Pascal Wehrlein hits out at long-time rival after Formula E title glory

Pascal Wehrlein has hit out at Formula E rival António Félix da Costa following the season-ending London E-Prix, which saw the German crowned a two-time world champion.

Wehrlein entered Sunday's race with a five-point advantage over Andretti's Jake Dennis and was looking set for a comfortable title success for much of the race.

However, da Costa got ahead of the Porsche driver and tried to hold Wehrlein back to support Mitch Evans' slim championship hopes.

No warning or penalty was awarded by the stewards, who, like Nico Müller's defending across the weekend, saw the driving as fair.

Wehrlein was furious on the radio and fell from fifth to 12th in the space of four corners in the closing laps before spinning after making contact with Dennis and Joel Eriksson. He has a three-place grid penalty for the next race as a result.

The two-time world champion and Dennis both failed to score points as a result, with Evans finishing fourth, meaning Wehrlein claimed the crown.

His frustration with da Costa's defending, his former Porsche teammate, continued in the post-race press conference and media pen, where he declared that it made his title success "feel even nicer".

Asked how it feels to be a two-time world champion, Wehrlein told RacingNews365: "I think with the circumstances and what we faced today, it feels even nicer. 

"I think how bitter some people are, and how far they would take it, makes it even more enjoyable. And otherwise, it's just, yeah, what I live for: working together with my team, giving everything out there, especially then in the moments where also the pressure is rising, and, yeah, the people in contention for the championship are getting less and less. 

"Delivering under those circumstances is different from delivering at the beginning of the season, and I love it. I love it when it gets tense and when the pressure gets up. 

"Two years ago, it was the same situation, and, like I said, I just like the pressure."

Wehrlein's brutal remarks

The London season-finale double-header was a weekend of team games, with Porsche using Nico Müller to support Wehrlein across both days.

Jaguar went for the same strategy on Sunday with da Costa, although his significant history with Wehrlein meant fireworks were inevitable.

It resulted in a series of fiery remarks from Wehrlein towards his former teammate, who was furious about the Portuguese driver's defending.

Asked if he panicked during his time behind da Costa, Wehrlein replied: "No, what he did is, I don't even know if he knows what he tried to do because I guess his first target was to get Mitch ahead of me, which happened quite early into the race. 

"But, yeah, when Mitch disappeared, he still kept blocking me. I tried to overtake him on the outside, and he would just go straight and not turn into the corner and block me so many times that we both went out of the points. 

"And Mitch was already far ahead, so he just compromised his whole race to get me out of the points. I can't believe it was the plan of his team because I guess his team still wanted a good result for him too, but, yeah, it must have been his own plan. 

"You need to ask him what his idea was, but anyways, it doesn't matter. Like I said, I beat him for the fourth year in a row, three times in the same car. Another time where he lost against his teammate this year. So, yeah, whatever."