The top 10 Formula E drivers of 2023-24

As is now the norm in Formula E, the title battle went down to the final round of the 2023-2024 season after another frenetic campaign of racing which marked 10 years of the all-electric championship. There were no fewer than eight individual winners across the season, representing six different teams and using five different powertrains, which included new and old winners.

Nick Cassidy started life with Jaguar on the front foot and two wins and six further podiums put him in prime position to claim a maiden title before his title tilt capitulated in the final two rounds, opening the door for team-mate Mitch Evans and Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein.

PLUS: The overlooked Formula E asset that proved crucial in Porsche's title turnaround

Elsewhere, reigning champion Jake Dennis struggled to find the form which took him to the title last season, Antonio Felix da Costa had a remarkable turnaround and Oliver Rowland rejuvenated his career with a stellar season.

Following an enthralling season of racing which also featured several notable performances further down the order, Autosport has picked out the top 10 Formula E drivers from the campaign.

10. Maximilian Guenther

Championship position: 8th
2022-23 driver ranking: 7th

Big highs and big lows - it was a mixed campaign for Guenther

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Six points finishes on the bounce to start the season was capped by winning the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix with a well-timed pass on long-time leader Oliver Rowland as the Nissan driver backed off to save energy.

Guenther followed his victory up with another podium in the opening Misano race which moved the Maserati MSG driver up to third in the drivers’ standings and just 17 points off the top as he looked like a possible title challenger.

But that’s as good as it got for the German as he went missing in the middle part of the season and a double crash across both Berlin races was the low point with only three other minor points placings going his way in Monaco, Shanghai and Portland.

Was back to his impressive best for the London double-header finale, moving into second behind eventual race winner Pascal Wehrlein in race one before being cruelly denied another rostrum after a mechanical problem in the closing laps.

Qualified on the front row for the sequel but was helplessly caught up in problems for championship challenger Nick Cassidy which meant another non-score after a season of big highs and big lows.

9. Edoardo Mortara

Championship position: 16th
2022-23 driver ranking: N/C

Mortara may seem like a surprise entry into the top 10

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Heartbreakingly disqualified from fifth in Tokyo due to running out of energy on the run to the line after arguably his strongest performance of the season, having qualified third before staying towards the front despite the Mahindra package being one of the weakest on the grid.

Mortara bounced back brilliantly with an unlikely pole for the first Berlin contest before clinging on to finish eighth in the race and claimed two more strong points finishes before the end of the season with fourth in Portland and fifth in London on merit.

Comfortably beat team-mate and 2020/21 champion Nyck de Vries on the Dutchman’s return to Formula E, Mortara besting him 9-5 in qualifying and finishing 11 points clear in the drivers’ standings.

8. Nico Muller

Championship position: 12th
2022-23 driver ranking: N/C

Muller left his highly-regarded team-mate Di Grassi for dust at Abt

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The Abt driver was one of the standout performers of the season despite being hindered by the energy-inefficient Mahindra powertrain – one of the weakest on the grid – and secured six point-scoring finishes from the 14 races he competed in.

The Swiss driver finished seventh in Tokyo and was just 0.050s shy of claiming an incredible podium in the second Misano race, having been beaten to the line by Nick Cassidy.

Ended the season with an incredible run of results that included a quartet of points finishes, with fifth in the opening Portland race and three sixth-place finishes in the US sequel and London finale.

Put 2016/17 champion Lucas di Grassi firmly in the shade, besting him by 48 points in the final standings and leaves Abt ahead of next season where he is expected to race for Andretti alongside Jake Dennis.

7. Jake Dennis

Championship position: 7th
2022-23 driver ranking: 2nd

It wasn't quite the title-defence that Dennis had hoped for

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

The reigning champion initially began his title defence well with victory in the opening Diriyah contest when he surged to the win by a margin of more than 13s, but it would prove to be Dennis’ only top step of the season.

He somewhat went under the radar as he secured a hat-trick of podiums across Tokyo and the Misano double-header as those around him faltered and he left the Italian event tied on points with Wehrlein at the head of the table.

