Pascal Wehrlein wins first race of the finale and takes championship lead
Cliffhanger for Formula E season finale: All decisions will go down to the wire at the final race on Sunday at the London ExCel Circuit. Porsche aims to sweep the title pool: Pascal Wehrlein leads the drivers’ championship and Porsche ranks first in the manufacturers’ trophy. In the teams’ classification, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is currently runner-up and is within striking distance of claiming that title as well.
On the spectacular street circuit in East London’s Docklands, Pascal Wehrlein drove an immaculate race to achieve the seventh Formula E victory of his career – the third this season after Mexico and Misano. This win marked the eighth for the Porsche 99X Electric this year – seven of which went to the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. Thanks to these successes, the works team from Weissach sets a new Formula E record.
After winning three races in a row, António Félix da Costa was shunted into the wall by a rival during his charge to catch the front-runners and was forced to abandon the race. Norman Nato crossed the finish line in tenth place for Porsche’s customer team Andretti Formula E, with defending world champion Jake Dennis finishing 16th.
Post-by-post coverage of the race can be found on the X channel @PorscheFormulaE.
Comments on the London E-Prix, Race 15
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “That was a sensational first race here in London with Pascal’s brilliant victory. He’s now moved to the top of the drivers’ championship. Heading into tomorrow’s final race, we’re all still extremely close, so we must go for gold again. We’re leading the manufacturers’ trophy. It’ll be tough in the teams’ rankings because we lost out with António today. He was incredibly strong right from the outset today and put in some inspired overtaking moves. He’d advanced to sixth place when he and another competitor ended up in the wall. We’ll give it our best shot again tomorrow, try to keep the pressure on and bring home as many titles as possible. We can build on the performance we demonstrated today. The team and drivers remained cool, calm and collected and delivered a great performance.”
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “What a day and what a win! That was a great race. I had a lot of fun out there. We applied our strategy perfectly and overtook at the right time. Our pace was spot on. I couldn’t be happier. But despite everything, that was only half the battle. Tomorrow is another critical day where we need to do everything in our power to achieve our goals. I’m looking forward to this make-or-break race.”
António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): “I got off the line well and managed to make up a few positions. Then, unfortunately, a rival shunted me out of the race. This is extremely disappointing after our fantastic winning streak recently with three straight victories. Tomorrow is an important day for Porsche. Pascal leads the drivers’ standings and Porsche ranks first in the manufacturers’ trophy. I hope we can wrap up this season successfully.”
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – standings after 15 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Pascal Wehrlein (GER), 180 points
2. Mitch Evans (NZL), 177 points
3. Nick Cassidy (NZL), 173 points
4. António Félix da Costa (POR), 134 points
7. Jake Dennis (GBR), 122 points
12. Norman Nato (FRA), 47 points
Teams’ classification
1. Jaguar TCS Racing, 350 points
2. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 314 points
4. Andretti Formula E, 169 points
Manufacturers’ Trophy
1. Porsche, 433 points
2. Jaguar, 425 points
3. Stellantis, 249 points
The official points’ standings can be found on the Formula E website.
Next up
The next outing for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and Andretti Formula E is Race 16 of the London E-Prix on 21 July. The race gets underway at 17:04 hrs local time (18:04 hrs CEST).