The top 10 Formula E drivers of 2020-21

The premise of driver rankings is simple enough. Factors such as car performance, team strategy blunders and being a blameless victim in a crash are set aside. It’s about isolating how one person delivered, or not, with the tools at their disposal. For this reason, the champion topping the order is never a given.

But even in the short seven-year history of Formula E, devising a definitive ranking has been harder than ever when reviewing the turbulent 2021 campaign.

Stealing the headlines was the farcical opening race at Valencia. A flurry of safety cars led to energy reductions beyond the teams’ expectations. When only six cars crossed the line at anything close to race speed, it was clear the application of the FIA regulations had caused wins and podiums to be lost (and gained) artificially.

Another element to blur the lines was the group qualifying format, which became a constant source of chagrin. The top six in the points head out first onto a track that hasn’t been rubbered in and is therefore at its slowest. That allows a driver to be beaten by their team-mate, running from a lower group, and yet still have done the superior job.

It also permits those towards the foot of the championship a very real chance of snaring pole and a subsequent win that might otherwise have been out of reach. As such, on this list, some drivers who used that to their advantage to score victory have had to make way for those who found better consistency but never enjoyed their time at the top of the podium…

10. Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams)

Oliver Rowland, Nissan e.dams, Nissan IMO2

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 14th
2019-20 driver ranking: N/C

The Mahindra Racing convert jumps ahead of Audi’s full-season rookie Rene Rast by the tiniest margin. While Rast undoubtably shone, in a decent car he played second fiddle to experienced champion team-mate Lucas di Grassi a little too often to make the cut. Rowland, by contrast, smashed stablemate Sebastien Buemi.

In the Brit’s corner also, he outperformed an undercooked Nissan e.dams machine - which was a big disappointment given the outfit had been the pre-season favourite of many.

Rowland can and does argue an outside title tilt was stopped by a penalty while leading in Rome and losing second place in the Valencia debacle. However, missing another big score was entirely of his own doing when he clashed with Stoffel Vandoorne in London for what would have been the win.

9. Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing)

Sam Bird, Jaguar Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 5, Mitch Evans, Jaguar Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 5

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 6th
2019-20 driver ranking: 10th

Bird moved to Jaguar Racing to win the title. That didn’t happen at the first time of asking, although the series ever-present did maintain his record of scoring a win in every season.

His victory in the second Saudi Arabian contest was sublime - it arrived the day after he was the innocent party in a collision with Alex Lynn (also just on the fringes of this ranking).

Crashing on Saturday in New York City would drop him to the third qualifying group, which proved the most prosperous as 26 drivers progressed into superpole during the season. He then won beautifully on the Sunday as his recovery reflected this crazed season in a nutshell.

PLUS: How Bird's crash recovery became Formula E's fairytale of New York 

Two first-lap eliminations in London, not his fault, are considered but stablemate Mitch Evans had the better of Bird overall to limit his climb up this list.

8. Lucas di Grassi (Audi ABT)

Lucas Di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 1st position, on the podium

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 7th
2019-20 driver ranking: 9th

A win inherited in Puebla when Pascal Wehrlein was disqualified for a technical passport infringement made up for one lost to a random driveshaft failure in Rome.

A second, more meritocratic victory for di Grassi in Berlin, proves his value to the grid beyond being a series ambassador after some considered the 2016-17 champion to have lost his speedy edge after a winless 2019-20.

PLUS: The Formula E 'loan' deal that will keep its original missionary winning 

But, as with last season, the experienced operator who moves to Venturi next year was involved in too many needless clashes to hinder his points total and any further places gained in this ranking.

7. Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes)

Stoffel Vandoorne, Mercedes-Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 9th
2019-20 driver ranking: 4th

Many of the paddock’s pick for number one, despite finishing ninth in the standings after enduring the bulk of the Mercedes unreliability and operational gaffs - plus being the innocent party in clashes with Andre Lotterer (Rome) and Oliver Rowland (London) at a cost of two wins.

