Formula E season review: The good, the controversial and the unbelievable

Formula E celebrated its 10-year anniversary in the only way it knows how, with a season full of good, controversial and unbelievable moments. 

It is very rare for any series regardless of the level to go down to the final lap of the campaign, but that is exactly what happened in FE across the drivers', teams' and the all-new manufacturers' championships.

Eight different drivers from six teams claimed a victory in S10, with five different drivers having won the first five races. 

Come the close of the Formula E season finale and it was Pascal Wehrlein who was crowned the S10 world champion, whilst Jaguar collected the teams' and manufacturers' titles. However, even the championships were decided with a hint of controversy. 

Nevertheless, it was another exceptional year of racing in FE, which returned to China, experimented in Misano and found potentially a new home in Tokyo. FE will always have its critics, but consistent exciting racing was delivered yet again.

Things are looking good ahead of next season's introduction of the Gen3 EVO, the fastest-accelerating FIA single-seater.

The good

It was a season full of good moments, some of which will perhaps be forgotten quickly given some of the more controversial events that unfolded. 

Maximilian Günther faded in the title fight after an impressive start to the season, which saw him become FE's first ever winner in Tokyo. The Tokyo E-Prix was a massive success, to the extent that it will host a double-header next season. Günther will forever be the first driver to win in the Japanese capital.

One of the more emotional moments of the season came in the Monaco E-Prix, where a bit like Charles Leclerc, Mitch Evans ended his Monaco curse. Based on how often he fell narrowly short of winning what to him is effectively a home race, finally winning in Monaco was a huge confidence boost for the New Zealander.

A general good moment in FE S10 was the all-electric category's return to China, having not visited the nation since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. With China having hosted the first FE race in Beijing back in 2014 and with the size of its EV market, FE racing in Shanghai felt like a significant tick in the box for the sport.

Edoardo Mortara's shock pole position for the opening race of the Berlin E-Prix was also a real good moment, given how difficult life has been for Mahindra since the introduction of the Gen3 era. Mortara's pole position kickstarted a positive second half of the season for Mahindra, which saw the returning Nyck de Vries also pick up big points in Shanghai. 

The controversial

It is fair to say there was an unwanted number of controversial moments in FE this year, but none bigger than Antonio Felix da Costa's disqualification from the opening race in Misano. Da Costa lost his win several hours after the race following a questionable technical infraction, which resulted in an unsuccessful appeal from Porsche to the FIA's International Court of Appeal. 

Da Costa's disqualification was not the only controversial moment involving the FIA, with Mitch Evans having lost a win in the opening race of the Portland E-Prix following a five-second time penalty. 

Evans was penalised for causing a collision with Jake Hughes, in an event which technically lost him the world title. It raised further questions over the peloton-style of racing, with Evans having been penalised despite not being the driver who moved.

Unfortunately, da Costa features in this section a second time, following an incident in the last race of the season. Nick Cassidy looked set to win the drivers' crown before having to pit following a puncture, caused after being hit by da Costa. 

Controversially, da Costa's team-mate won the title, with the Portuguese driver having immediately apologised to the New Zealander. It was quickly, and rightly, judged that the clash was not intentional, although it was still a horrible way for Cassidy's season to end. 

A final moment of controversy is Attack Charge again not being introduced in a competitive environment. It was trialled in practice in select events, but was delayed until Season 11 for its race introduction. 

The unbelievable

When it comes to the unbelievable, it is difficult to look past Sam Bird's heroic São Paulo victory for McLaren. His final two seasons with Jaguar were very difficult and failed to see Bird at his best, something he was absolutely at to overtake former team-mate Evans on the run into the penultimate corner. 

São Paulo in general was yet again an extraordinary event, with Oliver Rowland having claimed a shock podium with a phenomenal cut-back on two drivers out of the final corner. It was, as voted by RacingNews365 readers, the race of the season. 

Da Costa could easily feature in every category of this review, but two out of three will have to do! After the heartbreak of losing his Misano win and what looked like his Porsche seat, the Season 6 champion went on the run of his life and secured four wins in five races. The run of victories not only made him an outside title contender, it saved his Porsche career. 

A driver who did save his career is Oliver Rowland, whose return to Nissan after leaving Mahindra mid-season last year proved to be an exceptional choice. He was a surprise title contender and picked up a win in Misano after da Costa was disqualified. 

In an unbelievable moment, he lost a comfortable win in the second race in Misano after running out of energy on the final lap, due to a technical issue which gave him false race distance information. It was a moment which left many stunned and in disbelief.

Finally, the season finale in general was just unbelievable, with Wehrlein's strategy having worked to perfection. The German knew he had to win the first race in London to apply the pressure on Cassidy and Evans, which is exactly what he did. 

Wehrlein's race one victory saw him enter the final day of the season with a four-point lead in the standings, with his P2 in the finale having been enough to crown him world champion. 

Many thought Formula E would never make it to a decade, even some in FE were not sure it would happen. Not only has it reached 10 years, it is set to surpass it when the new campaign gets underway. FE is here to stay and if S10 is anything to go by, the series has a competitive future.