In the 2025-26 Formula E season finale, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein held off Andretti Formula E Team’s Jake Dennis to claim his second Drivers’ Championship, while Taylor Barnard secured his first career victory in Round 17 at the London E-Prix.
Mahindra Controls the Opening Stages
Similar to Saturday’s race, the first half of Sunday’s event was dominated by Mahindra Racing teammates Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, who started on pole and alongside each other on the front row.
While the Mahindra duo controlled the front of the field, much of the attention remained on Wehrlein, who entered the season finale as the championship leader.
Starting third, Wehrlein held an early advantage over one of his primary championship challengers, Dennis, who started 16th, while Mitch Evans began fifth.
Although Wehrlein slipped to fifth, ahead of Porsche teammate Nico Müller, he maintained the advantage over Dennis needed to remain in control of the championship.
Championship Battle Takes a Turn
That advantage disappeared on Lap 27 when a strategy call sent Wehrlein down the order and behind Dennis, reigniting the championship battle with only a handful of laps remaining.
Dennis moved up to seventh with five laps to go, while Wehrlein sat 12th and outside the points. The shift in the running order also brought Jaguar TCS Racing’s Evans back into championship contention, with the New Zealander trailing Wehrlein by only nine points while running fourth.
The championship fight came to a head on Lap 31 when Dennis and Wehrlein made contact at Turn 16, ending both drivers’ hopes of a podium finish.
With both drivers finishing outside the top 10, however, Wehrlein maintained the upper hand in the championship, while Evans remained mathematically in contention as the race continued.
Barnard Claims First Formula E Victory
At the front, the battle for the race win intensified in the closing laps. Barnard used his final seconds of Attack Mode to make his move on de Vries and take the lead on Lap 34.
Barnard then held off the former Formula 1 driver through the final laps to secure his first career Formula E victory and close out the season on top.
De Vries finished second, with Mortara taking third and Evans finishing fourth.
Wehrlein Makes Formula E History
With neither Dennis nor Evans able to overcome the points deficit, Wehrlein secured his second Formula E Drivers’ Championship to cap off the 2025-26 season.
The championship makes Wehrlein only the second driver in Formula E history to win two Drivers’ Championships, joining Citroën Racing’s Jean-Éric Vergne, who won back-to-back titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Wehrlein is also the third Porsche driver to win the Formula E championship in the last four seasons, with all three titles coming during the GEN3/GEN3 EVO era.
“First of all, a big thank you to my whole team,” Wehrlein said. “What we did this weekend was outstanding again, delivered when we had to deliver, under pressure. You don’t crack under the pressure – we love the pressure, we embrace it, and we get even better with pressure, so that is fantastic.
“Tonight, we will celebrate and enjoy this moment, and also the next couple of days. I’ll be very happy then to go back to my family as they couldn’t be here this weekend, unfortunately, but my dad and my sister are here. I’m really looking forward to spending time with them, and then reset; work on the GEN4 car and make it even harder for them next year.”
Jaguar Secures Teams’ Championship
While Wehrlein scored the Drivers’ Championship, Evans’ fourth-place finish, along with António Félix da Costa, helped Jaguar TCS Racing secure the Teams’ Championship.
It marked Jaguar’s second Teams’ Championship in the last three seasons and provided a fitting ending for Evans in his final race with the program.
Formula E Originals Close Out Their Eras
The curtain-call weekend for Formula E originals Sebastian Buemi and Lucas di Grassi was also one of the notable storylines entering the weekend.
Di Grassi, who sported a special livery blending all 12 of his season liveries on his Lola ABT Yamaha machine, would not have the ideal storybook ending, recording a pair of DNFs across the two races.
Buemi, meanwhile, finished fourth and fifth in the two events.
While Sunday’s race marked the end of Di Grassi’s racing career, Buemi will continue competing outside of Formula E in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota.
