London E-Prix: Wehrlein denies Jaguar duo for Formula E title in thriller

Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein denied both Jaguar drivers to provisionally claim his maiden Formula E title as Oliver Rowland took victory in the London E-Prix season finale.

Wehrlein finished second in the final race of the year at the London ExCeL, having started the race just three and four points ahead of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy respectively.

After Cassidy suffered a puncture and Evans missed his final Attack Mode in the closing laps, Wehrlein found himself in prime position to win the drivers’ title.

While Cassidy maintained his pole advantage into Turn 1, team-mate Evans directly behind got a better launch off the line than front-row starter Maximilian Guenther and moved ahead around the outside of the opening bend.

The first lap was clean compared with Saturday’s antics, but it didn’t last long, as Edoardo Mortara and Jake Dennis collided at Turn 3 on the second tour, and with both the Mahindra and Andretti cars stricken, a safety car was deployed.

Once racing resumed on lap five, Cassidy immediately went defensive into Turn 1 and again on the exit of Turn 6 in a bid to save as much energy as possible at the head of the field.

With Cassidy deliberately running at a reduced pace, Evans looked to the outside into Turn 16 in the braking zone before settling back behind, having shown his statement of intent.

While the Jaguars remained line astern, Wehrlein, who had started fourth, crucially moved up to third at the expense of Guenther, pulling to the outside of the Maserati MSG driver into the right of Turn 19, which then gave him the inside line into the final bend on lap six.

Moments later, another safety car was deployed after Sam Bird and Jehan Daruvala collided at the downhill left/right of Turn 7/8, with the McLaren left stranded as the Maserati MSG driver left the scene trailing debris.

Cassidy noticeably upped the pace at the restart on lap 10 and took his first Attack Mode activation immediately, rejoining side-by-side with Evans but critically maintaining the lead.

Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Evans proclaimed over the radio that the “gloves are off” having backed up the pack to allow Cassidy to rejoin in the lead, and when Cassidy took his second Attack Mode on lap 13, he dropped behind both Evans and Wehrlein.

With Evans at the head of the field, he began to bleed energy compared with Wehrlein behind and spent the middle portion of the race aggressively defending the lead.

The pair made light contact into Turn 1 on lap 20 and Evans was handed a black and white warning flag for moving under braking, each driver waiting as long as possible before taking their two Attack Mode activations.

With both of his Attack Modes already completed, Cassidy was in prime position until lap 28, as the second Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa, who had started 10th, made contact with the Jaguar driver at Turn 16.

It caused a puncture for the Kiwi, who was collected by Guenther into the final corner as Cassidy headed for the pits for a new tyre, while the clash with da Costa was placed under investigation by the stewards.

Despite rejoining at the back of the field, Cassidy retired before the end of the race with his title aspirations shattered.

Another safety car was called due to debris on the circuit courtesy of Guenther’s front wing, but critically it was called just as both Evans and Wehrlein went to take their first Attack Modes, which weren’t activated as a result of the caution.

Both dropped behind Oliver Rowland who had climbed up the order from ninth, but the Nissan driver conceded the lead once racing resumed, having done so technically once the safety car was already activated.

Now back to the head of the field Evans went to take his final Attack Mode, but incredibly missed the activation as Wehrlein behind took his final extra boost of power.

Evans finally activated the Attack Mode the following lap, but dropped behind Wehrlein and with only four laps remaining – the race extended by three laps due to the cautions – he was forced to back off in order to use the full boost of power before finishing the race.

It meant Wehrlein was able to follow Rowland home to finish second and win the title by seven points from Evans, who competed the podium.