Pascal Wehrlein converted pole position into a crucial victory in Round 16 of the 2025/26 Formula E season in London, taking control of the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Sunday’s season finale.
The Porsche Formula E Team driver led from the opening lap, survived two Full Course Yellow periods and benefited from the timing of his mandatory pit stop before resisting a late charge from Andretti Formula E Team’s Jake Dennis. António Félix da Costa completed the podium for Jaguar TCS Racing after a frantic closing phase that saw Dan Ticktum fall backwards following several battles.
Wehrlein ultimately crossed the line with only 0.3% energy remaining. More importantly, the result moved him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship heading into the final race of Season 12 on Sunday.
Wehrlein and Müller lock out the front row
Wehrlein started from pole after defeating Porsche teammate Nico Müller in the Qualifying Duels Final, giving the factory team complete control of the front row. Jaguar title contender Mitch Evans lined up third after missing a place in the Final by just 0.250s, while CUPRA KIRO’s Ticktum started fourth after sacrificing his own chance of reaching the Final to support Porsche’s title ambitions.
Dennis led Row 3 from Envision Racing’s Joel Eriksson, with Jaguar’s da Costa and Citroën Racing’s Jean-Éric Vergne occupying Row 4. Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries and Envision’s Sébastien Buemi completed the top 10, while Nick Cassidy, Taylor Barnard, reigning champion Oliver Rowland and Felipe Drugovich followed behind.
Pepe Martí and Norman Nato formed Row 8, ahead of Zane Maloney and Edoardo Mortara. Maximilian Günther started 19th, while Lucas di Grassi lined up last after carrying a three-place grid penalty from Tokyo.
Wehrlein controls the opening phase of the Formula E Round 16 race in London
Wehrlein launched cleanly when the lights went out, while Müller, Evans and Ticktum fought for second behind him. Müller retained the position, but Evans immediately passed Ticktum for third and began closing on the two Porsches, while Vergne gained sixth from Eriksson further back.
At the front, Wehrlein quickly established more than two seconds over Müller, who appeared to hold up the group behind during the opening laps. That allowed the race leader to create an early cushion while Evans began applying increasing pressure to Müller for second.
Elsewhere, Nato made an early pit stop after apparently suffering a puncture. Di Grassi briefly moved forward after passing Günther and benefiting from Nato’s stop, although he later fell back, while Drugovich became the first driver to activate Attack Mode on Lap 4 and used the additional power to make progress through the field.
By Lap 5, Evans had closed directly onto Müller and looked increasingly capable of challenging for second before the race saw its first interruption.
Maloney stoppage brings out first Full Course Yellow
Maloney stopped in Sector 2 on Lap 6 after apparently making contact with the wall, prompting race control to deploy a Full Course Yellow. The Lola Yamaha ABT driver had experienced minor contact with Mortara beforehand but reported that a broken driveshaft had ultimately caused the stoppage.
The neutralisation halted Evans’ attack on Müller at an important moment and gave Wehrlein some protection at the front. Because race control chose a Full Course Yellow rather than a Safety Car, Wehrlein retained much of the advantage he had already built rather than seeing the field completely close behind him.
Racing resumed on Lap 8, and Wehrlein immediately began pulling away again. By Lap 10, he had restored his advantage over Müller to roughly 2.1 seconds, while the field behind continued preparing for the strategic phase of the race.
Pit strategy begins to shape the contest
As Müller tried to respond to Wehrlein’s pace, race control handed di Grassi a five-second penalty for overspeeding under the Full Course Yellow. Meanwhile, Drugovich became the first of the remaining 19 drivers to enter the pit window on Lap 15 as Andretti committed him to an alternative strategy involving earlier energy deployment.
The main pit cycle began soon afterwards. Da Costa attacked Vergne around the inside on Lap 17 to gain a position, with Eriksson also becoming involved, before Vergne, Evans, de Vries and Rowland all headed into the pits.
Müller then became the first of the frontrunners to stop from second, while Wehrlein remained on track. Several drivers also began deploying Attack Mode, with Wehrlein and Ticktum among those activating the additional power. Dennis initially chose against taking his and subsequently dropped to fourth behind da Costa.
