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Pascal Wehrlein has warned that team orders could influence the outcome of this weekend’s London E-Prix, with the 2025-26 Formula E championship reaching its decisive stage.
Nine drivers arrive in the United Kingdom with a mathematical chance of taking the title. The leading four are separated by only 14 points, while 58 points remain available at ExCeL. That compressed standings picture has put additional focus on how manufacturers and customer teams might manage their cars during the finale.
Jaguar has Mitch Evans as its leading contender, Nissan is represented by Oliver Rowland, and Porsche has two significant title candidates in Wehrlein and Andretti’s Jake Dennis. Dennis leads the championship, but Wehrlein is only five points behind him.
Wehrlein said he was particularly concerned about tactics designed to “manipulate” the championship, rather than straightforward cooperation between team-mates racing close together.
“This year it feels like there’s a lot more team tactics than there was in the past, which I’m not a fan of,” Wehrlein told Motorsport.com. “There’s a difference between trying to manipulate the race on purpose or helping out your team-mates if you’re driving close to each other. There’s a big spread.”
The Porsche driver pointed to the first of the two Japan races as an example of where he believes the line was crossed. Envision’s Sebastien Buemi, who was carrying a penalty, used Attack Mode early before slowing deliberately when the pit window opened. The move helped team-mate Joel Eriksson and held up several drivers, including Wehrlein.
Wehrlein subsequently made contact with Jaguar’s Antonio Felix da Costa while caught in the group behind Buemi. The resulting damage left him outside the points. He described the tactic as going “far beyond the line”, while distinguishing it from a simple position swap between team-mates.
Buemi’s situation will add another layer to the London weekend, with Sebastien Buemi set to retire from Formula E after the London E-Prix.
Nico Mueller is eighth in the championship, 44 points behind Dennis, and has only an outside title chance. Wehrlein said Mueller would support him if they were running together and there was nothing to gain or lose individually, but stressed that Porsche must also protect its teams’ championship interests.
“We are both here to score the maximum amount of points for the team,” Wehrlein said.
Asked how team tactics could be limited in the future, Wehrlein offered a direct solution: “We should ban the radio.” He argued that drivers already receive the information needed to make key decisions on their steering wheels, including the pit window. Formula E is understood to be considering stricter measures for the Gen4 era, including tactics involving manufacturers and customer teams.
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.