SEVEN UP FOR THE CUP: DESTINY OF SEASON 10 CROWN TO BE DECIDED IN LONDON
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s very own ‘Magnificent Seven’ will head into battle in London this weekend (20-21 July) for the honour of being crowned Season 10 ABB FIA Formula E World Champion in the all-electric single-seater series.
In order to accomplish that, they will need to conquer the unique, 2.09km ExCeL Circuit that twists and turns around the British capital’s historic Royal Docklands, and whose layout weaves both inside and alongside the exhibition centre after which it is named. To add to the challenge, competitors must manage changes in lightning, elevation and grip – from the silky-smooth indoor surface to the abrasive outdoor asphalt.
Following 14 races across four continents – resulting in eight different winners and 14 podium-finishers – one of seven drivers will leave London with the title adorning their career CV. Three of them have won it before, and three of them have won in London before, but in Formula E, previous form guides invariably count for little.
Despite failing to score over the course of a disastrous weekend in Portland last time out, Jaguar TCS Racing star Nick Cassidy remains in the driving seat, holding a 12-point advantage at the summit of the standings with 58 still up for grabs, as he bids to go one spot better in the championship classification than last year.
Cassidy is Formula E’s most recent winner at ExCeL, having converted pole position into a commanding success there last summer, and the New Zealander has more podium finishes to his name than any of his rivals so far in Season 10 – eight, including victories in Diriyah and Berlin.
Tied for second place heading to the UK are Jaguar’s Mitch Evans and TAG Heuer Porsche ace Pascal Wehrlein. Evans was the other winner at ExCeL 12 months ago, prior to scooping the runner-up spoils behind Cassidy 24 hours later, and like his countryman and team-mate, he has triumphed twice in 2024 – in Monaco and Shanghai.
Wehrlein has only once finished higher than ninth in London – placing fifth there in 2021 – but the German has registered points on all bar two occasions during the current campaign, an impressive record in a championship in which consistency is famously hard to achieve.
Next up, extraordinarily, is Porsche stablemate and 2019/20 champion António Félix da Costa. Like Wehrlein, the Portuguese star has a best previous result of fifth in the British capital, but the story of his season has been quite remarkable. Da Costa uncharacteristically drew a blank from five of the opening seven races, but he has since prevailed in four of the most recent five E-Prix, making him very much the driver in-form and vaulting him firmly into title contention.
Three points further back is Nissan Formula E Team’s Oliver Rowland. The home hero has never troubled the scorers in London, but a stellar run from Diriyah to Berlin saw him ascend the rostrum six times in eight starts earlier this year. After being forced to skip the Portland double-header due to illness, he will be doubly determined to fight for glory in front of family and friends.
Competing for DS Penske, two-time title-holder Jean-Éric Vergne is close behind, having missed the points just once all season. The Frenchman twice took the chequered flag third in Battersea Park in the early days of the London E-Prix, but since the switch to ExCeL three years ago, he has yet to score.
The final protagonist is reigning champion Jake Dennis, who clinched the coveted crown for the first time courtesy of a pair of podium finishes in London last July. The Andretti Formula E ace has only once failed to reach the rostrum at ExCeL – triumphing there in both 2021 and 2022 – and at 45 points adrift of Cassidy in the classification, he will need to replicate that stellar performance this weekend if he is to have any hope of a second successive home soil coronation.
Round 15 of the campaign will get underway at 17:03 local time (18:03 CEST) on Saturday, 20 July, followed by Round 16 at the same time the next day.
THE 2024 TRACK
MEDIA CENTRE
Opening Hours of the Media Centre
Friday 19 July 0730 – 1930
Saturday 20 July 0800 – 2200
Sunday 21 July 0800 – 2200
2024 LONDON E-PRIX TIMETABLE
Friday 19 July
Starts Ends Length Activity
14:30 14:37 00:07 SHAKEDOWN Group A
14:42 14:49 00:07 SHAKEDOWN Group B
17:00 17:30 00 :30 FREE PRACTICE 1
Saturday 20 July
Starts Ends Length Activity
10:00 10:30 00:30 FREE PRACTICE 2
12:20 12:32 00:12 QUALIFYING Group A
12:37 12:49 00:12 QUALIFYING Group B
13:05 13:20 00:15 QUARTER FINAL
13:24 13:34 00:10 SEMI FINAL
13:38 13:43 00:05 FINAL
≈17:04 RACE (37 LAPS)
Sunday 21 July
Starts Ends Length Activity
10:00 10:30 00:30 FREE PRACTICE 3
12:20 12:32 00:12 QUALIFYING Group A
12:37 12:49 00:12 QUALIFYING Group B
13:05 13:20 00:15 QUARTER FINAL
13:24 13:34 00:10 SEMI FINAL
13:38 13:43 00:05 FINAL
≈17:04 RACE (34 LAPS)
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
Friday 19 July
12:30 – 12:45 Team Representatives FIA Press Conference
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing
Florian Modlinger, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
Phil Charles, DS PENSKE
12:45 – 13:00 Drivers FIA Press Conference
Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing
Pascal Wehrlein, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
13:00 – 13:20 Media Pen (All Drivers)
Saturday 20 July
18:35 – 18:50 FIA Press Conference (Top 3)
18:50 – 19:10 Media Pen (All drivers)
Sunday 21 July
18:35 – 18:50 FIA Press Conference (Top 3)
18:50 – 19:10 Media Pen (All drivers)
2024 LONDON E-PRIX ENTRIES
2023 LONDON E-PRIX RESULTS
Race 1
- Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing
- Jake Dennis Avalanche Andretti
- Sebastien Buemi Envision Racing
Race 2
- Nick Cassidy Envision Racing
- Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing
- Jake Dennis Avalanche Andretti