Winners and Losers: London E-Prix
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 57 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Formula E experienced a thrilling season finale in London, with the ExCel Arena delivering a pair of high-intensity races, and tensions running higher than normal for several drivers in the battle to be crowned champion. DIVEBOMB breaks down the winners and losers from the final weekend of the Gen3 era in London.
Formula E experienced a thrilling season finale in London, with the ExCel Arena delivering a pair of high-intensity races, and tensions running higher than normal for several drivers in the battle to be crowned champion. DIVEBOMB breaks down the winners and losers from the final weekend of the Gen3 era in London.
Winner: Pascal Wehrlein:
It may not have been as convincing, but Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein added his name into the history books at the end of the London E-Prix weekend. He joins Jean-Éric Vergne as the only other double world champion in Formula E, after 12 seasons.
The heavy-lifting, though, came from the German driver in Saturday’s Round 16. Leading a Porsche 1-2 in qualifying, the route to the title proved less stressful all the way through the rest of the weekend.
With teammate Müller’s perfect supporting act (more on that later), Wehrlein opened up a gap of over three seconds early in the race. Even as Evans found himself frustrated behind the rear wing of the second Porsche car, a stroke of good fortune elevated Wehrlein even further.
Lucas di Grassi’s incident at Turn 9 brought about the full course yellows, offering an opportunity for Wehrlein to grab a quicker pit boost stop compared to the rest of the leading pack. This left the German comfortably in the lead, with a comfortable victory by five seconds.
With Evans only eighth in the order, a close title fight had now become a lot more in Wehrlein’s favour, as he entered Sunday’s finale five points in the lead over Jake Dennis’ Andretti, and 21 ahead of his Jaguar rival.
Despite starting third on the grid, Wehrlein found himself stuck behind an old sparring partner, as António Félix da Costa gave it his best efforts to block the Porsche man, all in a bid to aid teammate Evans in his quest for the title.
Yet, despite the bitterness between former teammates bringing about a slowdown even before the drivers crossed the line, it was Wehrlein’s turn to truly celebrate what he had achieved. A world championship, as Wehrlein said after the race, “was the sum total of what we did over 16 to 17 rounds.”
Loser: Jake Dennis
In a close title fight, it’s natural for one driver to leave bitterly disappointed with the outcome.
Andretti and Jake Dennis found themselves in that position after two hard-fought races in London. Heading into the event with a slender two-point lead, Dennis held the belief of sealing a second Formula E title on home turf.
Starting fifth for Round 16, Dennis was up against it if he were to stay in the title fight against Wehrlein and Evans, both starting ahead. A couple of calculated passes towards the end helped him climb up to second, keeping him within touching distance of the Porsche man in the championship lead.
Sunday, though, painted a very different picture for the Andretti man. A poor qualifying effort left him down in 16th, with a massive drive needed if he was to win the championship.
Halfway into the race, the outcome looked largely in Wehrlein’s favour, as Dennis still found himself down in 16th. But a crucial phase was yet to follow, as he took attack mode and climbed closer to the top 10.
At the same time, the manic squabble between da Costa and Evans eroded the gap ahead, as the Andretti man briefly saw himself up in seventh at one point, with Wehrlein outside the points.
However, with only a handful of laps to go, contact from da Costa at Turn 16 tugged Dennis slightly wide, before Wehrlein’s attempt to make a brave move into Turn 17 ended in tears. The Andretti man found himself in the barriers, circulating without a front wing before calling it a day as the race came to a close.
Dennis emerged as one of the top-scoring drivers coming into the London E-Prix weekend, having amassed 80 points since the Sanya E-Prix in June, and a late championship charge amounted to no avail in the heat and intensity of London’s finale.
Winner: Nico Müller, António Félix da Costa
It may be surprising why the wingmen to two championship protagonists appear in this section. But their actions over the weekend proved just how much teams were willing to aid their drivers’ quest for the championship.
While Müller knocked out Evans in Saturday’s Round 16 and proved a pain point in Evans’ quest for the title all weekend, da Costa and Jaguar took the defensive effort up a few more notches than normal on Sunday.
The intensity and fighting spirit certainly were felt from afar, given the 21-point margin between Evans and Wehrlein, and da Costa’s defence seeing him fend off a bitter rival’s advances. With Porsche and Jaguar also battling for the constructors’ championship, it was all to play for on the streets of London.
The Portuguese driver’s supporting act initially saw him make his way past Wehrlein in attack mode early on, before being passed by the German after the sternest of defences. A late move into Turn 16 only laps later, though, meant it was status quo once again.