By Lap 20, Müller had activated his own Attack Mode, while Evans ran ahead in 11th after doing the same one lap earlier. Cassidy also stopped, leaving Evans as the leading driver among those who had already completed their mandatory pit visits.
Second Full Course Yellow swings strategy towards Wehrlein
Wehrlein continued to control the race and had extended his advantage over Ticktum to more than 3.5 seconds when another incident transformed the strategic picture.
Di Grassi hit the wall while running ninth, triggering a second Full Course Yellow. The timing hurt several drivers who were already using Attack Mode, including Evans and Müller, because they could not fully exploit the additional power while the field circulated under neutralised conditions.
However, the interruption proved particularly valuable for Wehrlein. The Porsche driver completed his mandatory pit stop during the Full Course Yellow and emerged in second on Lap 22, effectively retaining the net race lead at a reduced strategic cost.
Martí and Günther remained first and third on track as the only drivers yet to pit, but both still needed to stop. On Lap 23, Müller passed Evans to move into 10th on the road, equivalent to a net eighth once the remaining pit stops cycled through.
Wehrlein retakes control as Dennis begins his charge forward in Formula E Round 16 race in London
Wehrlein reclaimed the outright lead on Lap 26 when Martí finally stopped, while Günther followed one lap later. Their pit visits promoted Ticktum back into second ahead of da Costa, but Wehrlein had already built an advantage of more than eight seconds and appeared firmly in control of the race.
The battle behind quickly began to change. Dennis forced his way past da Costa at Turn 1 on Lap 29 to claim third, although the Jaguar driver complained that the Andretti driver had moved under braking during the manoeuvre. Dennis then closed rapidly on Ticktum and passed the CUPRA KIRO driver on Lap 30 to move into second.
With around six laps remaining, Dennis became the fastest driver on track and began reducing Wehrlein’s advantage. Ticktum held third but needed to conserve energy and came under increasing pressure from da Costa, while Evans had recovered to eighth ahead of Cassidy. Müller sat 10th after losing ground during the earlier strategic exchanges.
Da Costa grabs third as Ticktum comes under pressure
Da Costa moved past Ticktum on Lap 34 to claim the final podium position, but the CUPRA KIRO driver remained close and continued looking for a way back through. Behind them, Buemi held fifth while Mortara had recovered strongly to sixth, with Barnard seventh and still part of the battle for the leading positions outside the podium.
Race control added an extra lap on Lap 36 to compensate for the time spent under Full Course Yellow conditions. Martí, Rowland, Günther and Eriksson subsequently activated Attack Mode, while Cassidy’s deployment came to an end as the race entered its final phase.
Ticktum attempted to reclaim third from da Costa around the inside of Turn 16 and initially edged ahead. However, the fight drew Buemi into contention, and light contact between the three reshuffled the order. Ticktum fell behind Buemi before Mortara also forced his way past following further contact, while Barnard then capitalised to take another position and leave Ticktum under pressure from Evans.
Meanwhile, Vergne continued slipping backwards as the final lap approached.
Wehrlein holds off Dennis and takes Formula E title lead after Round 16 race win in London
Rowland climbed to 10th on the final lap despite still carrying more than two minutes of Attack Mode, while Martí and Vergne both pitted and retired early. They nevertheless received classifications of 17th and 18th respectively.
At the front, Dennis continued closing, but Wehrlein carefully managed his remaining energy and kept the Andretti driver behind through the final corners. The Porsche driver crossed the line with only 0.3% energy remaining to secure the victory, with Dennis second and da Costa completing the podium.
The win capped a race in which Wehrlein controlled the opening phase, benefited from a well-timed second Full Course Yellow and then resisted growing pressure during the final laps. Most significantly, the result moved him into the Drivers’ Championship lead before Sunday’s decisive final race.
After beginning the weekend as one of only a few drivers still firmly involved in the title fight, Wehrlein will now start the final day of Season 12 as the championship leader. One race remains to decide whether his London victory becomes the result that ultimately delivers the title.
