Polesitter Evans led the pack away and through the opening left-right after a strong start with de Vries chopping across to defend from Wehrlein.
Edo Mortara and Maximilian Guenther came to blows as the cars made their exit out of the Excel beneath the Docklands Light Railway, with the latter coming off worse with suspension damage to his front-right corner – enforcing a spell under the Safety Car for the recovery of his car.
Lap 4 and we were green again, with Evans heading de Vries, Wehrlein, Cassidy, Ticktum and Mortara.
The PIT BOOST window opened around lap 17 with Nick Cassidy able to make up ground from P5 at the outside to a net lead on Lap 20 as the stops began to shake the field up.
De Vries and Wehrlein aimed to overcut Cassidy and the rest with an early Attack Mode deployments and late stops on Lap 25 – which proved a strong call as de Vries emerged from the pitlane ahead of the Jaguar driver and Wehrlein filtered into third.
Lap 28 saw Nick Cassidy make use of his second ATTACK to retake P1 from de Vries out of the final turn on Lap 27.
Contact saw Ticktum clip Mitch Evans into a spin and slipping out of the points on Lap 29 before the CUPRA Kiro driver found himself in trouble with an overambitious move at Turn 9 saw the Brit in the wall and out of the race. A Safety Car was required for the recovery of Ticktum’s car.
Lap 35 saw the race go green once again with Cassidy leading the pack away, from there he was able to seal the deal and get things done.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: De Vries, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Vergne, P6: Mortara, P7: Frijns, P8: Dennis, P9: Nato and P10: Evans.
Formula E has announced it will continue running the London E-Prix around the Excel exhibition centre until at least 2026, with the indoor/outdoor spectacle allowing both parties to drive their commitments to sustainability and the environment.
Formula E brings a global television audience to Excel London, a unique event for the exhibition centre as it is the only one of over 300 events held annually to utilise its entire 125,000 square metres of space.
The race itself catches the eye as it passes through the exhibition space while also running externally parallel to the building, allowing Formula E to stage a race in the capital of the United Kingdom, just a stone’s throw away from the centre of London.
But, for all of those shared positives, the alliance – which has now been extended until at least 2026 and the end of the series’ GEN3 Evo cars – also sees the all-electric series align with the Excel London on their shared green ambitions.
The first race at the Excel took place in during season seven, a double-header in July 2021 that marked Formula E’s return to London following a five-year absence, having previously been located in Battersea Park.
Formula E has formally announced the extension of its contract with Excel London until at least 2026, allowing the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to continue using the world’s first and only indoor-outdoor racetrack until the end of its GEN3 Evo era. The extension means that the East London location is predicted to host the final race of the season 12 calendar, where 22 world-class drivers will compete for the coveted drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ world championship trophies. The contract extension also means fans will be able to see the full GEN3 Evo lifespan race as this generation of car will take to the track for the final time in the UK ahead of the much-anticipated all-new GEN4-spec car in late 2026. A statement confirming the deal.
We’re pleased to extend our relationship with Excel London, which has been a perfect home for Formula E over the last few years. Its unique track conditions and event space offers fans and drivers the very best of our sport, bringing the best racing and entertainment together in a truly unique venue at the heart of the capital, while all delivered sustainably. Alberto Longo, Formula E Chief Championship Officer.
The half hour session at the unique indoor-outdoor ExCeL Circuit in the afternoon heat in London saw all 22 drivers take to the track to prep ahead of the all-important finale double-header.
Of the title contenders, Evans placed best with the fourth fastest time, just 0.065s shy of Vergne’s session benchmark. The Kiwi’s compatriot, teammate and standings leader Nick Cassidy wound up almost four-tenths back from the ultimate pace and 11th.
Form man and reigning champion Jake Dennis – the man with by far the best record in London – find himself down in 15th with plenty to work through to get his Andretti up the grid come qualifying.
