Jaguar nightmare crowns Wehrlein Formula E world champion in tense finale

Pascal Wehrlein claimed the Formula E world championship in a tense and thrilling season finale in London, which saw Oliver Rowland secure a victory at home. 

A Jaguar implosion saw Mitch Evans finish third and seal second in the standings, but a late-miss of the attack mode for Evans saw the New Zealander lose the win and what the Formula E crown. 

Nick Cassidy retired late in the race after being hit by Antonio Felix da Costa and Maximilian Günther, in a saddening end to the driver's incredible season. Rowland claimed victory ahead of Wehrlein and Evans. 

Sebastian Buemi finished fourth, with da Costa, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Müller, Robin Frijns, Stoffel Vandoorne and Lucas di Grassi completing the top 10.

Starting the title-decider from pole position was Cassidy, whilst title rivals Evans and Wehrlein started in third and fourth respectively. The outlier was Günther who joined Cassidy on the front row.

The stage was set and the situation was simple, effectively, who ever finished as the front driver out of the title trio would win the Formula E world championship. As the lights went out, it was Cassidy and Evans who made a perfect start. 

Evans overtook Cassidy around the outside of the first corner, whilst Wehrlein sat in fourth. Everyone behaved on the first lap but that all changed at the start of lap two, as Jake Dennis and Edoardo Mortara collided at Turn 2 and both went into the wall with damage at Turn 3. 

It marked a miserable end to Dennis' title defence, with an early safety car having been triggered as a result. The safety car period was short and concluded at the end of lap four, where Cassidy made an excellent restart.

Evans was right on his rear though and tried to swoop around the outside at Turn 16 on lap five, although Cassidy defended the lead well. Behind, and Wehrlein pounced on Günther at the final corner for third, putting him in the mirrors of both Jaguars. 

However, a second safety car was called on lap seven, as Sam Bird and Jehan Daruvala collided at Turn 6. Both drivers retired as a result, whilst Cassidy had to lead the restart once again two laps later on lap 10.

At the restart, Evans was instructed by Jaguar to give Cassidy space, to allow the race leader to activate his first attack mode. Evans obeyed, although he questioned the team's intentions. Cassidy continued to take defensive lines as Evans was all over his rear, causing a headache for Jaguar.

That headache intensified on lap 13, as Evans informed the team that the "gloves are off". That same lap, Evans took the race lead as Cassidy activated his second attack mode, with Wehrlein having also overtaken Cassidy. However, Evans and Cassidy had both attack modes to take.

Wehrlein in second looked threatening and had a two-percent energy advantage on both Jaguar drivers as the race reached lap 17, with the tensions having been increasing lap-after-lap. Lap 20 and it all kicked off, as Evans and Wehrlein made contact in the first corner. 

The Porsche driver had a two-percent energy advantage and tried finding a way past, whilst Cassidy patiently sat in third knowing he had already taken both attack modes. Lap 25 and Evans was shown a black and white flag for moving under braking, increasing the pressure on him. 

Despite this, Evans and Wehrlein still had yet to take their attack modes, as the race approached its final stages. The title fight took a huge turn on Lap 29, as Rowland overtook Cassidy at the penultimate corner, before Günther hit Cassidy at the last corner. 

It caused an immediate puncture for Cassidy who dived into the pits and tumbled to last, whilst Günther's front wing flew under his car along the start/finish straight. 

The drama continued, as Evans and Wehrlein both tried to take their first attack modes on Lap 30 but it did not count, as a safety car was called whilst they were activating it. The safety car allowed Cassidy to join the back of the field, meaning he needed the recovery of his life. 

As the race restarted on Lap 31, Rowland – who overtook Evans whilst he failed to activate attack mode – gave the lead back to the Kiwi, as the pass was made after the safety car was called. It meant with six laps remaining, Evans led ahead of Rowland and Wehrlein. 

The drama continued on Lap 33 as Evans and Wehrlein went to activate their final attack mode; however, Evans missed one of the loops! He successfully did it the following lap, but fell behind Wehrlein. As for Cassidy he retired from the race. 

The walls truly fell off the Jaguar wagon, as Evans had to slow down to ensure he used his full attack mode. It handed the drivers' title to Wehrlein and the win to Rowland. Jaguar did secure the teams' title.