Da Costa’s defence included every aspect up his sleeve. Be it a go-slow in the narrow, near-impossible overtaking opportunities through sector one, or stern defences into Turns 10/11 chicane, and Turns 19 and 20 that saw both drivers run wide, every aspect was aimed at halting Wehrlein’s pace.
The most noticeable aspect, though, was da Costa taking the Porsche man deep into Turn 16 late on, costing Wehrlein several positions as he ran off the racing line for the rest of the lap. In a bid to keep his defence going, da Costa also took attack mode at the same time as Wehrlein, to avoid handing any advantage.
It almost blew over between both drivers on the final lap, as Wehrlein slowed down at Turn 19 as da Costa approached, as the duo nearly came to a standstill. The Porsche driver even delivered a sharp message on the final lap of the race, calling the Jaguar man a “sore loser” and “F****** beat you three years in a row” in a remark directed at the duo’s time as Porsche teammates.
“Be sure, I remember everything for the future,” he continued, furious at the blockade and pandemonium created by da Costa’s driving.
While fans and pundits will be divided in their opinions on both da Costa and Müller’s defensive acts, both drivers received praise from their respective teams for aiding their championship causes.
Loser: Mitch Evans
For the fifth time in six seasons, Jaguar and Evans fell short of the biggest trophy.
Evans’ desire to win a Formula E championship has become a major storyline dotting the seasons, with the New Zealander coming up just short over and over again.
But as has been the case for much of his career, Evans lost out once again.
Qualifying third for Round 16, the Jaguar man lost crucial ground early in the race, stuck behind Müller’s Porsche lap after lap, as Wehrlein scampered ahead and built up a sizeable margin to the rest.
An early Pit Boost stop and attack mode activation eventually saw Evans take a net second place on track, and he was even tracking to be ahead of Wehrlein once the Pit Boost stops were completed.
The full course yellow brought out to recover Lucas di Grassi’s stranded Lola, though, ended any hopes of returning to the podium, as Evans lost out to several drivers yet to take Pit Boost. A late double overtake into Turn 1 on Müller and Cassidy was all he gained, coming home only eighth and only remaining in the mathematical hunt for the title.
Despite qualifying fifth for the crucial finale, Evans came across his nemesis Müller in the way. Even as he barged his way through at Turn 2 after several laps of frustration, the damage had already been done.
Even as da Costa played the team game and held up Wehrlein to let his teammate through, the gap to the top three simply proved too much to close down. Despite finishing fourth and Wehrlein failing to score points, Evans rounded out his final season with Jaguar only nine points adrift of the Porsche man’s tally.
Winner: Mahindra Racing
For a team that went through a serious transformation over the course of the Gen3 era, a maiden front row lockout proved perfect reward for Mahindra in the finale.
Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara started on the front row for Sunday’s Round 17, a much improved showing that highlighted the Mahindra’s capabilities around the street circuit. It was a marked change from Saturday’s Round 16, when de Vries found himself in a qualifying squabble with Dennis, and Mortara started only 18th after a grid drop carried over from Tokyo.
Both Mahindra cars held the top two spots for much of the race, as de Vries and Mortara orchestrated a team effort to use up their attack modes, with the chasing Taylor Barnard in tow. Despite the Briton finding his way past, the Mahindra duo ended the season on the podium, with their combined haul of 36 points from Round 17 ensuring third in the standings.
For the Indian manufacturer, Season 12 marked one of the strongest showings ever, building on excellent pace from pre-season testing, as Mahindra only failed to score in one round of the season, and failed to make the duels only once in 2026.
Their tally of 252 points is also the team's personal best in Formula E, ending up only 19 points off Porsche and 36 away from champions Jaguar.
Loser: Oliver Rowland
Coming into the weekend only 14 points off the lead, Nissan and Oliver Rowland had hoped for a better showing, and a potential squabble for the top spots.
Instead, they were forced to contend with ending up towards the rear of the field for most of the weekend. Rowland failed to make the duels in either race, starting only 13th for the crucial Round 16, in the fight for the title.
Like many, though, Rowland lost out after pitting early for the Pit Boost, fighting away with Envision’s Joel Eriksson late in the race. A spirited charge, though, saw him take home the final points in 10th, aided by scoring the fastest lap of the race.
Despite this effort, he was eliminated from the race to defend his title, capping off a strong yet largely inconsistent campaign.
The finale on Sunday proved even more difficult, though, as Rowland wound up a disastrous 17th in qualifying, while teammate Norman Nato faced a brake issue and started 19th after failing to set a lap time.
