The Formula E 2023/24 season comes to a close this weekend with the London E-Prix double-header at the ExCeL Arena as all three titles remain still up for grabs.
Just 33 points separate Jaguar and Porsche in the teams' title race, while the latter holds a 19-point margin over its British rival in the new-for-2024 manufacturers' battle.
But the main focus will be on the drivers’ title, with seven individuals still in with a mathematical chance of winning the title in London.
Ahead of the two races this weekend, both of which will be shown on free-to-air TV via the channel Quest for the first time this year, here are how the championship protagonists stack up:
7. Jake Dennis
This time 12 months ago, Jake Dennis was on the cusp of his maiden Formula E title and after a dramatic penultimate race which included two red flags, the Briton secured a coveted world title on home soil.
The reigning champion heads back to London with a mathematical chance of retaining his crown but being 45 points off the top spot with only 58 available across the weekend means it’s an almost impossible task. Even as early as Shanghai in May, Dennis claimed that “for sure I’m out of the championship” as his Andretti machine lacked the pace of Porsche and Jaguar runners.
A dominant win in the opening Diriyah contest back in January is Dennis’s only victory this year, as a run of three podiums across Tokyo and Misano double-header before the mid-point of the season kept him in the midst of the title fight. But three non-scores across the second part of the campaign in Monaco, Berlin and Shanghai – coupled with no further rostrums – means one eye is already on the 2024/25 campaign.
Even so, with Andretti a customer outfit to Porsche, strong results to end the season would help the German brand in the manufacturers’ standings and could yet play a part in the destination of the drivers’ title.
6. Jean-Eric Vergne
The only one of the title protagonists who has yet to register a win this season, Jean-Eric Vergne’s consistency means he still has a shot at this year’s title. Across the 14 races so far this term, Vergne has only failed to finish in the points once when he was unable to progress through the field after starting outside of the top 10 in Tokyo.
Three podiums have been the highlight, the latest coming in the opening race at Portland where he climbed from 14th on the grid to take the final spot on the podium, while victory in the opening Berlin race would have been his but for Nick Cassidy’s alternative energy strategy.
The only two-time Formula E champion has also taken three pole positions this term (the joint most in the season) which has helped move his career total to a new record in the all-electric championship with 17, while the hiring of the Frenchman’s ex-F1 engineer Phil Charles mid-season has only strengthened DS Penske’s outright pace.
Despite being 38 points behind in the championship standings, Vergne’s strong qualifying form and robust, defensive driving could play a crucial part in the championship battle, especially around the tight and twisty confines of the ExCeL.
5. Oliver Rowland
Without a doubt the dark horse of 2024, Oliver Rowland has reignited his career having left Mahindra mid-season last year after a disastrous run of form. Now back at Nissan, the Briton has been a challenger for race wins since the second round of the season in Diriyah where he finished third - having started on pole.
Another pole position came for Nissan’s home race in Tokyo, where Rowland was pipped to the win by Maximilian Guenther in the closing stages. But he left Japan having registered three podiums from the first five races.
Victory, only his second in Formula E, was inherited in the opening Misano race after Antonio Felix da Costa was disqualified for an illegal component on his car. The result put Rowland to the top of the standings, before a glitch with his lap counter denied him another win the next day as he ran out of energy on the final tour.
A double podium in Berlin and two more points finishes in Shanghai kept him in the championship mix, but his title aspirations took a blow last time out as he was unable to race in Portland due to illness, which was understood to be an ear infection.
Given the all-clear this weekend, Rowland will be itching to put in a strong showing on home soil, even if the points deficit stands at 36.
He said: "I'm delighted to be back after missing the last round in Portland, initially it was hard to accept but I'm now feeling much better and ready to take on the final round. It's been a positive season with a win, several podiums and a couple of pole positions too, so I'll be looking to add to this in London at a track I really enjoy.”
4. Antonio Felix da Costa
Four wins from the last five races means that Antonio Felix da Costa is the driver in form at the most crucial stage of the season. It’s also a run of results that could not have looked further away just six months ago, as the Porsche driver began his campaign with three non-scores in Mexico City and Diriyah.
