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As we get ready to crown our Season 10 World Champion, let’s take a look back at the others that have earned themselves the top spot in their respective title fight.
Season 1 – Nelson Piquet Jr
There could only be one inaugural champion in Formula E, and that honour went to Nelson Piquet Jr. Representing Chinese team Nextev, Piquet managed to clinch the title during the final race around London’s Battersea Park. It was a close battle between the Brazilian and Sebastien Buemi, with Piquet emerging on top by a single point.
Over the season, Nelson won two rounds in Long Beach and Moscow as well as securing podium finishes in Punta del Este, Buenos Aires and Monaco. He made history in becoming the very first champion in Formula E, and would continue racing with us until Season 5.
Season 2 – Sebastien Buemi
Next up was the turn of Sebastien Buemi, who narrowly missed out on a chance the year prior. Buemi started the last race of the season in pole position, with his title rival Lucas di Grassi behind him in third, and both drivers tied on points. Drama then unfolded when on the first lap the two championship protagonists collided. Both cars were damaged, with a rear wing missing on Buemi’s car and the front end of de Grassi’s machine mangled. They both limped back to their respective garages and swapped into their second cars to try and set the fastest lap.
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With two points on offer for the achievement, they both gave it their all but it was Buemi who was quickest over a flying lap. Despite winning three races in Beijing, Punta del Este and Berlin, as well as another three podiums, it was the fastest lap in that last race that saw him crowned champion in emotional scenes.
Buemi still races in Formula E to this day and is one of the greats. He has 123 race entries to his name, 13 wins, 31 podiums and 16 poles and ranks among the best the championship has ever seen.
Season 3 – Lucas di Grassi
After just missing out the year before, Lucas di Grassi was finally able to call himself a champion in Season 3. The Brazilian had worked closely with Formula E since the idea came about, and has always been a huge advocate for the all-electric series. Over the season, he fought closely with Buemi again, and they both went into the Montreal double-header finale fighting for the title. Di Grassi started the Saturday race on pole and won the race, extending his lead, and would finish ahead of Buemi on the Sunday to clinch the Season 3 crown.
Much like Buemi, di Grassi has remained loyal to Formula E. He has also won 13 E-Prix over his 127 race entries, as well as picking up 40 podiums and four pole positions!
Season 4 – Jean-Eric Vergne
Jean-Eric Vergne was our next champion, making it four different winners of the Drivers’ title in as many seasons. It wasn’t an easy job though, as the Frenchman was forced to start from the back of the grid in the first of two races around New York City. Vergne was given a penalty for an infringement in qualifying, but was able to make his way up into fifth to hand him the championship with once race spare.
Season 5 – Jean-Eric Vergne
Vergne’s successes didn’t end in Season 4, as he became a back-to-back champion the following year. JEV still remains the only driver in Formula E to have more than one title, and won it at the same location in New York City in front of the adoring US fans.
Season 6 – Antonio Felix da Costa
The following year, the championship was forced to take an unexpected turn with the global pandemic. Season 6 started in Diriyah, before racing in Chile, Mexico and Morocco. Rounds were then cancelled with the outbreak of COVID-19, with the season resuming in August of 2020 when we had six races in nine days around the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.
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Going into the intense run of races, Antonio Felix da Costa led the championship with one victory and two second place finishes. He took the first two back-to-back wins in Berlin, extending his championship points gap to his rivals and managed to wrap up his maiden Formula E Drivers’ Title with two rounds to go.
Season 7 – Nyck de Vries
For this season, Formula E would crown their first World Champion after being recognised by our governing body, the FIA. In true Formula E style, the championship battle went down to the final race with four drivers ultimately in with a chance.
Things started in dramatic circumstances, when title favourite Mitch Evans failed to move off his start grid slot with championship contender Edoardo Mortara crashing into the back of him and bringing out a near-instant red flag. Then was the turn of Jake Dennis, who suffered a mechanical issue, taking him out of contention, leaving just Nyck de Vries.
The Dutchman managed to survive several challenges throughout the race to secure the World Champion title, with two victories and a further two podiums to his name over the season’s campaign.
Season 8 – Stoffel Vandoorne
After winning with de Vries the season prior, Mercedes were also home to Season 8 champion; Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian was the last champ of the GEN2 era and sealed the deal in the final race of the season in Seoul. His consistency certainly helped his season, as over the 16 rounds he only managed to finish out of the points on one occasion. He also broke records on his way to the crown, including the most podiums in a season when he achieved eight over this campaign. A special win in Monaco was also a standout moment, as well as helping Mercedes secure consecutive Teams’ Championships with the help of de Vries.
Season 9 – Jake Dennis
Formula E’s most recent champion, and the first of the GEN3 era, was Andretti’s Jake Dennis. The team, Dennis and TAG Heuer Porsche powertrains were on another level over the course of the season. Although it once again went down to the wire, Dennis managed two podiums in front of his home crowd to emerge the World Champion.
Despite a small blip in his season, where he finished pointless for four races from Hyderabad to race one in Berlin, Dennis almost always found himself on the podium. In Season 9 he managed to collect himself an outstanding 11 pieces of silverware from his top three appearances, to break Vandoorne’s previous record.
Season 10 – Soon to be crowned…
With the London E-Prix double-header not far away, there are several drivers still in contention and none of the top three have won a title so far during their time in Formula E! The favourite on paper is Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy, as he stands top of the table with 167 points. However, he comes fresh from scoring no points in a dramatic double-header in Portland and will need to keep his cool to keep the lead at the team’s home race.
Jaguar’s Mitch Evans is again in the ensemble of drivers with a shot, having been the title fight going into the final round(s) for the last four years. Tied on 155 points with Evans is Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche), who is after his first Formula E championship after a very strong season.
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Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) is also an outside shout, having had the best run of races in recent championship memory with three back-to-back wins in Berlin and Portland. Although he had another victory disqualified earlier in the year, the Season 6 champion is hunting down the double with 134 points to his name and could be a serious threat if his run of form continues into London.
Also mathematically in with a chance is Nissan’s Oliver Rowland despite missing both Portland races with an illness, two-time champ Jean-Eric Vergne (DS PENSKE) and reigning champion Jake Dennis!