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Robin Frijns in his Envision Racing machine was at the top of the times for Free Practice 2, as the Jaguar TCS Racing powertrain looks strong. Fresh from his back-to-back podiums in Portland, Frijns will be hoping to make it three in a row.
Brit, Oliver Rowland was second, with Sebastien Buemi in third. The Envision team claimed the Teams’ Championship at this race last year and look strong around this circuit.
The session saw all the drivers pushing their cars to the limit, with drivers coming so close to the walls and riding over the kerbs.
The last 10 minutes to the practice session saw Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, have a spin on entry into the ExCel building, but was able to get back on track in style.
Qualifying-
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans achieved the Julius Baer Pole Position and closes the championship gap to his teammate Nick Cassidy to nine points.
The championship fight has got even closer, as the Jaguar of Mitch Evans managed to achieve pole and the three additional points whilst his teammate Nick Cassidy, struggled and will line up in 17th on the grid.
As well as a shocking result for Cassidy who leads the Drivers’ World Championship with 167 points and two races to go, there was also big results up and down the grid.
TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa will be starting ninth, with Pascal Wehrlein in third at a circuit which can prove challenge to overtake on.
The top 10 for qualifying are- Pole: Evans, P2: Buemi, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Nato, P5: Vergne, P6: Muller, P7: Rowland, P8: Frijns, P9: Da Costa and P10: Dennis.
Round 15-
Mitch Evans got off to a strong start with Buemi close behind, but it was Norman Nato who pushed his way into third after a cautious Pascal Wehrlein took things easy.
However, there was drama further back as Jake Dennis squeezed out Robin Frijns which sent him into the wall and out of the race. The incident also picked up Sam Bird, and resulted in a Safety Car.
Things got back underway by Lap 5, and saw the pack start to take their Attack Modes. One notable activation belonged to Nick Cassidy who missed one of the sensors and had to try again, losing crucial time.
Oliver Rowland was getting his elbows out, fighting and trying to pass Jean-Eric Vergne but delivered a move up the inside. That wasn’t the only on-track battle for two-time champ JEV, as he also found himself getting tangled with Dennis and the two cars resting on top of each other for a brief moment.
Fighting for position, ROwland ended up clashing with Antonio Felix da Costa at the final corner and causing the two to come to a stop. For Rowland he was able to get going again but it was game over for da Costa as he limped back to the pits.
Buemi passed Evans for the lead on lap 10 in a lovely tidy move up the start-finish straight. Meanwhile, Dennis was out causing more trouble as he banged wheels with championship leader Cassidy.
Cassidy was also smacked into the wall as he fought Stoffel Vandoorne, but was able to continue. He also complained of his beacons not working and missed Attack Mode again when he tried to take the mandatory power boost.
Evans complained of energy issues, and was eventually passed by Maximilian Guenther for second place, yet disaster struck when his car suffered a problem and saw him drop down the order and eventually stop on track in the final stages of the race.
Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz added to the accident damage as they came together in the last moments of the race. But Pascal Wehrlein kept his cool up in front to take his third victory of the season, with Evans behind in second and Sebastien Buemi in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Evans, P3: Buemi, P4: de Vries, P5: Mortara, P6: Muller, P7: Cassidy, P8: Bird, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Nato.
The Drivers’ World Champion may have been crowned, but there was still lots to play for in the final round. All 22 drivers took to the track for the last Free Practice session of the weekend, with Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans topping the timesheets.
The dry session on the half indoor-outdoor circuit was the final chicane to get some laps in before qualifying and the race later on.
Evans became the first man to set the fastest time of the weekend, locking in a 1m 10.152s lap which remained the best of the session. Sebastien Buemi and Nick Cassidy of Envision and Sam Bird also had their own moments as the quickest guys on track. By the time the chequered flag fell it was a Jaguar powertrain 1-2-3. As Evans led Bird in second and Buemi in third.
