Pascal Wehrlein has won the 2024 FIA Formula E World Championship after a dramatic Race 2 in London, which saw Nissan’s Oliver Rowland come through from ninth on the grid to win his home race.
The German, like he did on Saturday, drove brilliantly to take the title, as the Jaguar TCS Racing team’s strategy capitulated in spectacular fashion, with Mitch Evans finishing third after two botched Attack Mode attempts, and with Nick Cassidy sent into retirement by Max Günther, the long-standing title leader likely to feel aggrieved at being left in third place behind his two rivals for much of the race before his retirement.
Sebastien Buemi recovered from a poor qualifying to finish fourth, with Antonio Felix da Costa fifth, having played his part in helping Wehrlein towards the end of the race. Jean-Éric Vergne wrapped-up his Season 10 with sixth spot, followed by Nico Müller in seventh, Robin Frijns in eighth, Stoffel Vandoorne ninth, and Lucas di Grassi 10th.
For Wehrlein, it would be a spectacular turnaround, overcoming the points deficit, keeping the coolest head amongst the chaos and coming through it all World Champion for the very first time, a very long-awaited triumph having joined the sport in 2018.
HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED
At the start, Cassidy led away into T1 with Evans jumping Günther immediately to make it a Jaguar 1-2. Wehrlein remained tucked-in behind Günther in fourth, with little changes elsewhere.
At the start of lap two, Dennis and Mortara collided at T3, with Wehrlein beginning to harry the Maserati, but his challenge was quickly truncated by the Safety Car being deployed. Replays would show that Dennis was left in Mortara’s clutches after jostling with Buemi at T1 and T2.
Green flag was waved at the start of lap five with the Jaguars first and second, with Wehrlein keen to resume his battle with Günther. Evans made a lunge for Cassidy but the latter kept his lead. Wehrlein eventually took Günther at the final corner, falling into Frijns’s clutches.
A three-way incident between Norman Nato, Dan Ticktum and Dan Bird, with replays showing Bird collided with Jehan Daruvala’s Maserati, with the ERT and Andretti following in sympathy. Both were able to reserve out and back into racing, but the McLaren was out on the spot. Daruvala’s diffuser was as a consequence loose, the Indian trying to shake it off by weaving in-front of those behind him.
Racing resumed on lap 10, with Cassidy taking his first Attack Mode, with Evans seemingly allowing his team-mate to keep his lead when the opportunity to take first was gaping in-front of him. Three laps later, Cassidy took his second, with Evans this time taking the lead with Wehrlein following through.
On lap 15, Wehrlein was beginning to weave every which way to find a way through into the lead, but Evans was resisting, with Cassidy waiting behind. Günther, Vergne and Frijns were all close but starting to fall slightly behind the others. Cassidy looked for a way through on the outside of Wehrlein into T1, who then still searched impatiently for a way through into the lead. Rowland was making steady progress up to fifth, with da Costa also making his way through, now up to second.
Cassidy, incandescent at how the strategy was playing out, complained frantically to his team as he still tried in vain to find a way past Wehrlein, with Rowland now fourth and looking to be firmly in the mix. Da Costa was also looking handy, now in sixth.
At T1 on lap 20, Werhlein dived into the inside of Evans, the two touching but without damage and without positions changing, with Cassidy still in a box office seat he wished he wasn’t sitting in. With Wehrlein still in the tow as per the situation of Race 1, the German was possessing two percent more energy than Evans.
Evans would try to make a gap to Wehrlein, but was still needing to place his car in the middle of the track and make it as wide as possible, the Porsche filling the Jaguar’s mirrors. Wehrlein got closer at the start of lap 24, switching from inside to outside to place Evans well out of shape, but the Jaguar was still ahead. Further back, da Costa and Vergne jostled furiously for fifth place, the Penske fighting for every inch of circuit, eventually taking the place, with da Costa left to fight Günther, who would take sixth, but the Porsche would quickly retake the position.
On lap 25, Evans was shown the black-and-white flag, warned for weaving in-front of Wehrlein. Da Costa was back into fifth, as his team-mate continued to prod and push Evans as hard as he could, but both drivers aware that time was running out for them to take their compulsory two Attack Modes.
Günther was now ahead of Vergne, with da Costa battling Rowland. All of a sudden, chaos ensued, Rowland divebombing Cassidy for third, with Günther now right behind, and at the final corner, the Maserati rear-ended Cassidy, puncturing his right rear. The Jaguar dived straight into the pits, with his title rivals both electing to take Attack Mode, handing the lead to Rowland. Amazingly, both Evans and Wehrlein missed the Attack Mode loops, now behind Rowland and with the Safety Car deployed.
With racing resuming quickly on lap 31, Rowland led with Evans second and Wehrlein third, with now both under risk of a disqualification for not taking a single Attack Mode. They both took it again successfully, with Rowland relenting the lead to Evans, knowing that both of them were under investigation for overtaking under yellow flags. The race, due to the Safety Car deployments, was extended to three laps.
Evans took his second attack on lap 33, missing it once again, handing Rowland the lead again. Both Porsches followed in behind, both of theirs taken with success. On lap 34, Evans finally got it right, but was now third behind Wehrlein, with Cassidy retiring due to the damage with the incident with Günther.
Wehrlein was now in the driving seat, second but with the championship within his grasp and wafting under his nostrils, as Evans now needing to slow in order to make sure his attack energy will be used by the time of the finish.
On the final lap, it was now Rowland leading with Wehrlein sitting pretty in second, knowing he did not need to fight the Nissan for the victory. With the title twelve points adrift at the start of the weekend, Pascal Wehrlein could now coast to the line, following the winner Rowland to be crowned the champion.