Vital points finishes followed in Sao Paulo and Tokyo before a breakthrough win in Misano, only for da Costa to be stripped of a well-deserved victory due to a car breach related to his car’s throttle pedal setting.
A first official win of the season followed four races later in the second Berlin bout and again at the next round in Shanghai. The Portuguese enjoyed almost the perfect weekend in the US last month by winning both races. He inherited the opener, after on-the-road winner Mitch Evans was handed a five-second penalty, before showing his dominance in the second outing.
“Considering where we started the season [with three non-scores], if you told me four, five months ago that I would have won four races this year I would not have believed you,” said da Costa, who sits as the highest-placed driver to have previously won a Formula E crown.
The lost 25 points for his victory in Misano have proved crucial, though, as he sits 33 points off the top of the drivers’ standings. But given his scintillating run of form, he could still feasibly challenge for a second Formula E title this weekend.
3. Pascal Wehrlein
The best placed of the two Porsche drivers, Pascal Wehrlein has been one of the most consistent performers this season, having only failed to finish in the points twice in 14 races.
His campaign began in the perfect fashion with pole and victory in the Mexico City season opener, before a run of four points finishes that was only ended in the opening Misano race after damaging his front wing.
He was in prime position to benefit from Rowland’s energy miscalculation in the sequel, securing his final win of the year so far, before another four race-run of points finishes which culminated in the runner-up spot in Shanghai.
A puncture in the second race meant only his second non-score and while team-mate da Costa enjoyed a strong weekend in Portland, Wehrlein was left to pick up the pieces as he finished 10th and fourth, each time with damage that leaves him 12 points down in the standings.
Porsche has got on top of its poor qualifying form from last season, evidenced by three poles for Wehrlein in 2024, and the outright pace of the German combination could prove key on a track where overtaking is difficult.
2. Mitch Evans
For the fourth year in a row, Mitch Evans enters the final Formula E event of the season with a realistic chance of walking away with the title. Like Wehrlein, he finds himself just 12 points behind Jaguar team-mate Nick Cassidy.
The Kiwi, as in previous years, has played catch-up for most of the campaign after two non-scores in the opening half of the season, with a victory in Sao Paulo also snatched from him in the final turns by McLaren’s Sam Bird.
Having come close to winning in Monaco not only in Formula E but junior single-seater categories as well, Evans finally realised that dream as he headed home Cassidy after a Jaguar strategy masterclass.
It marked a turning point, as since then Evans has finished in the points across the last six races. This included a second win in the Shanghai opener and third in the second Portland race, but only after losing the win the day before due to a time penalty for a collision.
A potential problem for Evans this weekend could arise if Jaguar decides to implement team orders, something the British manufacturer has been against so far this season. But should the squad find itself in a position where it can guarantee the teams’ or manufacturers’ crowns, then Evans may be forced to play second fiddle at the expense of the drivers’ standings.
1. Nick Cassidy
Nick Cassidy sits in prime position to claim his maiden Formula E title this weekend, the Jaguar driver 12 points clear at the top of the table after impressing in his maiden season with the team.
The Kiwi returns to London 12 months after he could have feasibly won the title with Jaguar customer outfit Envision, when a collision with team-mate Sebastien Buemi scuppered his chances and meant he finished runner-up in the standings to Dennis.
Since moving to the factory team, Cassidy has been the class of the field as two wins in Diriyah and Berlin, along with a further six podiums, have propelled him to the top of the standings since the German event in May.
But the Kiwi enters the London E-Prix double-header having failed to score in either Portland race last time out, which included spinning from the lead on the penultimate lap of the opener when on course to all but secure the title.
His only major mistake of the season has come at a crucial moment and opened the door for others to potentially steal a crown that has looked like his for much of the year.
“You walk into the fight with guns up and you go for it,” said Cassidy on his situation heading into this weekend’s finale. “That’s motorsport and that’s the position I’m in. But I’m not giving up, I’m still leading the thing.”
