A Bitter Farewell to Formula E’s Gen3 Era

The Dramatic Finale

Formula E could hardly have scripted a more dramatic farewell to the Gen3 era. The London finale had everything the championship could have wanted: a title fight decided in the closing laps, team tactics, controversy, a championship-winning Jaguar, a disappointed Mahindra, and a young British driver producing one of the only genuinely uplifting moments of the weekend.

Yet for all the drama, Pascal Wehrlein’s second Formula E world championship leaves a distinctly unsavoury taste.

The Porsche driver is a deserved champion in the statistical sense. Championships are won over an entire season, not a single race weekend, and Wehrlein had put himself in the position where a chaotic final round could work in his favour. His performances throughout the season and across the London weekend earned him the opportunity to fight for the title.

But the manner in which the championship was decided — and particularly his conduct afterwards — made it difficult for fans to celebrate the achievement in the way a championship normally deserves.

The final race at London’s ExCeL was less a celebration of sporting excellence and more of a tense fight to the finish.

A Championship Won

For anyone who still doesn’t understand that motorsport is a team sport above all else, this weekend’s battle between and Porsche was a masterclass in why it matters.

Wehrlein entered the final race with the advantage, having taken control of the championship during Saturday’s opening race. Porsche’s tactics were already under scrutiny, with Nico Müller backing off in qualifying to assist his teammate before subsequently holding up Mitch Evans during the race.

Wehrlein won from pole and went into Sunday with the title inches from his grasp.

Sunday, however, changed the script entirely.

Jaguar needed a miracle: Evans had to win and Wehrlein had to fall outside the points for the championship to change hands.

Antonio Félix da Costa then had every incentive to make Wehrlein’s afternoon as difficult as possible.

And he did so brilliantly.

Da Costa repeatedly backed Wehrlein into the pack, effectively turning himself into a mobile roadblock in the same way Müller had during Saturday’s session. His driving was aggressive, calculated and, viewed in isolation, hardly pretty racing.

But that was precisely the point.

Jaguar had simply decided to play the same strategic game that Porsche had played the day before.

Da Costa’s explanation was blunt: Jaguar had played Porsche’s game better.

That makes Wehrlein’s subsequent complaints about “unsporting behaviour” difficult to hear without remembering what had happened 24 hours earlier.

There is a perfectly reasonable argument that this kind of racing sits uncomfortably close to the line of acceptable sportsmanship. But if it is acceptable when it benefits your own championship campaign, it becomes difficult to condemn when another team uses exactly the same tactics against you.

The tactics may have been ugly, but they were effective.

When Gamesmanship Crossed the Line

The real controversy came in the final laps on Sunday, when the battle moved from tactical gamesmanship to contact.

As Wehrlein fought to recover his position, he made a desperate move into Turn 16, hitting Joel Eriksson and triggering a sequence that ultimately involved Jake Dennis and sent both Wehrlein and Dennis outside the points.

Whatever Wehrlein’s intention was, the consequence was significant. Dennis’s championship hopes were effectively destroyed, and his reaction afterwards was understandably scathing.

He called the way Wehrlein had won “embarrassing”, arguing that he had been in a position to beat the Porsche driver before being caught up in the incident. He also questioned the value of any penalty when the damage had already been done: if a driver is taken out of the race, a subsequent sanction does little to restore the championship opportunity that has disappeared.

Da Costa went further, claiming Wehrlein’s move had been deliberate.

For viewers, too, the optics were undeniably poor.

The championship leader was desperately defending a title that, only minutes earlier, had appeared to be slipping away. His move contributed to the elimination of another title contender, and the incident left Dennis with every reason to feel that an opportunity had been taken away from him.

The result of the race was perplexing.

Wehrlein finished 14th and scored no points in the final race, yet still became world champion.

A perfectly legitimate outcome, b it also an incredibly awkward one.

