorado Mortara, Cassidy, Dan Ticktum, Lucas di Grassi, Stoffell Vandoorne, Jake Hughes — who had a brush with the wall in the first group session, hampering his progress — and Sergio Sette Camara completing the field.

Sette Camara will start last after accumulating 30 places of grid penalties. The ERT driver got a 10-place drop after second practice for his third reprimand of the season, then got a further 20-place drop for a change of inverter ahead of qualifying.

RESULTS

Vergne leads first London practice

Championship outsider Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace as Formula E’s finale weekend got underway in London. The DS Penske driver’s best lap round the 20-turn, 1.29-mile indoor/outdoor circuit was a 1m11.290s, which he set on his 18th of 20 laps …

Championship outsider Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace as Formula E’s finale weekend got underway in London.

The DS Penske driver’s best lap round the 20-turn, 1.29-mile indoor/outdoor circuit was a 1m11.290s, which he set on his 18th of 20 laps completed in the half-hour session.

Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi was second quickest, lapping just 0.028s off Vergne’s pace, while Jake Hughes put his NEOM McLaren third on the timesheets, a further 0.030s back. Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was the highest of the main championship protagonists in fourth, but only 0.065s off the fastest time.

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Robin Frijns was the first driver outside of a tenth of the quickest time in the second Envision, finishing the session fifth with a 1m11.436s, ahead of Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther and TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, who comes into this weekend not only as the winner of the last three races, but with a shout at the championship.

Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), Oliver Rowland (Nissan) and Sam Bird (McLaren) completed the top 10, with championship leader Nick Cassidy less than a tenth outside in 11th. He was, however, the fastest driver to not make use of the full complement of 350 kW of power. Pascal Wehrlein, Jake Dennis, Nico Mueller, Dan Ticktum and Jehan Daruvala were the other drivers to run below full power. Wehrlein was 13th for Porsche, Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara splitting the two.

Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) was 14th, ahead of reigning champion Dennis (Andretti), Sergio Sette Camara (ERT), Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra), and Nyck de Vries (Mahindra). Norman Nato (Andretti), Mueller — competing for Abt Cupra for the final time this weekend — Ticktum (ERT), and Daruvala (Maserati) completed the field.

RESULTS

Unique London venue set to decide Formula E title race

The 2023-24 ABB Formula E World Championship season concludes this weekend with a pair of races on a unique indoor/outdoor circuit built at the ExCeL exhibition space in London. After 14 rounds, seven of the series’ 22 full-time drivers remain in …

The 2023-24 ABB Formula E World Championship season concludes this weekend with a pair of races on a unique indoor/outdoor circuit built at the ExCeL exhibition space in London.

After 14 rounds, seven of the series’ 22 full-time drivers remain in championship contention, with a total of 58 points — including three for a pole position and one for a fastest lap — still up for grabs.

Current points leader Nick Cassidy heads to the British capital as the favorite, despite the wide-open nature of the contest. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver, who’s in his first season with the team after moving from customer outfit Envision Racing, grabbed the lead at the first Berlin race back in May with a stunning victory in which he carved his way through the field after a masterful display of energy management.

Cassidy may have had a torrid time last time out in Portland, where he failed to score in both races across the weekend, but he was victorious from pole in London last year — a season where he was also in championship contention — which bodes well for his chances of locking up a first Formula E title there this weekend. Like his two nearest rivals, Cassidy has got two wins to his name already this season, claiming victory in the third race of the season in Saudi Arabia as well as in Berlin. But crucially, he has more podium finishes than anyone else.

Breathing down his neck is his fellow New Zealander and Jaguar teammate Mitch Evans, and there have been signs of tension between the two all season as they’ve been left to battle it out for championship supremacy.

Evans had something of a slower start to the season, not reaching the podium until round four in Sao Paulo, but a win on the streets of Monaco gave his campaign a shot in the arm. He followed that up with victory in Race 1 in Shanghai, and was also triumphant in the first Portland race until a penalty for a collision with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes relegated him to eighth.

Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans have both starred for Jaguar TCS Racing this season, although it hasn’t all been smooth sailing between the two. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images

TAG Heuer Porsche’s pairing of Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa are next up. Wehrlein is equal on points with Evans — on 155, 13 off Cassidy — but has had a less-than-stellar record in London which could prove to be his undoing. In the last six races at the ExCeL, Wehrlein has only finished in the top five once. Nevertheless, he has more points finishes than any of the other championship contenders this season, managing to remain consistent where others have had peaks and troughs to varying degrees.