The two Nissan cars worked their way through the chaos and pandemonium that ensued between the title contenders, though, eventually taking home the final points in ninth and 10th, with Rowland once again taking the point for the fastest lap of the race.
Despite their tough weekend, the crucial handful of points helped Nissan secure sixth in the standings by a slender five-point margin from a chasing Envision Racing.
Winner: Taylor Barnard
As one Briton struggled, his protégé rose to the fore, rediscovering the form he showed in a breakout rookie season.
Taylor Barnard came into Season 12 with expectations of building on a stellar rookie season, joining DS Penske and forming a stellar driver line-up with Max Günther.
After all, the Briton had secured several records, including the youngest points scorer, podium finisher and pole sitter early in his Formula E career. Only one record eluded him to date: A race win.
With this marking the final weekend for Barnard to attempt securing this record, he delivered one of his best collective weekends in the sport.
Having finished fifth in Round 16, Barnard’s day came in the final Round 17. Utilising his first attack mode to climb up to third, he was in prime position to take victory.
Running close to the Mahindra pair during the race, the Briton waited for the perfect opportunity to take attack mode, using this to effect two neat overtakes to take the race lead late on. Despite late pressure from de Vries, Barnard rounded the final turns to take a stellar maiden victory, becoming Formula E’s youngest race winner, and ensuring DS ended their final Formula E race on a high.
An emotional Barnard soaked up all the emotions, sweetened by the home crowd cheering him on, and he ensured DS Penske ended the season on top, and a ninth different team tasted victory in Season 12.
Loser: Dan Ticktum
While it was a day of paradise for one Briton, another left his home race less than satisfied with his final tally.
Cupra Kiro and Dan Ticktum came into the event with high expectations, the London native having secured pole at his home event in 2025, despite an impending grid drop.
He was on course for a similar showing once again, making the duels in Round 16, before losing out in the quarter-final against Wehrlein. “There comes a time when we have to do our bit,” Ticktum admitted after qualifying, hinting at ways to assist the works Porsche squad in their quest for the title.
Ticktum still came home a strong sixth, despite being shunted wide by Mortara’s Mahindra at Turn 1 during the race. Yet, it all unravelled in the finale on Sunday. Despite a single-lap dash at the end of qualifying getting him into the duels, Ticktum’s race fell away dramatically later in the day.
Being stuck behind the Citroën of Cassidy in attack mode meant he lost out to those behind. Ticktum eventually came home 16th, an ending particularly apt for the course of his season.
The Briton is still searching for a seat on the grid for Season 13, and will be looking to finalise an offer in the break before testing resumes in November.
Winner: Sébastien Buemi
Envision Racing and Sébastien Buemi knew London marked their final race weekend together, with the team announcing the departure of both the veteran and his rookie teammate Joel Eriksson at the end of Season 12.
The Swiss driver started his final races from the top 10, in a bid to sign off on a high for the team in green. The man with 151 race starts to his name arguably rediscovered the strong form in which he kicked off Season 12.
Starting in the top 10 for both races, Buemi was able to move forward, utilising his attack modes and taking advantage of the squabbling championship contenders to ascend to fourth in Saturday’s Round 16.
Just missing out on the duels by 13 milliseconds on Sunday, Buemi utilised his years of experience to once again move up the order, ascending to fifth as the championship contenders fell down the order.
He ended the London E-Prix weekend as one of only two drivers to finish in the top five, alongside Barnard, rounding out his Formula E career on a high.
Buemi’s efforts meant Envision finished a comfortable seventh in the standings, only five points away from Nissan, and well clear of the chasing Cupra Kiro outfit.
Loser: Lucas di Grassi
Unlike his fellow Formula E veteran, di Grassi did not receive the same farewell weekend or sign off on a high.
While emotions ran strong in the Lola camp, as di Grassi revealed a special bespoke helmet and a livery adorning his achievements, the difficulties only piled on for the plucky Lola outfit.
Qualifying at the rear of the field, di Grassi copped a penalty for speeding under FCY conditions in Round 16, before his incident at Turn 9 midway through the race.
Another reliability incident in Free Practice 3 resulted in component changes on his Lola, causing the Brazilian to miss qualifying. He later served a stop-and-go penalty after failing to complete his 20-position grid drop for changing components.
The Lola man’s weekend came to a sputtering end, with di Grassi parking up at Turn 1 after more reliability trouble, walking off disappointed as he called time on a Formula E career, after 12 years and 153 starts in the championship.
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