The team orders debacle that made for a controversial Formula E title decider

It’s very typical the way the Formula E title decider played out after Pascal Wehrlein’s scathing interview with Autosport on Friday ahead of the London weekend. The factory Porsche driver admitted concern at rival manufacturers issuing orders to “manipulate” the outcome of the wide-open championship fight that saw Wehrlein, Jake Dennis (Andretti), Mitch Evans (Jaguar) and reigning champion Oliver Rowland (Nissan) all in realistic contention.

“This year it feels like there’s a lot more team tactics than there was in the past, which I’m not a fan of,” said Wehrlein, specifically referring to the prior round in Japan. During the first of the two Tokyo races, Envision’s Sebastien Buemi took his Attack Mode early while already carrying a penalty and he consequently charged through the field.

But when the pit window opened, the Swiss purposefully slowed down to assist team-mate Joel Eriksson, therefore holding up several drivers like Wehrlein, who subsequently made contact with Jaguar’s Antonio Felix da Costa and finished outside of the points.

“What Buemi did in Tokyo is something which I feel goes far beyond the line,” added Wehrlein. “It’s very different to being second and third with your team-mates and then swapping positions. It can go very far and that’s the only thing which for me is a bit uncertain this weekend, how it will be played and what the reaction will be.”

Wehrlein was ultimately proven correct: team orders did play a significant role at the ExCeL and partly decided the outcome of the 2025-26 title. There is just a debate over who benefitted from them the most; but on Saturday, day one of the double-header weekend, Wehrlein was the one to profit...

It started in qualifying when a front row spot was all-but guaranteed the moment the 2024 world champion beat Citroen’s Jean-Eric Vergne in his quarter-final duel. Because up next in the semi-final was Formula E’s pantomime villain Dan Ticktum, who slowed down in his customer Porsche Kiro, indirectly hinting post-qualifying at manufacturer orders from the German marque.

"It's clear who's the favourite in that team," said Evans of Porsche after Saturday qualifying

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

So onto the final for Wehrlein, who surely couldn’t believe his luck when team-mate Nico Muller beat both da Costa and Evans to set up an all-Porsche showdown. Okay, maybe ‘showdown’ is a bit far as Wehrlein took pole by a second despite Muller going faster in the first two sectors…make of that what you will.

Wehrlein was nevertheless delighted as the three points awarded for pole drew him level with Evans and just two off Dennis going into race one. Rowland a distant 14 points behind.

It was therefore pretty obvious how the opening contest would go, as Wehrlein charged into Turn 1 unchallenged before quickly building a three-second buffer while Muller played the Buemi role of holding up the pack.

"It’s not the first time that we are seeing that. I remember Jaguar also won a Monaco race like that" Pascal Wehrlein

Third-placed Evans did his best to get by - Dennis and Rowland respectively down in fifth and 13th - but the ExCeL’s tight track made that difficult and the Jaguar driver just couldn’t overcome the robust, or “dodgy” as per the Kiwi, defending of Muller. It was only midway through when the Pit Boost window opened that an opportunity presented itself for Evans, who pitted straight away for clean air before instantly taking his Attack Mode while Wehrlein stayed out.

This enabled him to finally overtake Muller and for a moment it looked as though the rapid Kiwi had utilised the best strategy, looking set to grab the lead once Wehrlein had pitted. But suddenly all his efforts went unrewarded on lap 21 when Lucas di Grassi went into the Turn 9 barrier, allowing Wehrlein - and others - to make a cheap pitstop with Evans now staring at a fight to stay inside the top 10.

The two-time championship runner-up eventually finished eighth in what became a routine victory for Wehrlein, who was joined on the podium by Dennis and da Costa. Considering his Friday comments, it's funny the way race one played out - and that interview was put to the German, but he did his best of batting it away.

A win from pole in race one gave Wehrlein a five-point championship lead coming into Sunday

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

“It’s not the first time that we are seeing that. I remember Jaguar also won a Monaco race like that,” said the 31-year-old, referencing the 2024 race, when Nick Cassidy slowed the pace allowing Evans to take both Attack Modes without losing track position.