Da Costa, meanwhile, heads to London on a hot streak. We arguably shouldn’t even be talking about him being a championship contender, after he had three point-less finishes at the start of the year which led to him facing the exit door at Porsche. But a remarkable turnaround — which had an aborted start in the first Misano race which he won only to later be disqualified from — has seen da Costa take four wins from the last five races, including each of the last three consecutively.

That puts him within one win of the series’ all-time record (13, by Sebastien Buemi), matching the consecutive win record again, having already shared it with Buemi from his previous hat trick in 2019-20, and within two of the most wins in a season record. The Portuguese driver’s recent run of form also moved him ahead of Nissan driver Oliver Rowland, who remains in championship contention despite missing the last two rounds due to illness.

A winner in Misano, Rowland has mastered the art of peloton-style racing brought about in the current GEN3 era, securing strong results for the somewhat unfancied Nissan powertrain compared to the Jaguars and Porsches. Cassidy’s double non-score in Portland certainly helped Rowland’s cause somewhat, but 36 points adrift with two rounds to go, he’s gone from being a dark horse to an outsider.

Two more outsiders are DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne and reigning champion Jake Dennis of Andretti.

Vergne may be leading the series with the number of pole positions — both all-time (17), and this season, along with Wehrlein (3) — but the Stellantis package that DS Penske runs has been lacking in race trim. Unless he wins one of the two races this weekend, Vergne stands to have his second winless season in the last three, and only the third of his nine full formula E campaigns.

It’s been a frustrating campaign for Vergne, despite the odd positive moment, and the same can be said for Dennis. The British driver hasn’t won since the second round of the season in Saudi Arabia, having not managed to match the late-season charge that led to him claiming his and Andretti’s first Formula E crown last year.

While he’s the third Porsche-powered driver to still be in the championship fight — and is a two-time London winner who’s only failed to reach the podium there once in six attempts — a 45-point deficit makes it almost a certainty he won’t be retaining his title.

Still, miracles do happen. And this season, as with the nine that came before it, has proven that Formula E is anything but predictable.

Both London races will air live on the CBS broadcast network starting at 12pm ET both days, as well as the Roku network, which also airs practice and qualifying sessions.

Cassidy masters the wet to win second London E-Prix

A day on from the frustration of seeing his championship chances evaporate via a collision with his teammate, Nick Cassidy put on a masterful display amid challenging wet conditions in the second Hankook London E-Prix for a fourth win of the season. …

A day on from the frustration of seeing his championship chances evaporate via a collision with his teammate, Nick Cassidy put on a masterful display amid challenging wet conditions in the second Hankook London E-Prix for a fourth win of the season. In the process, he helped ensure his Envision Racing team of its first ABB Formula E World Championship teams’ title.

After a series of delays for the wet weather to recede, Cassidy took charge from the start and strode to a comfortable win, heading home fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and newly crowned champion Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) to deliver the teams’ crown to Jaguar drive train customers Envision Racing, ahead of the factory Jaguar TCS Racing squad.

Cassidy led from pole, lights-to-flag and set the fastest lap of the race, keeping Evans at arm’s length throughout, while the lead pair drew out some 10 seconds over next-best Dennis in the brutal conditions. Not only did the Envision Racing-run Jaguar I-TYPE 6 have the pace advantage but it also looked better on energy, too, and Cassidy led Evans home by 4.934s to clinch the runner-up place in the drivers’ table.

“That was really hard, especially being the race leader — I didn’t know how hard to push,” said Cassidy, who admitted the lights-to-flag run felt oddly simple after the ups and downs of Saturday’s race. “I felt comfortable and it felt strange to have a race as difficult and not have any big moments.”

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Sebastien Buemi took sixth in the sister Envision car, fending off Sam Bird in the other Jaguar TCS Racing entry to make doubly sure of teams’ honors.

Norman Nato (Nissan) and outgoing champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) were sandwiched between the front three and the squabbling Buemi and Bird, while Nico Mueller (ABT CUPRA) finished eighth.

Dan Ticktum, on home soil in the NIO 333, made a smart early move on Maserati MSG Racing’s Edo Mortara to break into the top 10 and steered to an eventual ninth, ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein.