Several drivers found themselves going down the run-off at the chicane, pushing their cars to the limit whilst they could and get away with it during practice.
With 11 minutes on the clock, 21 drivers were all within a second of each other which shows just how close this field is in the new era.
Qualifying-
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy will start from the first place slot for a second consecutive race as he secured the Julius Baer Pole Position by just 0.010s in London. The Kiwi also picked up the important three points for pole to help Envision in their fight with Jaguar in the Teams Championship.
As the rain started to fall during the final qualifying of the session, several of the championship’s big players fought for their places on the grid.
Cassidy topped Group A with a time of 1m 10.521s, with Dennis a tenth behind in second, Buemi finished third and Bird also made it through. Mitch Evans topped Group B, at one point in the session, Nico Mueller set an identical lap time to the thousandth of a second. Norman Nato finished third with Season 8 Champ, Stoffel Vandoorne in the final spot.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Evans, P3: Nato, P4: Dennis, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Bird, P7: Buemi, P8: Muller, P9: Ticktum and P10: Wehrlein.
Round 16-
Nick Cassidy led the charge from the front for Envision Racing amid ultra-tricky, wet conditions in a delay-hit London E-Prix Round 16 – leading lights to flag for a fourth win of the season to ensure his outfit secured maiden Teams’ World Championship honours.
After delays for the wet weather to recede to allow a safe race, Cassidy composed himself to stride to a comfortable race win – where he headed home fellow New Zealander, Mitch Evans and new champion, Jake Dennis.
The race started behind the Safety Car, with eight laps waiting for things to get started properly. Stoffel Vandoorne and Sam Bird immediately jumped for their first of two mandatory Attack Mode on Lap 9.
On home soil, NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum made a move stick on Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara on Lap 15 as the Swiss-French-Italian got sideways out of Turns 4 & 5 opening the door for 10th and some points.
On Lap 19, the best racing was between three champions between Vergne in 16th, di Grassi 17th and da Costa in 18th as the former got a nudge from di Grassi with the trio inseperable as they looked to climb the order – just 0.8s between all three of them.
Four laps were added on for a 38 lap total but it wouldn’t change the result as Cassidy led Evans and Dennis home – with five seconds in hand.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Evans, P3: Dennis, P4: Nato, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Buemi, P7: Bird, P8: Mueller, P9: Ticktum and P10: Wehrlein.
The Formula E grid got their first taste of the indoor-outdoor London circuit in Gen3 as free practice got underway.
Nissan’s Norman Nato set the quickest time with a 1m 10.765s in the first practice session of the season finale weekend in London. His teammate, Sacha Fenestraz joined him in the top three. Sandwiched between the two Nissans was Season 2 champion Sebastien Buemi and just 0.006s of the top spot.
Teams were getting to grips with the newly-modified circuit, pushing their cars to the limits early on. Jake Hughes and Maximilian Guenther both explored the track limits with both of them going down the escape road at the chicane.
The Envision Racing and Jaguar TCS Racing cars are expected to be strong this weekend and started well with Sebastien Buemi topping the timesheets for most of the first 15 minutes. Soon enough his teammate Nick Cassidy went faster.
FP2-
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy let his championship rivals know he means business, as he set the fastest time in the final free practice session before the London E-Prix qualifying.
The Kiwi went over three tenths quicker than the next guy, NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum. All four championship contenders, Cassidy, Dennis, Evans and Wehrlein all finished in the top six.
Typical British weather came and heavy rain made for a wet track for Free Practice 2. Even though we have had wet conditions in Gen3 before, with the ABT Cupra’s putting on a masterclass in Berlin. The London circuit is half indoor-outdoor design means drivers won’t have the same consistency throughout a lap which proves a challenge.
Robin Frijns had a little moment, going down the run off at the chicane – something we have seen several times over the weekend so far. However, this unfortunately wasn’t his only off, as he brought out a red flag with a minute left on the clock. The Dutchman lost his car at the hairpin, clipping the wall and ending up in the barrier, also preventing any final flying laps from others on the grid.
