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Pascal Wehrlein moved into the strongest position of the Formula E championship fight by winning the first race of the London E-Prix weekend from lights to flag.
The Porsche driver converted pole position into a dominant victory and added the three points available for qualifying fastest. Jake Dennis recovered to finish second, but Wehrlein controlled the race and carried the championship lead into the final race of the season.
The result also underlined Porsche’s pace across the weekend. Wehrlein and teammate Nico Mueller had already locked out the front row in qualifying, as reported in our coverage of Wehrlein’s crucial London E-Prix pole. For Wehrlein, that execution provided the platform for a race that unfolded almost exactly as planned.
“Yeah, except for the fastest lap, but no, it was a great day. The whole weekend was good performance already in the practice sessions, always in the top two, top three,” Wehrlein said. “So qualifying was executed perfectly, putting both cars in the first row, and then, yeah, it went by plan also in the race.”
Mueller’s contribution was significant. In qualifying, he lifted off to allow Wehrlein to secure pole position and the additional championship points. During the race, he delayed Mitch Evans, helping Wehrlein establish the gap needed at the front.
Mueller was later caught out by a full-course yellow and slipped from his second-place position. Evans suffered even more heavily from the timing of the intervention, falling through the order and ending the race 19 points behind Wehrlein with one opportunity left to fight for the title.
Wehrlein acknowledged his teammate’s role while pointing to the strategy that cost Mueller a potential podium finish.
“Well, he was still in P2, so yeah, obviously he helped me quite a lot, but was unfortunately on the wrong side of the strategy by pitting early and with that intervention; otherwise I think it could have been a double podium today for the team.”
Despite the championship implications surrounding Evans’ misfortune, Wehrlein said his engineers kept the information focused on his own race rather than the wider title picture.
“Not so much, just informed about the pace, when to take attack mode, what the reference lap times are, and that’s about it. Focused on my race.”
Only five points separate Wehrlein and Dennis ahead of the finale. Both have previously won the Formula E championship, but neither has repeated that achievement.
Wehrlein’s priority for the final qualifying session and race is clear: start near the front and win again. Only if that plan fails will he turn to the calculations required to secure the championship.
“Yeah, for sure, plan A is to try and win that race again. First of all, I need to make sure to put it somewhere at the front in qualifying, and yeah, for sure the aim is to win. If we can’t win, obviously we try and make calculations when it’s needed, but the first goal is to win.”
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.