Pascal Wehrlein will lead the Formula E drivers' championship going into the last race of the season after an emphatic victory in a chaotic London E-Prix.
Wehrlein started in third and was fourth for several laps, before mastering multiple safety cars to climb his way to the top. He holds a three-point lead over Mitch Evans, who finished in second ahead of Sebastian Buemi who completed the podium.
Mahindra claimed a stunning four-five, whilst Nick Cassidy recovered from being hit several times to finish in seventh. Nico Müller finished sixth, Sam Bird in eighth, Stoffel Vandoorne in ninth and Norman Nato in 10th.
All three championships will be decided in London's season finale.
Title outsiders cause early chaos
Evans started on pole position in a sold-out ExCeL Centre circuit, with Wehrlein directly behind in third. Championship leader ahead of the race, Cassidy, started in 18th.
The polesitter made an exceptional start and led into the opening few corners, ahead of Buemi who started second. An aggressive Nato overtook Wehrlein which demoted the German to fourth.
It only took 40 seconds for the race to be neutralised though, as Frijns and reigning world champion Dennis collided at Turn 10. Dennis lunged down the inside of Frijns but went deep into the fast chicane after taking too much kerb, which unsettled his Andretti.
Frijns ploughed into the barrier as a result, ending his race early and triggering a three-lap safety car. Dennis received a 10-second time penalty for 'causing a collision'. Sam Bird was demoted to the back after being blocked by the incident. Frijns was sent to hospital for medical checks.
As the race restarted, Buemi tried attacking Evans but the front duo remained as they were. Elsewhere, it was frustration for Cassidy, who missed an attack mode activation loop and dropped from 15th to 17th.
Dennis was involved in another accident on lap six as he went into the side of Jean-Eric Vergne, resulting in a further five-second time penalty. The pair continued but dropped to 16th and 17th, ending their minuscule title chances.
On the same lap, two other title outsiders collided, as Oliver Rowland and the in-form Antonio Felix da Costa came to blows at the final corner. Rowland was on the inside put seemed to put the pair in the wall, breaking da Costa's suspension. He became the second retiree, joining Frijns.
Dennis causes Cassidy damage
At the front and Buemi took the lead of the race into the opening corner, whilst Dennis saw red-mist again on Lap 12. With his time penalties still looming over him, Dennis saw red and started making several overtakes.
He suddenly lunged up the inside of Cassidy at Turn 3 and again made contact, causing damage to Cassidy's steering. Dennis was investigated by the stewards for a third time in 15 laps. He received yet another five-second time penalty, taking his total to 20 seconds – a black and white flag was also shown to the reigning world champion.
It was further misery for Cassidy who brushed the wall and then failed to take attack mode again, leaving him in 14th on Lap 22. His title rivals were capitalising on his struggles, as Wehrlein pulled off an impressive move on Evans at the first corner for the lead of the race.
Quickly, it became a straight fight for the win between Wehrlein and Evans, although the Porsche driver built a 1.5s gap after taking the lead. It was just enough of a lead by the finest of margins for Wehrlein to activate his second attack mode and remain in the lead.
From that moment, Wehrlein quickly built a sizeable lead, whilst Günther overtook Evans for second. However, a second safety car was suddenly called with seven laps remaining, due to significant debris on the circuit.
Seconds after the restart and it was drama for Günther, who suddenly slowed and pulled to the side of the circuit, promoting Evans back into second. Günther's car was cleared under a full course yellow, maintaining a small gap for Wehrlein.
As green flag racing resumed with three laps remaining, Wehrlein led from Evans and Buemi, whilst de Vries was in a fantastic fourth. In the fight for victory, there was nothing Evans could do to stop Wehrlein from claiming an emphatic win.
Wehrlein snatches the championship lead ahead of the season finale, with Evans and Buemi completing the podium.
All three championships go down to the season finale.
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!