Vandoorne lost pole in Valencia for a technical passport input error, so his charge to third in the farcical race can’t be held up as a paragon of good strategy. He was set to be out for the count.

But he was still the one-lap king with three poles and proved exceptional in Rome, London and Berlin. However, when Mercedes went off the boil from Monaco through to New York City, there wasn’t the inspiring performances to drag results out of the car.

6. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing)

Robin Frijns, Envision Virgin Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 5th
2019-20 driver ranking: N/C

Frijns challenged for the crown without scoring a win, reflecting a solid campaign that cut through the madness as he navigated his rivals’ ups and downs.

Boosting the Dutchman’s credentials was his ability to repeatedly climb eight or more places to defy the odds and score points. However, hurting his score, those displays were needed when his one-lap pace was lacking with only four top-10 starts.

5. Edoardo Mortara (Venturi Racing)

Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Racing, Silver Arrow 02

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 2nd
2019-20 driver ranking: N/C

Mortara delivered an early contender for overtake of the season when he sliced between Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein with millimetric precision in the first race of the year. That set the tone for his credentials, although his season would be bookended by massive shunts in Diriyah and Berlin that - along with bang average Monaco, New York City and London outings - dinted title designs.

His win and podium in Puebla marked the strongest single weekend turned in by anyone in what was a superb display.

PLUS: How Puebla's high-altitude encounter gave Formula E's new leader breathing space

After some early season strategy blunders from Venturi Racing were overcome, Mortara showed brilliance with a customer Mercedes engine. Although that will go on to hurt champion Nyck de Vries’ score…

4. Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah)

Antonio Felix Da Costa, DS Techeetah, DS E-Tense FE21

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 8th
2019-20 driver ranking: 1st

Had it not been for a tepid Berlin that cost a successful title defence, da Costa might have landed top spot. Although results were not as stellar as his championship-winning 2019-20 form, when it went wrong there were valid reasons beyond da Costa’s control.

He was hurt by the contrived qualifying format as the season wore on, meaning he had to ply his trade from the slowest first group. The new DS Techeetah car proved a diva and was no longer the pick of the field as it had been last season.

Da Costa was another of Andre Lotterer’s victims in London, was inexplicably blamed by the FIA for supposedly causing the Valencia embarrassment and lost the win that day. In Mexico, a rare crash was the result of an advertising banner - ripped off by his rivals - entrapping and cooking his brakes.

The super-fast and consistent traits were still there, only disguised. He also didn’t let the major distractions of uncertain team ownership and protracted periods without pay hinder his efforts.

3. Jake Dennis (BMW Andretti)

Race Winner Jake Dennis, BMW i Andretti Motorsport celebrates with the trophy

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 3rd
2019-20 driver ranking: N/C

Setting the maiden Formula E season of 2014-15 to one side for obvious reasons, Dennis has just delivered the best-ever rookie campaign.

The Brit, who was a total FE novice when he became the surprise winner of an internal BMW shootout to find a team-mate to Maximilian Guenther, took six races to acclimatise to life in the championship. That rapid adaptation was marked by a controlled win in Valencia and then he triumphed coolly again in London.

Dennis soundly beat Guenther and did so by maximising an average car. He might have landed a remarkable title were it not for a technical failure in Berlin. He smashed all expectations and only those first few slow-burning outings deny him first place.

2. Nyck de Vries (Mercedes)

Nyck de Vries, Mercedes Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 1st
2019-20 driver ranking: 5th

The Mercedes driver didn’t let distractions over the manufacturer’s future get under his skin. He was utterly imperious when the season started in Saudi Arabia and only gained one place artificially in the Spain madness to win again. He was a podium contender on merit that day.

But de Vries made a crucial qualifying error in Monaco and was quiet in New York City. Even with the group one handicap considered, inspiring one-lap showings were a little too infrequent to nab top spot.

PLUS: How Mercedes and De Vries achieved Formula E glory the hard way

Make no mistake, de Vries is absolutely a deserving champion who ended his year with more peaks than Mitch Evans, but more troughs too, to finish second in our rankings.

1. Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing)

Mitch Evans, Jaguar Racing, 3rd position

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 2nd
2019-20 driver ranking: 2nd

Evans takes number one by a whisker. The major blot on his copybook arrived in New York City, where he ran wide and tapped the wall at a cost of second place. Fortunately for the Kiwi, that error didn’t end his best shot at the title.

Falling into a lower qualifying group because of the points lost then teed up a podium in London before the Berlin title showdown. Here, Evans was cruelly denied by the start line failure. Having lined up third on the grid while de Vries was starting back in 13th, he was briefly the title favourite.

Why Evans gets the top spot, though, is thanks to an unmatched five podiums. He found a very rare commodity this term: uber consistency. While he missed out on the high of a victory, he kept highly-rated team-mate Sam Bird in check and navigated the folly to become the most dependable performer of his class.

The dropouts…

Andre Lotterer (Porsche)

Andre Lotterer, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric, Oliver Rowland, Nissan e.Dams, Nissan IMO3

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 17th
2019-20 driver ranking: 8th

There was pace on occasion to trouble the front-runners. But Lotterer was outperformed by team-mate Pascal Wehrlein and Autosport counts a half-dozen clumsy crashes when this vastly experienced racer was firmly in the wrong.

Paddock rumour was rife that Porsche was courting Mitch Evans for 2022. After the Kiwi penned a new deal to stay at Jaguar Racing, Lotterer was retained. The uncharitable believe this was down to the manufacturer leaving itself short of alternatives.

Maximilian Guenther (BMW Andretti)

Maximilian Guenther, BMW I Andretti Motorsport

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 16th
2019-20 driver ranking: 7th

While a victory arrived in New York City, Guenther fell shy of building on his hot shot reputation firmly established in 2019-20 when he scored two wins. The harsh nickname ‘Guenther the shunter’ explains some of the inconsistency and the young German was outshone by rookie team-mate Jake Dennis.

It’s not clear yet whether Guenther has flown the Andretti Autosport nest for 2022 because he wanted a change of scene or because the Anglo-American team decided against taking on his BMW contract. Either way, he will don new colours next season as he arrives at Nissan e.dams in place of Rowland.

Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah)

Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Techeetah, DS E-Tense FE21, Antonio Felix Da Costa, DS Techeetah, DS E-Tense FE21

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 10th
2019-20 driver ranking: 6th

A second season in succession where Vergne didn’t really find an answer to team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa. But while the two-time champion doesn’t feature in the top 10 this time, it’s not from an outright tepid year, unlike his fellow dropouts. Rather, it's more a case of others staking a better claim.

His victory in Rome was assured, a second triumph went begging in New York City when a late lunge on Nick Cassidy for the lead gave Maximilian Guenther the opportunity to nip past. Being unable to convert a DS Techeetah 1-2 in the first Berlin race was partly due to a clumsy team orders-derived position switch.

Vergne is cut some slack thanks to a new DS powertrain that had too much weight over the rear. He also had the off-track migraine playing out of Techeetah owner SECA turning off the taps to leave the French racer without a salary for extended periods.

Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams)

Sebastien Buemi, Nissan e.Dams

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Championship position: 21st
2019-20 driver ranking: 3rd

Buemi maintains his year was derailed by a collision with Andre Lotterer in Valencia as the car was never to his liking from then on. The issue with that claim is twofold. The 2015-16 champion’s form was unremarkable up to that point and in Puebla, the squad swapped the gearbox, motor and invertor to find a fix. However, the improvement thereafter was difficult to detect. Either the problem lay with a damaged tub that couldn’t be changed, or Buemi wasn’t at the races.

The new Nissan e.dams car was below par to hurt both Buemi and Oliver Rowland, who had the measure of the Swiss racer all season. Buemi playing a role in round-the-clock testing of the new Toyota Le Mans Hypercar is argued as having been a draining distraction too, from some quarters.

Sebastien Buemi, Nissan e.Dams, Nissan IMO2

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images