Pascal Wehrlein has clinched the 2025‑26 Formula E World Championship despite finishing outside the points in the London E‑Prix, with Taylor Barnard securing his maiden victory in the season‑ending race.
The Porsche driver joins Jean‑Éric Vergne as the series’ only two‑time champions after capturing his first title in the 2023‑24 London finale.
Entering the weekend third in the standings, five points behind Jake Dennis and three behind Mitch Evans, Wehrlein’s fortunes unexpectedly turned in his favor.
On Saturday, Porsche team orders allowed him to win the first race from pole, overtaking Dennis and extending his championship lead to five points, while Evans trailed by 21 points.
During qualifying on Sunday, Wehrlein secured third position behind pole‑sitter Nyck de Vries and his Mahindra teammate Edoardo Mortara.
His teammate Nico Müller shared the second row ahead of Evans, who started 16th, meaning Dennis needed a near‑miraculous performance to retain the title.
The race start proceeded cleanly, with positions largely maintained until Attack Mode strategies were deployed.
Early chaos emerged as drivers such as Barnard (starting sixth) and Antonio Félix da Costa (ninth) began to fight for position.
Taylor Barnard took his first Formula E win
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
By lap 16 of 35, Wehrlein appeared poised to clinch the championship, running fifth behind Mortara, de Vries, Barnard, and da Costa.
Da Costa’s aggressive defense aimed to assist Jaguar teammate Evans, but Evans struggled to pass Müller while Dennis was already out of contention.
The dynamics shifted on lap 26, when the opportunities for Dennis or Evans to become champions materialized.
Sixth‑placed Evans activated Attack Mode and executed a double overtake on Da Costa and Wehrlein at Turn 16, capitalising on Porsche’s defensive tactics.
Evans surged ahead toward the top three, while Da Costa continued to thwart Wehrlein’s title aspirations.
On lap 27, Da Costa deliberately ran Wehrlein wide at Turn 19, dropping the German to 11th and promoting Dennis into the points.
This briefly made Dennis the provisional champion, but a further twist unfolded on lap 32 when Wehrlein attempted a desperate move to salvage his title.
He lunged inside Dennis for ninth at Turn 16, making contact with Joel Eriksson and causing both the Envision and Andretti entries to spin, dropping them outside the top ten.
Nyck De Vries and Edoardo Mortara rounded out the podium for Mahindra
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
In an instant, Dennis was eliminated from the title battle, shifting focus to fourth‑placed Evans, who needed to win but trailed the top three by eight seconds.
With laps dwindling, Evans failed to make further progress, whereas Barnard seized Attack Mode late in the race to take the lead and claim his first series victory, finishing just under a second ahead of de Vries, with Mortara completing the podium.
Evans’ fourth‑place finish secured the teams’ championship for Jaguar in its rivalry with Porsche, while Envision’s Sébastien Buemi finished fifth in his final Formula E appearance.
Nick Cassidy placed sixth, followed by Vergne, Pepe Marti, Oliver Rowland, and Norman Nato in the points‑scoring positions, with Wehrlein classified 14th—just ahead of da Costa and five spots ahead of Dennis.
Although Wehrlein secured the championship, he expressed frustration post‑race, stating, “It’s one of the most unsporting and unfair incidents I have witnessed—how Antonio drove.”
He added, “That’s how it is when you have enemies in the paddock. Still, we made it, and there’s another message: I don’t forget.”
“So, yes—let’s rock, enjoy a strong off‑season, and next year I won’t forget what happened here.”