Home heroes at the London E-Prix
- Jodie Saxon
- Jul 21
- 4 min read
Written by Jodie Saxon, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula E’s 11th season concludes with a double header event in London. After a successful weekend in Berlin, British drivers have become the first to surpass 3000 total points in Formula E, and the six Brits on the grid will no doubt be looking to add to that tally in front of their home crowds.
At a glance
Oliver Rowland (Nissan), championship leader.
Taylor Barnard (McLaren), currently third
Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro), currently seventh
Jake Dennis (Andretti), currently 10th
Jake Hughes (Maserati), currently 16th
Sam Bird (McLaren), currently 17th
Oliver Rowland
Newly-crowned champion Oliver Rowland currently races for Nissan Formula E Team in the no. 23 cherry-blossom car. The Yorkshireman made his Formula E debut back in 2015, replacing Nick Heidfeld at Mahindra Racing for the Punta del Este E-Prix and scoring a respectable 13th position finish.
It wasn’t until season five in 2018, though, that Rowland would see his full-time debut in the all-electric championship for Nissan e.Dams, his first podium coming midway through that season and his first win in the following season.
Four years after taking his first Formula E race win, Rowland took his second at the 2024 Misano E-Prix, following the disqualification of another driver. He would go on to win his home event, the season finale in London. Despite missing the Portland double-header event due to illness, he secured fourth in the championship.
Season 11 has seen Rowland continue this momentum, scoring a rampant four wins so far this season, and points in 11 of the 14 rounds completed, helping him secure the title with two races to go.
His title is the second for a British driver, with Jake Dennis the only other Brit to take the championship honours, when he triumphed for Andretti in 2023.
Taylor Barnard
British outfit McLaren have the current youngest driver on the grid in Taylor Barnard.
The Norfolker made his Formula E debut at the 2024 Monaco E-Prix, ironically enough, subbing in for future teammate Sam Bird, who sat out with a hand injury. He became the youngest driver to start a Formula E race, and only a few weeks later became the youngest to score points, finishing 10th at the Berlin E-Prix.
Since then, Barnard has gone on to claim the title of youngest polesitter and podium finisher, although the record of youngest winning has remained elusive so far.
Achieving the accolade of Formula E’s youngest race winner would be a fitting tribute to a departing McLaren outfit, in their final Formula E race weekend.
Dan Ticktum
Perhaps one of Formula E’s most controversial personalities, Dan Ticktum has finally had the machinery to prove his worth in the championship.
He joined Nio 333 Racing in Season 8, after being unable to secure a future in Formula 1, and struggled to score points for his first three years with the backmarker team.
The Londoner played a role in the team’s acquisition by American investment firm The Forest Road Company and has remained with them throughout two rebrands.
This season has seen Ticktum embrace the new pace delivered by the Porsche powertrains, taking his first podium and race win in Tokyo and Jakarta, respectively.
Despite the negative attention he receives for his radio outbursts, Ticktum still has many supporters who will be cheering him on at his home race in London.
Jake Dennis
Jake Dennis burst onto the Formula E grid in Season 7 and made his mark by finishing third in the championship in his first year. Dennis went on to win the championship title in his third season, his haul of 229 points still standing as the record of most points ever scored in a single Formula E campaign.
Although he was unable to defend his title – something only Jean-Éric Vergne has done – Dennis has maintained his record of scoring a podium in every season of Formula E he’s competed in. He has yet to win a race in Season 11, though, but still has two opportunities to do so in London.
Since joining Andretti in Season 7, the man from Nuneaton has accounted for over 75% of the team’s 853 points, while his six teammates in that time have managed only 208.
Jake Hughes
Hailing from Birmingham, Jake Hughes has been racing in Formula E since season nine. He scored pole position in his third Formula E race with McLaren, but didn’t take a podium until the end of Season 10, when he finished second at the Shanghai E-Prix.
Season 11 saw the Brit switch from Nissan power at McLaren to Stellantis power at Maserati MSG Racing, where he’s taken one podium so far.
As the end of the season draws, near there are plenty of rumours swirling around who will race in the two Stellantis teams of Maserati and DS Penske next season. Hughes will need to score some good results in front of his home crowd if he is to convince Stellantis that he deserves to stay.
Sam Bird
Sam Bird is one of Formula E’s longest serving and most popular drivers. He finished third in the first ever E-Prix in 2014 and went on to win the final round of the season in his home city of London.
The first six seasons of his career were spent with Virgin Racing before he switched to Jaguar Racing for a three-year stint. His record of starting every race in Formula E was broken when he was forced to miss the 2022 Seoul E-Prix after injuring himself at the preceding London E-Prix, while his streak of winning every season was broken in Season 8.
Bird now represents McLaren, but with the team leaving the series at the end of the season, his future in the all-electric championship is uncertain.
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