Formula E's most memorable races: Electric world championship turns 10

10. Valencia 1, 24 April 2021

“Formula E has now endured its 2005 United States Grand Prix moment” is how Autosport described the debacle that was the opening Valencia E-Prix in 2021. It was memorable for all the wrong reasons – three drivers came to a halt on track during the final lap, out of energy, while five more were disqualified for exceeding permitted energy levels.

It left only nine classified finishers out of 24 starters, and many of those crawled to the flag over the final lap – Jean-Eric Vergne, the last of the runners, clocked a 5m48s final tour after activating his pit-limiter! 

“We will be the joke of the week,” is how race-long leader Antonio Felix da Costa described the situation, which stemmed from 1kWh of power being deducted from the 52kWh race total for each minute spent under full-course-yellow conditions or safety car interventions. 

Nearly 20 minutes were spent behind the safety car in one of Formula E’s few wet races, the slippery conditions restricting heavy braking to recoup energy. Critically, da Costa crossed the line with 15 seconds (plus one lap) left on the clock after a late safety car restart. 

The DS Techeetah driver had been in control throughout, but was left enraged by the situation, especially after race director Fred Bertrand suggested da Costa was to blame for the race going a lap longer than necessary, the Portuguese controlling the pace of the field ahead of the final two-lap restart. 

“Today, it was only in the hands of the FIA to save us all from this,” added da Costa. Through the chaos, Nyck de Vries came through for his second and final win of the season en route to the title, with Mercedes team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne third behind Nico Muller (Dragon Penske) on a dark day for the championship. 

9. Rome 1, 15 July 2023 

Six cars were eliminated in horrifying pileup on the Rome street track in 2023

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

This was the Formula E equivalent of the infamous 1998 Belgian Grand Prix pile-up. It may have been dry and on a smaller scale than the Spa calamity 25 years earlier, but the multi-car crash during the 2023 Rome E-Prix was nevertheless certainly the biggest in the electric-powered series’ history. 

Sam Bird had slipped back from the front row and was running fourth when he lost control on lap nine over the bumps and drain covers at Turn 6, one of the quickest and narrowest parts of the Italian capital’s street circuit – a blind, high-speed left-hander. 

After glancing the wall, Bird’s Jaguar came to a stop broadside across the circuit and right in the firing line, where it was collected at almost unabated speed by Sebastien Buemi and Edoardo Mortara. The ensuing wreckage and shower of debris also eliminated Antonio Felix da Costa, Lucas di Grassi and Robin Frijns, and a lengthy red flag followed to clear the shunt, which accounted for six retirements and running repairs on other machines. 

Although best remembered for the crash, the restarted race did also feature an engaging three-way fight between title protagonists Mitch Evans, Nick Cassidy and Jake Dennis.

Evans would prevail from Cassidy as Jaguar’s powertrain dominated, while the Porsche-powered Andretti machine of Dennis slipped behind Maximilian Guenther before the Briton put in a robust defence to keep Jean-Eric Vergne and Nico Muller at bay for fourth. The result cost Dennis the lead in the championship on the day, but the points would ultimately help him secure the title at the following final round in London. 

Following this, the Rome venue was regarded as unsuitable for the ever-increasing speeds of the Gen3 machine, and was dropped from the following season’s calendar.

8. Beijing, 13 September 2014 

Prost led the inaugural race until final corner clash with Heidfeld opened the door for di Grassi

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar

After months of uncertainty over whether the fledgling cars and technology would be up to the task, continuing doubt around the shape of the calendar, and concerns about the financial backing to see out the season, the inaugural Formula E race took place in Beijing a decade ago. 

Any off-track commotion was soon put to one side and, as Autosport wrote, talk “was not of electric power units, batteries and limited speeds of the cars, but of an exciting, entertaining and controversial motor race”. 

In part that was due to the colossal accident that befell Nick Heidfeld at the final corner on the last lap, when the Venturi driver tried to pass Nicolas Prost’s Renault e.dams for the lead. Prost had led much of the 25-lap contest from pole (above) and resumed in the lead after the mandatory pitstop to swap cars (the Gen1 machines were unable to complete a full race distance).  

