LONDON: Nick Cassidy led all the way in a rain-soaked final race of the Formula E season in London to claim the Teams’ World Championship title for Envision Racing on Sunday night, edging out Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing who finished second in both the race and for the team title.
Torrential rain in the hours leading up to round 16, the second race in the Hankook London E-Prix, created treacherous conditions on sections of the unique outdoor and indoor 2.09-km track at the ExCeL London events arena.
The 22 drivers were eventually able to get underway and complete the full 38-lap race which would decide the outcome of the team championship.
Both Jaguar TCS Racing and their Jaguar-powered customer team Envision Racing were on 268 points going into the final round, creating a compelling final chapter for fans despite Jake Dennis winning the Drivers’ World Championship title in round 15 the day before.
“It’s mixed emotions but ultimately I’m very happy because today was a difficult day for me mostly because I didn’t sleep well last night, I arrived late but I did the business so I’m proud,” said Cassidy.
“The team have been absolutely incredible,” he added. “They’re an incredible bunch of people and they work so hard. Of course every team does but these guys have been close on so many occasions and I think that just shows how strong they have been in this championship, and to finally get it done for them I am super super happy.”
Cassidy composed himself after multiple red flags and returned from the garage to lead home fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans and rookie champion Jake Dennis, to secure a maiden title for Envision Racing.
Ultimately, it was an emphatic win for the Kiwi. He started in Julius Bar Pole Position, led from lights to flag and set the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap of the race. He kept Evans at arm’s length throughout while the lead pair also extended a 10-second advantage over next-best Dennis with track conditions and visibility as tough as they can be in motorsport.Cassidy’s conclusive victory in the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 earned him second place in the Drivers’ World Championship.
The final round of season nine ended with Envision Racing extending beyond their previous best of third place to top the table ahead of their factory Jaguar TCS Racing team by 12 points. The Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team were also able to edge their factory-supplier TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team to third by 10 points. Dennis finished 30 points clear of Cassidy with Evans third and Wehrlein fourth.
Evans said: “Big disappointment. Obviously, we didn’t finish as world champions in the teams. Nick did a great job and the other guys did a great job. He responded to me when I was catching him and I didn’t have enough — full credit to him. I did my best but just came a little short.
“Massive thanks to everyone in Jaguar TCS Racing. Obviously we can take a lot of pride with the Envision World Championship too. Thanks to everyone — we’ll keep pushing on in the (off-season) and come back better next year.”
Meanwhile newly-crowned individual champion Dennis commented: “We’re beating our own records right now. To get the podium at the end of the day was special in such difficult conditions with the wet and dry sections — but we managed to do it, keep it out of the wall and we were pretty quick, but we needed to be. I think we needed a clean race, try and get that podium, (and we can) celebrate now with everyone and really try and let it all sink in.”
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns in season 10 with the 2024 Mexico City E-Prix on Saturday, Jan. 13, and includes a debut Formula E race on the streets of Tokyo on Saturday, March 30.
