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Taylor Barnard produced a dramatic late charge to win the 2026 Hankook London E-Prix Round 17, while Pascal Wehrlein secured the Formula E Drivers’ World Championship after a race in which the lead changed hands repeatedly. The result also marked DS Automobiles’ final Formula E outing.
Barnard activated his final ATTACK MODE at exactly the right moment. He first muscled past Edoardo Mortara for second, then delivered a decisive dive on polesitter Nyck de Vries at the final turn with two laps remaining. The victory made Barnard, at 22 years and 76 days, the youngest Formula E race winner, surpassing Maximilian Günther.
The Mahindra front-row lockout had initially placed de Vries and Mortara in control. Mortara moved ahead of his teammate on Lap 12, but Mahindra’s advantage was eventually overturned by Barnard’s timing and execution in the closing stages.
Wehrlein’s championship appeared vulnerable as the race entered its decisive phase. After being told to let Sebastien Buemi past at the end of Lap 27, the Porsche driver was squeezed by Antonio Felix da Costa and fell to 12th, outside the points. Jake Dennis moved into eighth and briefly took the championship lead, while Mitch Evans climbed to fourth.
The standings shifted again within half a lap. Dennis passed Joel Eriksson for seventh before Wehrlein recovered to 10th with ATTACK MODE. Wehrlein then outdragged da Costa as the Jaguar driver challenged for the position, restoring his advantage in the title battle.
The decisive incident arrived on Lap 31. Eriksson spun at Turn 16, catching both Dennis and Wehrlein in the resulting melee. Dennis was eliminated with damage to his Andretti and lost his title chance, while Wehrlein also fell out of the race and the points-paying positions.
Evans still needed victory to take the crown. Although he had fought through from seventh to fourth, the Jaguar driver could not reach the lead after the Mahindras and Barnard opened a gap. His result was enough, however, to secure Jaguar TCS Racing the Teams’ World Championship ahead of Porsche. Porsche had already secured the Manufacturers’ World Championship in Tokyo.
Wehrlein therefore became only the second two-time Formula E champion in the series’ 12-season history, joining Jean-Eric Vergne. The title was decided without a points finish, but after one of the most volatile championship finales Formula E could produce.
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.