The last race of the Gen3 era offered a completely crazy scenario: Taylor Barnard (DS Penske) won while Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) secured his second world title in FE.
Read more Crucial dilemma: Should Ferrari prioritize Lewis Hamilton in the race for the title?
Formula E could not have dreamed of a much more spectacular finale to close the Gen3 chapter in London.
While the last race of the season initially seemed to be about management and calculations, the final laps completely overturned the hierarchy.
DS finishes in style
The young Taylor Barnard ultimately took advantage to snatch the home victory in the final moments. The DS Penske driver finished ahead of the Mahindras of Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, who had locked out the front row on the starting grid. Mitch Evans (Jaguar) finished fourth, after a race during which he long believed in an incredible championship turnaround.
Leader of the standings with a 3-point lead over Jake Dennis (Andretti) before the start, Wehrlein seemed to have the situation under control. Well placed in the top 5 for much of the race, the Porsche driver had enough margin to claim his second crown.
But António Félix da Costa (Jaguar) completely reshuffled the cards. The Portuguese driver, whose teammate Mitch Evans also kept a chance at the title, was extremely aggressive against Wehrlein. After several tough maneuvers, the German was pushed out of the top 10. At the same time, Jake Dennis made an impressive comeback and was temporarily in position to become world champion.
Read more Nikola Tsolov will take his first real test in Formula 1 for Racing Bulls at Imola
Suspense until the end
For a few minutes, Wehrlein had virtually lost the title. But Dennis also exceeded the energy consumption limit in his attempt to come back. The Briton clashed with Joel Eriksson, forcing the Envision driver to retire and losing in the incident all chance to overturn Wehrlein.
Even outside the points, the German was then assured of the championship after his win on Saturday. Wehrlein thus secures his second Formula E world title, after the one obtained in 2024, following a particularly eventful scenario. Up front, Barnard perfectly took advantage of this chaotic end of the race to offer DS Penske a final victory before bowing out.
This London finale indeed marks the end of the Gen3 era, before the arrival of the new generation of Gen4 single-seaters. It also signifies the end of the Formula E adventure for several important figures in the championship.
Sébastien Buemi (Envision) notably leaves the discipline in fifth place ahead of the two Citroëns of Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne, the Cupra of Pepe Marti as well as the two Nissans of Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato to complete the top 10. As for veteran Lucas Di Grassi (Lola-Yamaha), he was forced to retire in his last appearance in FE.
Read more The Spa-Francorchamps circuit threatened by fires: cancellation of the Bikers’ Festival