Two-time champ, Jean-Eric Vergen also ran off at Turn 1 during the session, but he managed to master a quick turn around to join the track without any issues.
Qualifying-
Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing sealed Julius Baer Pole Position in London in a square fight against title rival Nick Cassidy in a nail-biting Duels Final. But Cassidy will take to P1 on the gird after Evans was served with a five place grid penalty for a collision in Rome.
Both drivers in the final, were pushing to the limit so much so Cassidy appeared to kiss the wall on his lap. Lining up alongside Cassidy will be Dennis, a copy of the Rome grid but in the opposite order.
The Envision duo of Cassidy and Buemi, the first time that both Envision’s have reached the Semis in the same race this year. Nick was sent through as his teammate made a crucial mistake.
There was a dramatic moment when championship leader, Dennis complained of a “huge power cut at Turn 9” whilst getting some laps in, in addition to mentioning that he’d hit the wall on a different lap.
Recent podium finisher in Rome, Norman Nato suffered a massive lock up on one of his laps and then went down on a run off.
The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy P3: Dennis, P4: Buemi, P5: Ticktum, P6: Rast P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Bird and P10: Nato.
Round 15-
Jake Dennis navigated a crazy Hankook London E-Prix to come home second; enough to make sure of a sealing the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship, as Mitch Evans took the chequered flag first.
Dennis survived two missed trips through the Attack Mode loop, heavy pressure from his closest rival and polesitter Nick Cassidy as well as two red flags to become Formula E’s first British World Champion and the first to take it on home soil.
Cassidy led the early stages before ceding top spot to eventual winner and countryman Evans on lap 11 and second spot to teammate Sebasiten Buemi. Dennis had made it by Cassidy with an opportunistic move at the final corner just a couple of laps before, with Cassidy immediately fighting his way back by the Andretti car.
However, with Cassidy running in formation, close behind the Swiss, the Envision drivers came into contact. Loose bodywork from that clash caused a brief spell under the Safety Car bunching the pack up. Dennis meanwhile was not impressed over the radio with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein the German hanging onto fourth.
Wehrlein’s challenge then also fell by the wayside in a shunt just before a red flag was flown for the recovery of Sacha Fenestraz’s Nissan. He and Jake Hughes tangled into Turn 1.
On the restart Evans led away, with Dennis working his way into third – enough to seal the title as it stood. An over-optimistic move from Norman Nato at the penultimate turn on Lap 34 caused a chain reaction behind with several cars unable to avoid the mess enforcing another spell under the red flag conditions.
It was a three lap sprint to the flag at the restart with Dennis having only to hold fast to ensure he’d take top honours.
The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Dennis, P3: Buemi, P4: Bird, P5: Mortara, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Ticktum, P8: Nato, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Hughes.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has reached it’s last race weekend of Season 9! As rounds 15 and 16 are held in London with home-hero Jake Dennis, the man with the target on his back.
Our very own Brit, Jake Dennis is on the verge of claiming his first FIA World Championship title, as the Avalanche Andretti driver goes into the two final races of the season in which he has won twice before – including a grand slam of Julius Baer Pole Position, TAG Heuer Fastest Lap, the race win whilst leading from start to finish last season.
A repeat of his supreme victory on the streets of Rome last time out – another Grand Slam, making him the only driver with more than one – would be enough to seal a first FIA World Championship title in the opening race on Saturday. 11 drivers have made it to the podium and 19 drivers have led a lap – beating Formula E’s Season 7 record.
The Circuit-
The ExCeL Circuit starts off indoors on a silky smooth surface offering bags of grip and after a quick succession of the corners the pack heads outside. Immediately on exit they will touch a strip of slippy metal, before heading down into the outdoor portion with the highly abrasive asphalt surround the exhibition centre.