But thereafter the Andretti man never stood on the rostrum again and only finished in the points four more times across the final nine races as the American squad struggled for pace.

A perfect example of the team’s inconsistency came as Dennis and team-mate Norman Nato qualified on the back row for the opening Berlin race before the outgoing champion claimed pole the next day after a remarkable turnaround in performance.

On home soil in London, Dennis’ remote chance to defend his title ended in rotten fashion as collisions with Robin Frijns, Jean-Eric Vergne, Cassidy and Mortara meant he finished the season with six penalty points on his licence.

6. Jean-Eric Vergne

Championship position: 5th
2022-23 driver ranking: 6th

Consistency was the key for Vergne as the form of others fluctuated

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Three pole positions in Diriyah, Shanghai and Portland helped the Frenchman set a new outright Formula E record with 17, but incredibly Vergne never stood on the top step in 2024.

The two-time Formula E champion’s title aspirations were based around consistency as Vergne used his vast experience to rack up the points and only non-scored twice during 16 races, in Tokyo and London, reaching the podium three times.

He became something of a roadblock in the first Saudi Arabian race as he managed to hold off Mitch Evans to claim second but was bested by the second Jaguar of Cassidy and his drastically different energy strategy in Berlin as he finished runner-up again.

Secured a final podium with third in the opening Portland race after climbing up from 14th and went into the London finale with a mathematical but unlikely chance of the title.

The hire of his ex-Formula 1 engineer Phil Charles during the season noticeably helped DS Penske move closer to Porsche and Jaguar, especially on one-lap pace.

5. Antonio Felix da Costa

Championship position: 6th
2022-23 driver ranking: 5th

Da Costa was made to pay for a slow start, despite an incredible uptick in form in the second half of the year

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Awful start to the season which included three non-scores put his Porsche career in doubt as Muller was handed a private test with a view to replacing the Portuguese driver mid-season.

Da Costa rallied to save his career and secured strong points finishes in Sao Paulo and Tokyo before it all came good with victory in Misano, until he was disqualified for a technical breach related to his car’s throttle pedal spring setting that offered no tangible performance gain.

First official victory came just four races later in second Berlin contest and from there the 2019/20 Formula E champion went on an incredible run of form that included four wins inside five races with further success in Shanghai and both Portland races.

Appeal into Misano disqualification was denied prior to the US races, the lost 25 points of which would have put da Costa firmly in title contention heading into London having taken more wins than any other driver in 2024.

Season finale followed similar pattern to start of the year, though, as collision with Rowland ended da Costa’s hopes in race one before he was completely to blame for taking out title protagonist Cassidy in race two.

4. Oliver Rowland

Championship position: 4th
2022-23 driver ranking: N/C

It was a year of what could have been for Rowland after missing the Portland round through illness

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Dark horse of the season, Rowland rejuvenated his Formula E career back at Nissan during 2024 with two wins and three further podiums having left Mahindra mid-term last year after a difficult spell.

Converted pole into third during the second Diriyah race and took third again next time out in Sao Paulo after beating the squabbling Wehrlein and Dennis to the line with a better exit out of the final corner.

Took another pole for inaugural Tokyo E-Prix and arguably should have won at Nissan’s home event but was caught napping by Guenther when trying to save energy in closing stages and had to settle for second.

Benefitted from da Costa’s disqualification in opening Misano race to claim his and Nissan’s first Formula E win since Berlin 2020 and headed the drivers’ standings before lap counter malfunction in the sequel meant he ran out of energy on the final lap while leading.

A solid podium double in Berlin kept Rowland in championship contention but an illness forced the Briton out of the Portland double-header and meant he was an outsider for the title heading into London.

Ended the season on a high with victory on home soil having stayed out of trouble and in the championship battle finished an impressive fourth in the drivers’ standings in what was just supposed to be a foundational season for Rowland and Nissan.

3. Nick Cassidy

Championship position: 3rd
2022-23 driver ranking: 1st

A strong start for Cassidy, but the title was to elude him once again

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Would and should have been number one on this list with a world title to his name but for a catastrophic error while leading the opening Portland race, the Jaguar driver “one lap away” from all but securing his first Formula E crown before spinning off.