Envision Racing beat out the factory Jaguar TCS Racing team by 12 points in the teams’ title race, while Porsche customers Avalanche Andretti also edged the factory TAG Heuer Porsche team to third, by 10 points.

Dennis wound up 30 points clear of Cassidy in the drivers’ running, with Evans third and Wehrlein fourth.

Dennis, Cassidy at opposite ends of emotional spectrum after London title-decider

Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost …

Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost activations and a tense interlude with a Porsche factory driver, who failed to give him the space the Porsche-powered Andretti driver thought he’d get.

“It’s a huge relief,” Dennis said after finishing second to secure the title. “I didn’t expect it coming into today with Nick Cassidy on pole and Sebastien Buemi (both of Envision Racing) in third. By lap 8 I was like, ‘Yeah this is gonna be hard.’ Nick had taken both Attack Modes and Sebastien was the best wingman for Nick possible. But then it all fell apart for them and we managed to keep out of trouble.”

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In the late stages Dennis radioed his team that he was surprised at TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein declining to move out of the way for him despite pre-race conversations having given him the impression the works Porsche cars wouldn’t hinder him. Porsche supplies the Andretti team with its powertrains.

“That was a private conversation but ultimately, I felt like we had a bit of an agreement going into the race and it just obviously didn’t quite pan out the way I expected it,” Dennis said. “It was just one of those things.”

The start of Saturday’s race could hardly have gone better for Nick Cassidy or Envision Racing, but things soon unraveled after that. Nick Dungan/Motorsport Images

Another one of those things was the bizarre end to Cassidy’s title challenge, after starting up front with his Envision teammate Buemi in third. Buemi got a great start to emerge in second and help Cassidy pull a gap to the field, pushing Dennis down into third. However, the two Envision teammates ended up coming together, damaging Cassidy’s front wing and wrecking his championship hopes.

“I don’t know what to feel,” said a despondent Cassidy. “I just can’t believe the series of events. The start was a dream. There’s not too much I can add. Probably just take the moment to say well done to Jake [Dennis]. He had a really solid season and really deserved the championship. I think that we had all the ingredients and a potential to also get the job done, but there’s no would, could, should in motorsport — the results and kudos to him, so well done.”

Cassidy noted that he let Buemi pass later on in the race to help Envision.

“We’re also fighting for the teams’ world championship and I like to think I’m a good team player. Maybe I’m too good a team player,” he mused.

They get another chance in today’s second half of the doubleheader, in which Cassidy will start from the pole after beating Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans by just 0.01s. That earned three more points for Envision in its fight with Jaguar for the teams’ championship.

For Dennis, the second London race is an opportunity to get his own back on drivers who he felt took advantage of his need for caution Saturday.

“They can and they’d be stupid not to [exploit it], so they divebomb and take high-risk maneuvers even if they think realistically it’s not on but you’ll probably give space,” said the Andretti driver. “There were some moves which I had to allow to happen because I would have crashed, but I am looking forward to enjoying (Sunday).”

Cassidy on pole for London E-Prix 1 after penalty for Evans

There was good and and bad news for Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing in qualifying for today’s first race of the doubleheader in London that will settle the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship titles. Evans came out on top in a square fight …

There was good and and bad news for Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing in qualifying for today’s first race of the doubleheader in London that will settle the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship titles. Evans came out on top in a square fight against title rival Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) in the Duels final. But it’s Cassidy who’ll take to P1 on the grid after Evans was served with a five-place grid penalty for a collision in Rome.

Cassidy may head into Saturday’s race P1 on the grid but it’s Evans who takes the all-important three points for setting the fastest time in the Duels final. These points created a big swing in the teams’ standings, as Jaguar tries to chase both Envision and TAG Heuer Porsche for the title. Drivers’ championship leader Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) qualified third and will start on the front row for the race where he can clinch his first Formula E crown. After the penalty, Evans will start Round 15 from sixth on the grid.

Evans went against Cassidy in the finale, and with both drivers pushing to their absolute limits Cassidy appeared to kiss the wall on his lap. As a result, Evans emerged victorious, but it will be Cassidy who starts in that important P1 slot for the race in just a few hours. Lining up alongside him is Dennis, a copy of the Rome grid but in the opposite order. The drivers who started first and second in the two London races last year, finished first and second in the races too. Will history repeat itself?