The outside features a flowing set of chicanes prime for passing opportunities, from there it’s a quick run down to twisty set of curves before heading back up into the main hall to finish a lap.
With changes in surface, elevation and dealing with the shift in lighting, the field face a unique challenge with this indoor and outdoor circuit.
We’ve had three home winners in London: Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) Season 1, Alex Lynn (Mahindra Racing) and two for Jake Dennis with Andretti. Only Nico Prost and Dennis have managed more than one win in the British capital.
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the timesheets in Free Practice 3, ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14 with a 1m 12.933s the weekends quickest time so far, pipping Antonio Felix da Costa and Robin Frijjns.
Cassidy had cut through the field to fourth yesterday before a penalty for Nyck de Vries for his defence towards the end of the race elevated the Envision driver to a spot on the podium. He would be encouraged by his pace to carry over today as will the team as Frijns was all but matching him by 0.093s back in third.
Track conditions were tricky out there, with both Venturi’s spinning – Mortara finding the Tecpro barriers at the chicane, the Swiss got away without any amjor damage but it was illustrative of the challenge offered up at the ExCeL.
Qualifying-
Jake Dennis sealed a second consecutive Julius Baer Pole Position in as many days in London, as the Brit set off in search of a SABIC London E-Prix Round 14 win and a potential Grand Slam.
Dennis steered to an astonishing 1m12.535s lap in the Final Duel with yet another amazing performance behind the wheel of his Avalanche Andretti. Lucas di Grassi was his opponent but the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver had made a mistake on his flying lap as well as struggling with Dennis’ pace.
Antonio Giovinazzi made his first ever duels appearance and will more than certainly be thrilled with the third fastest time of the session – by far his best this season.
Standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne failed to make the cut in the Groups, though none of his closest rivals progressed to the duels either- leaving the title fight to play out via a battle from the midfield. Stoffel secured 13th, Mitch Evans his closest rival in one spot back, whilst Edoardo Mortara sits 17th and Jean-Eric Vergne is best placed out of the top four.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Giovinazzi, P4: Da Costa, P5: De Vries, P6: Buemi, P7: Cassidy, P8: Askew, P9: Gunther and P10: Vergne.
Round 14-
Lucas di Grassi took his maiden win for ROKiT Venturi Racing in the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14, after overcoming home hero and pole sitter, Jake Dennis over a hard-fought and strategic 38 lap battle in the UK capital.
Di Grassi, emerged through his last of three mandatory Attack Mode activations with enough in hand to ensure he’d make it by Dennis, when the Brit jumped for his last 30kW boost. The Brazillian then stretched his advantage over the final few laps, and into added time to take the chequered flag first.
Nyck de Vries, came home third, whilst his Mercedes-EQ teammate and standings leader clambered to fourth from 13th on the grid. His closest title rival Mitch Evans had made his way as high as fourth from 14th at the start of the race, but a late technical problem put-paid to his Round 14 and deal a hammer blow to his title challenge, with retirement from proceedings and a non-score.
The full top 10 are- P1: Di Grassi, P2: Dennis, P3: De Vries, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Da Costa, P6: Buemi, P7: Frijns, P8: Bird, P9: Sette Camara and P10:
Sergio Sette Camara topped the timesheets in the opening session of this weekend’s SABIC London E-Prix, with the fastest time in Free Practice 1 ahead of Round 13.
The Brazilian’s 1m14.487s was enough to pip top four title contender, Mitch Evans and Round 10 winner, Nick Cassidy. As Antonio Giovinazzi put on his best shwoing of the season in practice with the 4th quickest time, with reigning world champion Nyck de Vries in fifth.
Jean-Eric Vergne had work to do as he sat in 17th, but practice isn’t always pace alone, especially this weekend as teams try and get to grips with the unique indoor/outdoor circuit at the ExCel, with plenty of elevation changes and varying surfaces to contend with.
