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.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1394]
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.
DRAMA ON LAP 1 😳
Dennis squeezes Frijns into the wall, bringing out the @PorscheRaces Safety Car!@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/PfN9yG1xO8
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 20, 2024
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.