We know full well thatFormula E is unpredictable… and whilewe were expecting a “crazy race” for Race 1of the London E-Prix,things played out quite calmly.
As expected, qualifying heavily influenced the on-track action;the all-Porsche front row – with Pascal Wehrlein leading and ably defended by teammate Nico Müller– left little room for rivals to make a winning move.
Pascal Wehrlein started in the lead, and both he and the team executed aperfect strategy, seizing the right momentto take the Pit Boost during a Full Course Yellow– triggered by the need to recover Lucas di Grassi’s Lola – thereby gaining valuable time.
Up to that point,his teammate Nico Müller had performed his defensive duties impeccably, holding off the field – includingchampionship contenders Mitch Evans and Jake Dennis.
Evans never gave up, but a strategic shift by the Jaguar team proved costly:they brought forward his Attack Mode activation and Pit Boost stop in an attempt to undercut Nico Müller.However, the Full Course Yellow halted the New Zealander’s charge;he finished a distant eighth and now heads into the final showdown trailing by 21 points in the championship.
Conversely, the strategy employed byJake Dennis and Andretti paid off;they took thePit Boost during the FCY periodand activatedAttack Mode in the closing laps, sealing the deal byovertaking António Félix da Costa and Dan Ticktum.He now sits just 5 points behind Wehrlein.
António Félix da Costa took the third step of the podium but was unhappy about failing to coordinate with his teammate, following a great – and this time, very fair –battle with Dan Ticktum, who ultimately finished sixth.Sébastien Buemi (Envision) and Taylor Barnard (DS Penske)slotted in between, taking fourth and fifth place.
Pascal Wehrlein, No. 94, Porsche Formula E Team said:
Perfect day with Pole Position and the race win today. Big thanks to the team, because that’s exactly how we needed to start that weekend: competitive in all practice sessions, very competitive in qualifying, both cars on the front row. And then in the race, obviously, we had the right strategy – boxing late and managing if there was an intervention, and in the end, there was one, so we benefited from that. Then it was just bringing it home. The gap was quite big, so I could bring that win home, which was very important. Everything comes down to the last race, and today we did an amazing job. We’ll try to repeat that tomorrow. Today is 50% done, so tomorrow is very important.
Jake Dennis, No. 27, Andretti Formula E said:
Honestly, I’m really happy with how we executed that as a team, as myself. I think, honestly, P2 was the maximum today. Once I got past Dan [Ticktum] eventually, obviously it was quite an easy race from there on in. Me and Pascal [Wehrlein], we were quite similar with our energy, but I think we had a fair few things thrown at us with Nico [Mueller] slowing down, but honestly, we’re in the hunt for tomorrow. That’s all we can do. It could have easily gone the opposite way, we could have ended up 15th, but we’ve come home in second place, good overtakes, and the car’s good. I just hope it’s a fair fight tomorrow. I mean, it’s win it or bin it, really. We’ve done it before, and I’ve always said no one remembers second, so I want to go out there and try and win this thing. Elbows out.
António Félix da Costa, No. 13, Jaguar TCS Racing, said:
We saw the games that Porsche was playing, but they had the track position to do that. It’s not necessarily what we want to see, and I’ve heard it before from other people that those were dirty games, but they played them – fair enough. Unfortunately for Mitch [Evans], he got really unlucky with the Full Course Yellow timing. I got lucky, I was able to box with it and yeah, secure this track position up at the front. And then, a good fight with Dan [Ticktum] there. We kept it a little bit fairer this time than the last time! Still a bit of moving from him, but happy to bring a podium and keep the Teams’ Championship alive. It’s going to be a fun, tense day tomorrow. A five-point lead, that’s nothing. Two cars scoring points for each team, that can go up or down very, very fast. So, we’ve got the pace, we’ve got the package, so do they. It’s going to be a fun one tomorrow.
The final race of the Formula E season will take place on August 16, 2026, at London ExCeL, with the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships still up for grabs.
At the links below, you can view and/or download the official final classification for Race 1 of the 2026 London E-Prix, as well as the standings for the Drivers’, Teams’, and Manufacturers’ championships. (PDF)
- 1 – Final Classification Race 1
- 2 – Drivers Championship
- 3 – Teams Championship
- 4 – Manufacturers Championship
#MarceloPadin #theEMNteam
Fonte: FIA – Formula E
Photo Credits: BMF – Mitsuaki Futori
Be the first to comment