WHEN: This weekend, races on Saturday and Sunday at 17.00 GMT+1 time! (No F1 or Indy clashes!) LIVE ON FREE TO AIR IN UK (QUEST)
WHERE: London, EXCEL Arena
WHY: 5 drivers fighting for the World Title this weekend, 7 in mathematical contention. Isn't it enough??
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Another season of Formula E went flying by!
And even though it was a season of "transition" before the introduction of the exciting GEN 3 EVO, it delivered good races, often decided at the very last lap!
We can't forget the incredible race in Sao Paulo, with Sam Bird overtaking Mitch Evans on the outside in the penultimate corner of the race, or the fascinating debut of the series in Tokyo, with Oliver Rowland trying everything to get Nissan its home win, in a thrilling last lap duel with Max Gunther's Maserati.
And many action packed, crazy peleton races, with the winner decided in the very last laps after plenty of laps of 3-4 wide action!
It's been the season of Nick Cassidy and Jaguar: first year in the factory team for the Kiwi and he delivered straight away: his cool, composed racecraft granted him ton of points in the first half of the season, but in the latter races his composure started cracking a bit, as his main rivals Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and his own team-mate, Mitch Evans, are mounting a serious challange.
It's been a season of redemptions and falls into oblivion: the redemption of Antonio Felix Da Costa, literally a ghost for a season and a half, the portoguese came back to his older self, scoring a glorious 3 consecutive race wins streak!
On the other side of the spectrum, other drivers are risking their seats: Sasha Fenestraz comes to the mind, the wonderkid of 2023 is having a nightmare of a season in Nissan, while Oliver Rowland is shining and fighting for a title.
Yes, the Title Fight, in the very last race: something that every motorsport series Boss dreams on about.
In Formula E we've been lucky spectators: most of the years we've been treated with title fights going on till the very last race. Often, with dramatic results.
Remember some of the previous FE title deciders?
Well, this year's title decider in London is set to be one of the closest and most thrilling yet!
5 drivers are going to fight for the title this weekend, while up to 7 are still in mathematical contention.
THE BIG CATS ARE FIGHTING! JAGUAR STRUGGLES!
Nick Cassidy of Jaguar is leading the point table with 167 points, just 12 ahead of his team-mate, Mitch Evans, who's dreaming about his first ever title in Formula E after years of near misses.
The two have been often racing close together, most of the times working perfectly as a duo, like in Monaco, where they managed the race pace at the front of the field.
But in the latest rounds, Mitch Evans have been racing with the clear focus of cutting the gap from the lead of the standings: in Portland, in particular, the race seemed under control by Cassidy at the front, but Evans started applying some pressure on the team-mate in the closing stages.
As a result, maybe not a direct one, but a subtle pressure effect, Cassidy made a super costly mistake and spun out of the lead, losing tons of points and allowing Evans and the Porsches to cut back the gap.
It went even worse in Portland race 2, with Cassidy breaking his front wing in the pack, while his rivals still scored big, cutting the gap to the bare minimum ahead of the season finale.
Tension arises, as the two team-mates are now effectively fighting for a title.
Now the question is: will there be team orders at Jaguar for the weekend or they will be free to fight each other?
DA COSTA'S RESURGENCE AND PORSCHE HOPES
We jump into the Porsche camp!
Pascal Wehrlein's season have been kind of a replica of his 2023 campaign so far: a super strong start, with a dominant win in the Mexico's opener, followed by a serie of strong points results and podiums.
But, as the season progressed, Wehlein's performances started to fade a little bit, while he was still being able to take a win in Misano, after Rowland's technical issue.
He's coming to this season finale with a 12 points gap from the lead: now the question is, can Wehrlein show that he can be a World Champion and deliver his best performances of the season when it really matters?
Talking about Da Costa, we already mentioned him earlier on.
A ghastly first half of the season, with little points and results, followed by a late, incredible resurgence.
It actually started in Misano, where Da Costa won Race 2 on track, before being DSQ for a very discussed technical infrignement.
Porsche appealed that decision, but it was rejected: instead of falling into a depression, Da Costa bounced back like a champ and started winning again.
Wins in Berlin, Shanghai race 2 and a clean sweeper in Portland, taking both races, threw Da Costa back into the Title Contention.
He's now 33 points behind the leader: a big gap, but if he can repeat his perfect Portland weekend and Cassidy has another struggle: the man can dream!
THE DARK HORSES: ROWLAND, DENNIS AND VERGNE
Oliver Rowland had the season of his life: the englishman of Nissan started shining early in the season, with a Pole Position in Diriyah followed by a podium.
In Sao Paulo he was again on the podium, in Tokyo he fought for victory till the very last corner, and in Misano he was close to take a Double Victory, but a technical issue prevented him from doing the double.
Double podium in Berlin and a few points scored in Shanghai, the man was looking great for a title challenge, but in Portland he had to miss both races for sickness.
A major blow to his championship ambitions, Rowland now sits 36 points behind the lead, a big ask, but you can never underestimate Ollie!
Jake Dennis had an up & down title defence campaign: the Andretti champion started the season super strong, with podiums in Mexico and a win in Diriyah, but he eventually faded up a bit as the season progressed.
The last two good results were in Misano, with a double podium, but he struggled to score big in the following races:
He often struggles in qualifying, and spends most of his energies in the race to make up positions lately.
It will be a big ask for him to fight for the title this weekend, as he's nearly 40 points behind the lead. But we've seen crazier things happen in Formula E, and Jake Dennis is scary fast around London.
Jean Eric Vergne is just two points behind Dennis in the standings, and he's still looking for a win this season. He collected multiple podiums, but he also had off weekends where he struggled to score big.
He's still being the best DS Penske driver this season, as his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne is struggling with the Gen 3 package, and is set to leave the team at the end of the season.
Those are the visual graphic gaps for the 5 main contenders!
THE EXCEL CIRCUIT
The London e-Prix Circuit, located in the famous ExCeL events arena in the London Borough of Newham, have become one of the most iconic tracks in the Motorsport.
Well, for many different reasons!
Main one is that it's.....UNIQUE, to say the least!
This track is Half indoor, half outdoor, this is a super technical track that features tight, slow corners, very fast sections with bumps, chicanes and RAMPS, both downhill & uphill.
It can produce dramatic, tight races, often contact-heavy. Remember last year?
And it also offers some very London-esque views.
This is pretty much what i picture in my head when i think about London!
SEASON FINALE TIMETABLE
You just can't miss this!
Double header weekend, so races both on Saturday & Sunday!
Edited by thegamer23, 19 July 2024 - 09:45.