Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein has taken the lead in the Formula E World Championship by taking victory ahead of New Zealander Mitch Evans in this morning’s London E-Prix opener.
Nick Cassidy, who led the championship by 12 points ahead of the round, recovered from a difficult qualifying effort of 17th to salvage points in seventh.
“It was a tough day today,” said Cassidy. “Qualifying didn’t go to plan, so it was frustrating to be starting near the back. The race could’ve been much better, but it also could’ve been much worse.
“Considering I started P17, I finished in P7, so I’ve still got a chance at the Championship tomorrow. I’m relatively relieved after today so now I focus on winning tomorrow ‑ I have the tools, I just need to execute.”
With Evans having claimed bonus points for qualifying on the pole and setting the fastest lap, just seven points separate the top three in the standings.
“We had the car and the pace to win today, but we couldn’t execute the race the way we wanted to,” he said. “We secured Pole position and the fastest lap, so we knew we had a great car, but in the end, I didn’t have the energy left in the car to keep fighting Pascal.
“We will go again tomorrow and hope to qualify at the front in the season finale. Evans is three points behind Wehrlein in second, while Cassidy is another four points adrift in third.”
Championship contenders Jean-Eric Vergne, Oliver Rowland, Antonio Felix Da Costa, and Jake Dennis were left scoreless after being involved in incidents at London’s ExCeL, eliminating them from the title race.
Evans out-qualified Envision’s Sebastien Buemi in the final duel to claim the pole, with Wehrlein starting third. Cassidy was eliminated from the group stages of qualifying and lined up 18th.
Evans got a strong start and led Buemi into Turn 1, with Norman Nato climbing to third at the expense of Wehrlein.
The Safety Car made an immediate appearance after reigning champion Jake Dennis squeezed Envision’s Robin Frijn’s out wide, sending him into the wall. Sam Bird was also caught up in the incident.
The race resumed on Lap 5, with the field immediately beginning to take their Attack Modes. Cassidy missed one of the sensors on his first attempt and lost valuable time off the racing line.
Rowland and Vergne came together at the final corner shortly after, resulting in the Porsche returning to pit lane with suspension damage. Rowland was able to continue, albeit down the order.
Buemi took the lead off Evans on Lap 10 with a tidy move on the start-finish straight.
In the pack, Dennis made contact with Cassidy, who reported that the steering was bent on his Jaguar TCS Racing machinery afterwards.
Evans returned to the lead after they used their first round of Attack Mode, and Wehrlein took second, having conserved energy over the opening stages.
The German’s decisive move came on Lap 22, and he hit the front.
Cassidy was again in the wars further back, smacked into the wall by Stoffel Vandoorne, but could continue.
Wehrlein and Evans battled intensely as they took their second Attack Modes, but a solid defensive effort saw the Porsche retain track position.
Evans complained of energy issues and was eventually passed by Maximilian Guenther for second. However, a mechanical issue for the Maserati saw it stop on track in the closing stages, elevating the Kiwi back into the top two.
Nato and Sacha Fenestraz also tangled in the last moments.
Wehrlein kept his cool upfront to secure the win and the championship lead, crossing the line 0.617 seconds ahead of Evans. Buemi completed the podium.
Cassidy’s charge forward brought a hard-fought seventh to keep him in the championship hunt.
The title will be decided tonight, with Practice at 8.55 pm NZST preceding qualifying at 11.00 pm and the season-finale at 3.00 am.
Header Image: Jaguar TCS Racing