FP2-
Brit, Jake Dennis headed the way in Free Practice 2 ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, setting a 1m13.661s lap time to [i[ Oliver Rowland by 0.082 seconds with Andre Lotterer in third.
Just 0.858 seconds split the top 20 runners in an ultra-close session, with Dennis a race winner here last season – able to squeak to the top of the pile. The first of the title contenders was Mitch Evans, the Kiwi posting the sixth quickest time of the morning. But standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne was a couple of spots back in his Silver Arrow 02.
A couple of drivers fell foul of the tricky track surface with Sam Bird pushing his luck on the way into the ExCeL and Lotterer pirouetting at the complex.
Qualifying-
Jake Dennis, starts on Julius Baer Pole Position on home turf at the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, having produced the goods in some style in front of a vocal home support.
Dennis was up on fellow finalist and standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne after the first couple of corners and had earlier flown to the fastest laps in each of the groups and knockout stages up to this point. By the middle of the lap, the Brit made big ground and had two tenths of a second on Vandoorne.
Vandoorne still holds the cards in the title fight, though, with his nearest rival Edo Mortara down in ninth having failed to progress from the groups, Jean-Eric Verge 13th and Mitch Evans a spot behind in 14th.
It’s amazing. That’s one of the best things about obviously racing In Formula E – if you do a good job, you can hear the crowd. I’ve had such a good day – first in practice, through to all the Qualifying Duels and then to go head to head with Stoffel in the end was tight. It was incredible and honestly, the cars been absolutely amazing today. We made a really good step forward from yesterday and to get the team that first pole this year is exceptional.
Jake Dennis, on securing pole position.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Vandoorne, P3: De Vries, P4: Sette Camara, P5: Askew, P6: Gunther, P7: Cassidy, P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara and P10: Frijns.
Round 13-
Jake Dennis, strode to a dominant lights-to-flag win in the London E-Prix for Round 13 to make it two wins in two years on home turf for the Brit at the ExCeL.
Dennis was able to cover off the early advances of standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne with the Mercedes-EQ driver content to play it cool to come home second for a 17th Formula E podium, with his closest championship rivals marooned down the field. But, by the first lap both Evans and Mortara had been in the wars, with Mortara forced to pit and entirely out of the fight.
Reigning champ, Nyck de Vries played rear gunner for Vandoorne to occupy a racy Nick Cassidy as the Kiwi chased more silverware towards the end of the race but the Dutchman was able to hold fast for a podium. But it was meant to be for de Vries, as he got a 5 second penalty after the stewards found the Dutchman to change direction repeatedly under breaking.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Askew, P5: Evans, P6: De Vries, P7: Da Costa, P8: Gunther, P9: Di Grassi and P10: Wehrlein.
We are now onto the final stretch of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the 2022 SABIC London E-Prix taking place this weekend at the ExCeL in the city’s historic docklands.
Formula E made its first trip to the venue last season, and in a first for an international race series raced on an indoor/outdoor circuit layout which offered up a completely unique challenge for drivers and teams.
The top four, are only split by fewer points than are on offer in any single Formula E round, and with the two races in London followed by a double-header in Seoul still to come, the season may be heading towards its climax but there’s still time for it to change…
There will be a strong British presence both when the cars line up on the grid and in the garages supporting them. Six of the 22 drivers will be competing on home soil, with a full complement of fans in the grandstands for the first time after COVID restrictions affected the Season 7 event.
The Circuit-
We’re heading back to East London’s historic docklands and the ExCeL exhibition centre and circuit designed by British architect, Simon Gibbons in collaboration with the FIA and Motorsport UK.
The 2,141km, 22 turn track is tight and twisty with a slicker, less grippy surface indoors and asphalt outside, with plenty of elevation changes. Regen is high with the new for Season 8 chicane complex between Turns 10 and 13 replacing last year’s double hairpin, and there is plenty of opportunity for overtaking.
Jordan's Track Talk 