It was during this phase that Heidfeld moved into second and, with four laps remaining, he began to pressure Prost before making his move into the last corner on the final tour. Prost swiped across, and side-to-side contact sent Heidfeld’s car out of control, across the inside kerb and airborne, somersaulting into the barrier on the outside before a violent impact and more rolls left his machine upside down. 

“I was next to him and he moved over on me,” said Heidfeld, who was miraculously uninjured, while Prost later admitted on social media that “I understand that I am responsible”. Their collision allowed Lucas di Grassi, integral in helping the all-electric championship get off the ground alongside founder Alejandro Agag, to take the very first Formula E victory. 

7. Marrakech, 12 January 2019

Da Costa and Sims collision cost BMW a valuable 1-2

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The golden rule when racing your team-mate is not to collide with each other, a lesson not heeded by the BMW Andretti pairing of Antonio Felix da Costa and Alexander Sims during the 2019 Marrakech E-Prix. 

In the early running, both trailed polesitter Sam Bird, who had survived an assault into the opening turn by fellow front-row starter Jean-Eric Vergne. The reigning champion had been slow off the line, which left him several car lengths behind Bird into the braking zone, but Vergne launched up the inside and into a diminishing gap, cutting across the inside of the bend and swiping the side of the Virgin machine before spinning in the middle of the track. 

Da Costa took the lead through the Turns 4/5 chicane on lap 11 of 31, and Sims followed through on the next straight, before the pair initially disappeared into the distance by building a margin of more than five seconds to the chasing pack. 

Sims had been glued to the gearbox of his team-mate throughout and, as the pack began to come within touching distance of the leading pair, the Briton made his move on lap 26. Da Costa went to defend into the braking zone of Turn 7 as Sims moved to the outside approaching the left-hand bend but, when the Portuguese locked up, it sent both towards the run-off area. 

Sims recovered down in fourth, while da Costa was out after hitting the barrier and wanting “to find the deepest hole in Marrakech to put myself in”. Through it all came Mahindra’s Jerome d’Ambrosio, who climbed nine places from his grid position to take his third and final Formula E victory. After his spin, Vergne capped off a remarkable recovery drive from the back of the field to take fifth.  

6. Mexico City, 16 February 2019 

Di Grassi scraped by Wehrlein, who had run out of energy, as they lunged for the finish line

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

This was perhaps the perfect climax to any Formula E race. Lucas di Grassi snatched victory on the line at the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix as leader Pascal Wehrlein lost drive in sight of what would have been his first Formula E win. 

The Mahindra driver had taken his maiden pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and remarkably led 44 out of the 45 laps by putting in a stoic defence during a race that bubbled away before coming to the boil over a thrilling final lap. 

The race had earlier been stopped after Nelson Piquet Jr’s Jaguar was sent over the back of Jean-Eric Vergne’s DS Techeetah in dramatic fashion heading into the final chicane. Once racing resumed, Wehrlein headed Oliver Rowland (Nissan) and di Grassi (Abt Audi), both of whom pressured for the lead throughout. 

But Nissan was caught out by the pace set by Wehrlein, miscalculating the 45-minute-plus-one-lap event by nine seconds, meaning Rowland and team-mate Sebastien Buemi had to coast home on the final lap. That gave breathing room for di Grassi to attack Wehrlein, the Brazilian looking to the outside at Turn 1 before moving up the inside into Turn 3. Here, the pair banged wheels, prompting Wehrlein to cut the chicane. 

Wehrlein backed off to avoid gaining an advantage, then defended hard into the final chicane. He seemed assured of victory, only to run out of energy in the final metres. Di Grassi, immediately behind, pitched his car to the inside, snagging victory on the line by just 0.2 seconds. To add insult to injury, Wehrlein was slapped with a five-second penalty after the stewards decided he had gained an advantage by cutting Turn 3 on the final lap, dropping him to sixth. 

5. London 2, 28 June 2015 

Piquet Jr became the first champion, against the odds in Battersea Park

Photo by: Mark Sutton

At the championship’s first title showdown, Nelson Piquet Jr entered the final race in London’s Battersea Park with a five-point margin over Sebastien Buemi, with Lucas di Grassi a further eight points adrift. 

