The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team finished its most successful season to date at the London E-Prix after 16 races. The Weissach team, driving a Porsche 99X Electric, earned four victories in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with drivers Pascal Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa (POR).
Race 16
The ninth season's last race got off to a sluggish start in London due to persistent rain. Safety concerns caused the first two attempts to start behind the safety car to be abandoned. Only after a 90-minute holdup did the 22 drivers begin the thrilling ExCeL Circuit in East London's Docklands, which runs both outside and within an exhibition hall, for the season finale. Despite the challenging circumstances, there were no significant occurrences.
The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, which had come to London with hopes of winning the Teams' World Championship, gained one point with Pascal Wehrlein's tenth-place finish. The German driver of the Porsche 99X Electric won both night races in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and a round in Jakarta, Indonesia, this season. The winner of the Cape Town race in South Africa, António Félix da Costa, placed 16th. In the most stunning recovery drive of the season on Saturday, da Costa, who started the race from position 17 on the grid, gained 15 positions and crossed the finish line in second place. He was denied a well-deserved podium, though, after being given an inexplicable time penalty.
Jake Dennis (GBR), driving the Porsche 99X Electric entered by Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti, won his home race to clinch the Drivers' World Championship. António Félix da Costa finished the season in ninth place, and Pascal Wehrlein was fourth in the drivers' standings. André Lotterer (GER), the backup driver for Avalanche Andretti, came in 18th. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team finished the season in fourth place in the team rankings, trailing only the newly crowned world champions Envision Racing, Jaguar, and Avalanche Andretti.
Pascal Wehrlein started the season's final race in his Porsche 99X Electric from position 10, gained a position, lost it again, and crossed the finish line in tenth. António Félix da Costa started from position 20 and moved up four spots to place 16th despite the paucity of overtaking possibilities.
Comments regarding race 16 of the London E-Prix
Director of Factory Motorsport Formula E, Florian Modlinger, said: "I want to thank the squad and the development staff for their outstanding work this season. We had anticipated a different result for today. Due to the weather, there was no energy cap, so the race was run nonstop with very little opportunity for overtaking. This made it incredibly challenging for them to go forward from their grid positions through the field. Nevertheless, Pascal finished in the same spot as his starting position, while António gained four positions. In the end, we were disappointed with the outcome.
Porsche Works driver Pascal Wehrlein (#94): "We were strong in several of our races this season and held the top spot for a considerable amount of time. Then, in the final races, we were unable to duplicate the strong performance from the start of the season and suffered significant point losses. Obviously, that is disappointing. Even so, we feel stronger overall than we did in the previous several years, which offers us hope. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the entire crew.
Porsche Works driver António Félix da Costa (#13): "Again today, it was clear that we need to maintain improving our qualifying results. We will focus heavily on that throughout the off-season. The race car we have is quite competitive. It was really challenging to pass due to the harsh conditions today. Nevertheless, we are returning home with a few useful ideas. I'm positive we'll be back in the new season stronger.
Race 15
Driving the Porsche 99X Electric of the Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti, Jake Dennis won the drivers' title in London on Saturday, securing the inaugural title in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. In the season's last race on Sunday, the team classification winner will be decided. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team's prospects of winning the championship have decreased due to unlucky circumstances and an unclear penalty.
The first race of the London E-Prix ended up being the most dramatic of the year as a result of two red-flag crashes, which forced two restarts of the race. On the magnificent ExCeL Circuit in East London's Docklands, which includes a section that goes through an exhibition hall, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team put forth a strong performance. The Weissach team, which had been expected to contend for the championship, had come to the doubleheader weekend as a viable contender. Pascal Wehrlein, driving his Porsche 99X Electric, was headed for the podium when another driver's accident twisted him up, sending him to the rear of the pack. He ultimately came in ninth. His teammate António Félix da Costa, who started from P17, produced an amazing recovery, gained 15 positions, and finished in second place. But a time penalty dropped him to 16th place and eliminated him from the points.
Thanks to its four victories this season, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team enters the ninth and final race of the season ranked third (241 points), giving it a chance to win the team championship. Envision Racing (268), Jaguar (268), and Avalanche Andretti (236) are the other strong contenders for this honor. After finishing second on Saturday, Jake Dennis (213 points) was declared the world champion in the drivers' standings. António Félix da Costa (93) is ninth, followed by António Wehrlein (148), who is ranked fourth. The fifteenth-placed Avalanche Andretti driver, André Lotterer (GER/23), is currently in position 19.
Pascal Wehrlein started the thrilling last race of the season from position seven following a good qualifying effort that saw him advance to the duels. On the 29th of the 38 circuits, after moving up to fourth place, a rival shoved his Porsche 99X Electric, sending him flying into the track barrier. He was consequently sent to the back of the field. His colleague, António Félix da Costa, who started the race in P17, put up one of the season's most remarkable pursuit races. He moved up 15 spots and came in second, but a three-minute time penalty prevented him from taking the well-deserved podium.
Comments regarding race 15 of the London E-Prix
Huge congratulations to Jake Dennis on his victory in the drivers' world championship, says Thomas Laudenbach, vice president of Porsche Motorsport. We're thrilled that the Porsche 99X Electric we developed for our client team, Avalanche Andretti, won this race. This accomplishment is the consequence of our very open and helpful collaboration during our first season of working together.
"Congratulations to Jake Dennis and our customer team, Avalanche Andretti, for winning the drivers' world championship title," said Florian Modlinger, Director of Factory Motorsport Formula E. After a spectacular performance by our drivers today that would have been good for a podium or top-5 finish, it was a tough result for our team to accept. Pascal unknowingly became involved in a rival's collision, which caused damage to his car and tossed him a long way down the field. Although Antonio came in second, he was given a three-minute penalty, which we find hard to understand and accept. Debris on the circuit caused him to sustain tire damage, which resulted in the tire pressure dropping below the recommended minimum. We were penalized despite the fact that the harm was undoubtedly done to us from the outside and was not our fault. Our efforts and successful performance on the track were also not recognized. We'll strive hard to achieve the best results for our team in the last race tomorrow. We need to qualify correctly in order to take that route. Once again, our race pace today demonstrated how competitive we are. We can advance from there.
What a hectic day, said Porsche works driver António Félix da Costa (#13). Unfortunately, our qualifying performance was P17 because we used the incorrect tire strategy. This time, we tried something new, but it didn't work. The race was amazing. One of my favorite Formula E races was when I went from P17 to P2. I suffered a slow puncture on the right front tire near the end due to a lot of debris on the circuit. I was able to cross the finish line with the automobile, but I received a penalty because the tires lacked air. We didn't attempt to capitalize on it as a team, so to me, it seems like a terribly harsh judgment. We were punished for an event that was beyond our control. In the battle for the world championship, I would have hoped to support the squad with this podium finish.
Porsche Works driver Pascal Wehrlein (#94): "Today could have been a productive day for us. We ran the race at a great pace. Teamwork with António was excellent, but my race was all but gone due to the crash, which was not my fault. I had to restart the race in last place since I had to perform a nose change as well. I was perplexed by the race control's decision to permit half the field to drive while suffering from broken noses. Our chances of winning have really suffered.