“I think today could have been a 1-2 for the team,” added Wehrlein. “Unfortunate with the timing of that Pit Boost for Nico, but overall we did a good job and just unlucky for him.”

The ex-Formula 1 driver was clearly not fazed by how the team orders made him look, particularly as it meant that he grabbed the championship lead from Dennis by five points with 28 left available. Evans, meanwhile, dropped to 21 behind while 10th place for Rowland made him the first serious title contender to fall - discounting the five other contenders that pre-weekend were mathematically still in the hunt.

So then there were three: Dennis and Wehrlein aiming to join Vergne as Formula E’s only two-time champions, while Evans was hoping to finally become champion on the final day of his 10-season stint with Jaguar before moving to Opel. He required a near-miracle though, particularly as Sunday qualifying for race two saw another strong result from Wehrlein who took third behind Mahindra duo Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara.

Joining him on the second row was Muller ahead of fifth-placed Evans, with Dennis down in a disappointing 16th. With things constantly falling Wehrlein’s way, all he needed to do was keep it clean and the championship was his.

But this was Formula E at the ExCeL, a recipe for carnage and everybody in the paddock knew that. So although the first half of the second contest was clean, Wehrlein the provisional champion in fifth behind Mortara, de Vries, Taylor Barnard and da Costa, everything dramatically changed.

With his title rivals again starting from behind in race two, the odds looked good for Wehrlein

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Getty Images

Again, all thanks to team orders and on this occasion Jaguar was the culprit.

That’s because da Costa was now playing the go-slow role and on lap 26 he aggressively held up Wehrlein, while Evans made a double overtake on them both at Turn 16. Armed with Attack Mode the Kiwi subsequently streaked clear to charge in on the top three, while da Costa continued to frustrate Wehrlein doing whatever he could to prevent his old nemesis from becoming champion.

So much was obvious on lap 27 when he deliberately forced Wehrlein off at the exit of Turn 19, allowing the train behind to force through - including Dennis - and dropped the Porsche driver out of the points.

“He took me clean out of the race, it’s as simple as that. I think it’s embarrassing what we’ve seen today from Pascal, Porsche" Jake Dennis

Suddenly a straightforward second title looked in doubt, as Dennis was now the provisional champion with approximately five laps remaining. Da Costa had done his job but Wehrlein was furious, claiming his Jaguar rival had tried to “ruin my race, driving next to me, slowing down, pushing me against the walls”.

This made him desperate and after gaining a couple positions in the following tours, lap 32 saw one final twist. It came as Wehrlein lunged down the inside of Dennis at Turn 16 for ninth, but completely missed the apex and tagged the rear of Eriksson causing the Envision to spin and hold up both the Porsche and Andretti.

In an instant that was Dennis’ title hopes done and is effectively what gave Wehrlein his second crown, as Evans could progress no further than fourth - having needed the win.

The 2025-26 championship podium: Dennis was furious with Wehrlein

Photo by: Sam Bagnall/LAT Images via Getty

“He took me clean out of the race, it’s as simple as that,” stated the angry Andretti driver after race two, which was won by Barnard. “I think it’s embarrassing what we’ve seen today from Pascal, Porsche.

“To be in that position to beat Pascal, clearly ahead and then he just rams me straight into the wall, it’s quite surprising. But ultimately if they want to win it like that, then they can. That’s the game, that’s what happens when you’re behind going into the final race.

“They can take you straight out and ultimately if they get a penalty [Wehrlein received a five-second penalty], it makes no difference because I’m in the wall.”

This was a title decider that neither Porsche nor Jaguar can be proud about. Porsche for how it played Saturday, Wehrlein for his late move in race two and Jaguar for how da Costa drove and defended against the eventual champion.

It wasn’t racing, it was Mario Kart: a lesson that vast overtakes and wheel-to-wheel battles shouldn’t be all it takes for an entertaining and proper contest. This Jaguar-Porsche rivalry will no doubt rumble on into Gen4 next year.

“It’s one of the most unsporty and unfair things I have seen - how Antonio drove,” claimed Formula E’s latest champion, who reckons Porsche’s tactics were incomparable to Jaguar. “That’s how it is if you have enemies in the paddock. Still, we made it and there is another message: I don’t forget things!”