While the destiny of the title was in Piquet’s hands, the task ahead of him looked difficult after qualifying was hit by rain and the Brazilian’s group was afflicted most by the wet weather. It left Piquet 16th on the grid, with Buemi sixth and di Grassi seventh. 

By staying out of trouble and employing the energy-saving strategy that had been a trademark of his title tilt up to that point, Piquet was able to run a lap longer than most of his rivals before switching to his second car. It meant he vaulted to 10th – into the points – while another pivotal moment had occurred when Buemi half-spun on his out-lap after his pitstop, which dropped him behind Bruno Senna. 

Piquet moved ahead of Team China Racing stablemate Oliver Turvey with six laps remaining, before gaining another position at the expense of Salvador Duran around the outside of the fast Turn 13 left-hander. That put him eighth, and one point to the good over Buemi, who was still stuck behind Senna after his earlier faux pas. The Renault e.dams driver made several attempts to overtake, the pair banging wheels on the last lap through the final sequence of corners, but it was all to no avail. 

On-the-road winner Stephane Sarrazin was handed a penalty for exceeding energy consumption, gifting Sam Bird a home win and elevating Buemi to fifth, di Grassi to sixth and Piquet to seventh. Piquet’s title-winning margin of one point over Buemi remains the closest in Formula E history.

“Such a hard race, starting from the back with so many things going against us, but we still managed at the end to win it,” recalls Piquet. “It was very special for us the way it went down. Just happy, it was an amazing day.” 

4. Cape Town, 25 February 2023 

Da Costa won a thriller on a fast and tough track that was only used once

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

At the time, Autosport wrote that the inaugural – and so far only – Cape Town E-Prix “will probably go down as one the championship’s greatest races”, and it’s easy to see why.  

The fast, flowing and undulating 1.8-mile circuit rewarded bravery and severely punished mistakes, as evidenced by several accidents. It certainly took its toll on the cars, with all four Mahindra-powered machines withdrawing ahead of the race – the rear suspension not up to the task of the demanding venue. 

There was soon drama in the race, with Pascal Wehrlein colliding with Sebastien Buemi on the opening lap. Up front, Sacha Fenestraz headed the pack from Maximilian Guenther and Nick Cassidy, the trio all leading at one stage during the 32-lap affair. Eventual race winner Antonio Felix da Costa languished in the pack. The Porsche driver had started 11th, but his conservation of energy would pay dividends later, and he found himself behind the leading trio at the halfway point. 

Guenther eliminated himself from the equation when he brushed the wall at Turn 1 on lap 21, and da Costa found himself in the lead three tours later before building up a gap to take his second dose of Attack Mode. 

But the Porsche driver missed the activation points at the first time of asking, prompting a second attempt, which dropped him behind new leader Jean-Eric Vergne. Da Costa remained there until the penultimate lap before jinking to the outside of the DS Penske through the flat-out right of Turn 8, slingshotting ahead with barely an inch between the pair into the following left-hander. It was the overtaking move of the season, one of the best in the series’ history. 

3. Berlin 2, 15 August 2021 

Evans’s Jaguar (right) was collected by Mortara at the start to end their bids

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Motorsport Images

Nyck de Vries enjoyed a handy six-point advantage heading into the 2021 Berlin E-Prix double-header finale, and in the opening race it was miraculously only reduced to three, despite the Mercedes driver non-scoring to set up a fascinating title showdown. No fewer than 14 drivers were in with a mathematical shot of the title on the final day… 

Good fortune continued to smile on de Vries. The Dutchman could only manage eighth in the decisive sequel, but this was enough to claim the crown by a seven-point margin. His main rivals had fallen by the wayside in one of the championship’s most dramatic races.

Mitch Evans, five points behind de Vries, failed to launch his Jaguar off the line from third at the start and was collected at high speed by the unsighted Edoardo Mortara, who was de Vries’s nearest title challenger. 