The Kiwi had moved across from Jaguar customer team Envision in the off-season after finishing runner-up in the 2023 standings, and began life in the factory team with two third places in Mexico City and Diriyah, before winning the sequel in Saudi Arabia.

There were early blips, though, as a dislodged front wing sent him into the wall in Sao Paulo while another missing front wing forced his retirement in the opening Misano race.

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Found his form mid-season which included five podiums on the bounce in Misano, Monaco, Berlin and Shanghai, taking the lead in the standings after the German event where he secured his second win of the season in an energy masterclass which included dropping to the back of the field at one stage.

Had showcased his ability to look at the bigger picture during a race in the previous round at Monte Carlo where he helped orchestrate a 1-2 in favour of team-mate Evans, despite having the chance to take victory himself.

Lost the championship lead despite somehow salvaging seventh in first London outing after qualifying down the order and took his first pole all season when the pressure was at its highest for final race of the year.

Was in prime position in winner-takes-all situation having taken both Attack Modes in comparison to Wehrlein and Evans ahead but was innocently taken out by da Costa, denying him a title that looked destined to be his.

2. Mitch Evans

Championship position: 2nd
2022-23 driver ranking: 3rd

A dominant Evans-led Jaguar 1-2 in Monaco was the highlight of a strong campaign

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Evans entered the final round of the season for the fourth year in a row with a shot at the championship but, like those previous campaigns, the Kiwi had been forced to regain ground after a sluggish start to his title tilt.

A steering issue restricted him to fifth in the season-opening Mexico City, “finger problems” with his car put him down the grid in the second Diriyah contest and meant he could only salvage 10th, while a software issue caused his retirement in the Misano sequel.

His only major error all season was a collision with Frijns in Tokyo which meant Evans had to pit for a new front wing and finished outside the points, and a last-lap lunge on Vergne in Diriyah dropped him from third to fifth.

The pace was there, though, Evans having lost the lead in the final corners to Sam Bird in Sao Paulo as the high temperatures robbed him of power, while he took pole in the first Misano contest before slipping to fifth.

A first victory of any kind in Monaco came after a tactical masterclass with team-mate Cassidy and put Evans’s season into motion as he never finished outside the points in the remaining eight races.

A second win came in the opening Shanghai race after a last-lap pass on Wehrlein and showcased Evans at his best, before he finished first on-the-road in the first Portland race after taking pole, only to be demoted to eighth after he was handed a harsh five-second penalty for a collision.

The Jaguar driver had to play second fiddle to Wehrlein in the London title-decider and when Evans missed his second Attack Mode in the final race it dropped him behind his title rival.

1. Pascal Wehrlein

Championship position: 1st
2022-23 driver ranking: 4th

Wehrlein sealed the title in a dramatic London season finale

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Wehrlein heads this list after not cracking under the most intense pressure in the title-deciding London finale unlike his Jaguar rivals and at a track expected to suit the Big Cats.

The Porsche driver was worthy of his world title after making no season-defining errors and the German only non-scored twice due to collisions which were not his fault, including losing his front wing in Misano and suffering a puncture in Shanghai.

PLUS: How Porsche's underdog outfoxed Jaguar to steal Formula E glory

Started his campaign off in perfect fashion with pole and race win in Mexico City and was in the right place to benefit from Rowland’s energy depletion on the final lap in Misano to secure a second victory.

Took his third pole of the season in Monaco before early Attack Mode activation strategy dropped him to fifth and he had to wait until Shanghai before stepping onto the podium again after losing the lead to Evans on the final lap.

Vastly improved qualifying performance was a significant contributor to Wehrlein’s title success, which left him higher up the grid in general and with nine points acquired for his pole positions, the vital difference in him winning the title by seven points in the end over Evans.

Beat Evans in a head-to-head during the opening London race and put in a faultless performance in the sequel to claim second in the title decider and secure his first title since the DTM in 2015.

The lights went out on the 2023/24 season in London

Photo by: Andreas Beil