Formula E: One last dance in London as the championship comes to a head

The Formula E Championship comes down to the wire in London this weekend, with Britain’s Jake Dennis the favourite to win.

Is this the most talked-about season finale in Formula E history? Quite possibly — and not without good reason.

Casting our minds back to the early stages of the season and the blistering dominance of Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, it’s almost astonishing that with just two races left the championship remains an open-ended question.

Certainly, there’s a favourite to win; Jake Dennis has a 24-point lead, strengthened by the incident between Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans at the Rome E-Prix. But if we’ve learned anything throughout the course of the season, it’s that the seas of Formula E are choppy at best and downright tempestuous at worst.

Championship leads can disappear in the blink of an eye. Friday’s pace setters can find themselves relegated to the back of the pack by Saturday afternoon. Indicative of the unpredictable nature of the series is the fact that it took 11 rounds for the so-called ‘Polesitter’s Curse’ to be broken. It wasn’t until the second half of the doubleheader in Jakarta that Maserati’s Max Günther converted pole position into a win.

Unpredictability has underscored the 2023 season, and continues to do so even now. Heading into London, the championship is by no means decided. There’s all to play for in the season finale doubleheader.

A unique circuit

The London E-Prix continues to be hosted at the unique indoor-outdoor setting of the ExCeL Centre, located in London’s Docklands. The 2.09km long circuit begins inside but takes the pack on a series of turns around the Centre’s grounds outside.

Your Championship deciding track ?

Who’s ready for some indoor-outdoor racing action?! ⚡️@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/2nfTFhjUNo

— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 24, 2023

The track gives the drivers plenty to tackle. There are changes in elevation, track surface, and the setting of the circuit itself. Going from inside to outside and back again means the drivers also have to get to grips with the sudden change in lighting.

The championship challengers

Favourite-to-win Jake Dennis embarks on his home race with a healthy-looking points advantage over Nick Cassidy. His championship bid is further emboldened by the fact that he tends to go quite well around the unique ExCeL circuit.

Dennis has won a race at every London E-Prix he has competed in; in fact, he’s never once finished outside the points there. He finished first and ninth in the 2020-21 season, which was followed up by first and second in the 2021-22 season.

Things could be made a little more challenging for Dennis, following the news that Formula E have reduced the amount of usable energy available to the teams. According to The Race, the amount of energy has been slashed from 38kWh to 27kWh in a bid to encourage more strategic racing. With less energy available, energy-saving strategies will have to be deployed, marking a departure from the typically ‘flat-out’ nature of racing seen at the London circuit. The Race writes that this change is likely to favour the more energy-efficient Jaguar powertrain, used by rivals Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy.

Cassidy lingers just a single race win away from the championship lead. Though Evans and Wehrlein sit further back, poor results for their rivals (and good results for themselves) could tilt the championship in their favour.

That incident in Rome

Evans’ championship chances took a hit in Rome, even despite winning the race in the first half of the doubleheader. A mistake saw the Jaguar drive take out competitor Nick Cassidy. Evans had to retire early from the race, whilst Cassidy was forced to fight his way back through the pack, ultimately finishing outside of the points.

“It’s damaged my chances quite a lot,” Evans told members of the media, including FormulaNerds. “It’s tricky because it’s like my only mistake of the year but it’s just come at a really bad time. Not only has it hurt my chances but it took out Nick and it’s hurt his chances as well. He’s still got a shot, but he would have been in a better position if it wasn’t for that.”

Was this the deciding moment of the title race? ?@hankook_sport #RomeEPrix pic.twitter.com/XsQRRNxrjs

— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 16, 2023

  Evans said that whilst the incident was still “fresh and raw”, he’s determined to head into London “like any other race weekend”:

“Just try and win both [races]. Sounds optimistic, but that’s how we try and go racing, right?”

Evans added that there’s “a little bit less pressure” on him now, as his “chances are very slim.” The Jaguar driver continued, “It would’ve been nice to go in with a close fight between myself, Jake and Nick. But obviously off the back of the second race it’s obviously helped Jake a lot.”

Pascal Wehrlein’s chances of winning the title are even slimmer than Evans’, but it remains a mathematical possibility nonetheless. Remember that aforementioned unpredictability? In Formula E, it’s hard to rule anything out for certain.

The team title

The battle between the top teams is equally tight. Though Jake Dennis leads the Driver’s Championship, Avalanche Andretti is only fourth-placed. Leading the standings is Envision, which has a narrow 14-point lead over Porsche. Though the German team hasn’t won a race since Wehrlein took the chequered flag in Jakarta, Porsche has remained fairly consistent points-scorers throughout the season.

“Our sights are firmly set on winning the world championship team title,” Wehrlein said ahead of the race weekend. “We still have a good chance.”

Wehrlein’s teammate António Félix da Costa also fancies the team’s chances. “The bid for the world championship is still wide open,” he said. “We’ll be fighting for the title right to the flag.”

“Qualifying will be critical,” added da Costa. “If we’re well up the front there, we’ll have every chance. It’s up to us to pull all the positives of this season together into a competitive package. If we succeed in doing that, we can score the points we need in London to bring the world championship trophy home to Stuttgart.”

As they seek out the team’s title, Porsche has announced an extension of its original five-year commitment to Formula E. The German manufacturer will continue to participate in the series up to the end of the 2026 season and will play an active role in the development of the Gen4 car.

The racing season draws to an end…

But silly season is only just beginning. Already there have been rumours of contracts coming to an end and teams eyeing up new drivers.

It began with talk of Nick Cassidy moving to Jaguar next year, partnering compatriot Mitch Evans. Such a move would oust Sam Bird, who has driven with the team for three years, but has suffered a somewhat underwhelming 2023.

But Bird has been a part of Formula E since its inception and doesn’t look set to depart the series any time soon. The latest rumours suggest that Bird could make a move to McLaren, replacing René Rast.

Also at risk is Norman Nato. The Race has reported that Nissan has its sights set on signing Oliver Rowland or Nyck de Vries. Rowland cut his 2023 season short back in June, after coming to a “mutual agreement” with Mahindra that he would “step aside” for the remainder of the series. Spanish driver Robert Mehri has raced in his stead ever since, but if the rumours are true, it doesn’t appear that he’ll continue to do so into 2024.

Catch the action in London

Here’s the timings for the season finale doubleheader. All times are in BST:

Friday

Free Practice 1 — 17:00

Saturday

• Free Practice 2 — 10:30
• Qualifying — 12:40
• Race — 17:03

Sunday

• Free Practice 3 — 10:30
• Qualifying — 12:40
• Race — 17:03

The race will be broadcast live on Channel 4 and on the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel. Regional broadcast options can be found here.

Featured Image Credit: Simon Galloway via Formula E Media Bank