With both drivers eliminated, rookie Jake Dennis was the next championship challenger to find himself out of the race. The BMW Andretti driver started the race just four points behind de Vries, but suffered a technical failure under braking at Turn 1 on the second lap following a safety car restart, slamming him into the wall and retirement. 

De Vries, who had started 13th, was now running 10th, with his nearest championship rival still in the race – Robin Frijns – further behind and out of the points. It should have been an easy run to the flag, de Vries impressively rising up the order to fifth, but his attempt to bully his way past Alexander Sims cost places and resulted in contact with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. 

“I remember I was just upset about the race because I felt like we had a chance to finish on the podium,” said de Vries, who limped home with damaged steering in eighth. “I became conservative at the wrong time basically.” 

2. Monaco, 8 May 2021 

Da Costa ambushed Evans on the final lap to win a classic that had plenty to recommend it after Valencia farce

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

The first use for Formula E of the full Monaco Grand Prix circuit layout resulted in an enticing on-track battle that ebbed and flowed, all climaxing with a last-lap overtaking move for the win.  

The 2021 Monaco E-Prix provided the perfect antidote for Formula E. “The series needed to bounce back from what was quite possibly its nadir”, according to Autosport after the Valencia energy debacle at the previous round. 

Not unusually for the streets of the Principality, the top three on the starting grid all finished in the same order: Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah), Robin Frijns (Envision) and Mitch Evans (Jaguar). But that belies a thrilling contest where the lead changed hands no fewer than seven times around a circuit where overtaking is at a premium, especially during the Gen2 era. 

After initially leading, da Costa conceded into Sainte Devote at the start of lap four to Frijns before the pair cycled through both their Attack Modes, the lead going back and forth.  

Now in second behind Frijns, da Costa used his extra power afforded to him by Fan Boost to blast ahead into the Nouvelle Chicane on lap 18 out of 26. But both found themselves at the mercy of Evans who, with extra power from his Attack Mode, demoted Frijns at the start of lap 19 along the start/finish straight, and then moved into the lead just moments later with an inch-perfect pass on da Costa up Beau Rivage. 

But the Kiwi’s thrilling rise had come at a cost, and his pace gradually dropped over the remaining laps in a bid to save energy. This allowed da Costa to just move ahead on the final lap into the Nouvelle Chicane via a last-gasp lock-up, while Frijns grabbed the runner-up spot at the finish line by 0.024s after a classic race. 

1. London 2, 3 July 2016 

First lap clash with Buemi prompted both the Swiss and rival di Grassi to rush for second cars in dramatic 2015-16 decider

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The collision between title rivals Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi at the 2016 London E-Prix series finale remains the most controversial and memorable moment in Formula E’s 10-year history that spans 132 races. 

The pair entered the final race of the season at Battersea Park tied on points, but with Renault e.dams driver Buemi crucially on pole by a margin of nearly one second ahead of team-mate Nicolas Prost, followed by the Abt Audi of di Grassi. The order remained the same at the start through the sweeping two bends before, entering the first heavy braking zone, di Grassi went to the outside of Prost and crashed heavily into the back of Buemi. 

“I got called to the stewards and they were analysing my braking, they were very suspicious,” recalls Buemi. “I got pole position a second faster than him, there was no point I was going to try to risk any crash. I had the pace to win easily so the last thing I wanted is to brake-test him.” 

The scene prompted flashbacks to the infamous crash at Suzuka between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna that decided the 1990 F1 title – retirements for both Buemi and di Grassi would have handed the Brazilian the crown on countback. Incredibly, the pair were both able to drive their mangled machines back to the pits and swap across into their second race machines and, with qualifying set-ups applied, the remainder of the contest became a battle to claim fastest lap and the two points that went with it. 

“Di Grassi knew that on pure pace we were faster, so his only way was to make sure I could not do the lap, but my engineer had a good trick – he made me go into the pitlane, which was huge, so we found ourselves completely offset,” says Buemi, whose 1m24.150s left him nearly half a second faster – and the 2015-16 champion. 

Buemi’s sorry-looking first car was ditched for his second, which delivered him the fastest lap bonus point

Photo by: Adam Warner / Motorsport Images