Wehrlein’s Post-Race Conduct

Wehrlein was understandably angry during the race. Jaguar had raced aggressively against him and ultimately cost Porsche the Teams’ World Championship.

His championship was an incredible achievement, secured under enormous pressure.

But the tone afterwards was disappointing.

His radio comments towards da Costa, including the “sore loser” remark, calling him an “enemy” in the paddock, and accusing Jaguar of trying to “destroy” his race did little to make the newly crowned champion look like the bigger man.

The former teammates continued fighting on the final lap even after the title had effectively been decided, with Wehrlein telling da Costa that he had beaten him three years in a row.

And this is where the “I won’t forget” attitude becomes particularly unappealing.

A champion should be capable of absorbing the bitterness of a chaotic title fight without allowing the aftermath to become personal. Wehrlein was entitled to feel frustrated by Jaguar’s tactics and believe that some of their driving had crossed a line.

But Porsche had employed its own version of those tactics on Saturday, making this a two-way street.

The difference was the reaction.

Jaguar were gracious winners of the Teams’ World Championship, while Wehrlein’s immediate response risked overshadowing his own achievement with a petty squabble.

With the privilege of becoming Drivers’ Champion comes a responsibility to show some perspective.

Wehrlein had already won, he didn’t need to win the argument as well.

Da Costa’s Masterclass Secured Jaguar’s Teams’ Title

If Wehrlein’s championship was controversial, Jaguar’s Teams’ Championship was considerably easier to admire.

Da Costa’s race was tactically superb, understanding exactly what Jaguar needed to do and putting himself in the middle of an extremely uncomfortable fight to give his teammate Evans a chance.

It certainly wasn’t the cleanest or most conventional way to race for a championship, but it was effective.

Jaguar ultimately emerged as Teams’ Champion, while Evans finished fourth in the finale and third in the Drivers’ Championship.

There was also something fitting about Jaguar taking the Teams’ crown in the final race at the end of a season in which Mitch Evans’ association with the team came to an end.

Evans spent a decade with Jaguar, and this was the second-best way for his career with the team to end.

The Drivers’ Championship may have escaped them, but the team still walked away from London with a trophy of its own.

Mahindra’s Missed Opportunity

The biggest sporting disappointment of the weekend may actually have been Mahindra.

The team produced an incredible qualifying performance, locking out the front row with Nyck de Vries on pole and Edoardo Mortara alongside him after some truly impressive racing in the duels.

It was Mahindra’s first front-row lockout and gave the team a genuine opportunity to end the Gen3 era with a statement victory.

De Vries led for much of the race, with Mortara right there with him. Yet after that successful first stint, the drivers ultimately settled for second and third.

Objectively, that was an excellent result.

Given the circumstances, however, it inevitably felt like a missed opportunity.

For Mahindra, it was a frustrating conclusion: two cars on the front row, two cars on the podium, but no victory to show for what had looked like a potentially dominant afternoon.

Di Grassi’s Final Goodbye

Amid all the drama, London also marked Lucas di Grassi’s final Formula E race.

The former champion and one of the championship’s pioneers brought his career to an unfortunate end, failing to complete the race in his final appearance.

It may not have been the farewell he wanted, but Di Grassi leaves Formula E as one of its most experienced and influential drivers, having been part of the championship since its inaugural season.

His final race may have ended early, but his contribution to Formula E will be remembered long after the chequered flag.

The Moment Formula E Needed

Thankfully, Formula E had one saving grace this weekend.

Taylor Barnard.

While the championship fight descended into bitterness and tactical mind games, the 22-year-old British driver delivered precisely the kind of moment Formula E should want its finale to be remembered for.

Barnard passed de Vries with two laps remaining and held his nerve to take his maiden Formula E victory, becoming the youngest race winner in the championship’s history at 22 years and 76 days.

Barnard executed his final Attack Mode perfectly, cleared Mortara and launched a decisive move on de Vries at the final corner.

It was brave, opportunistic and brilliantly timed.

This was DS PENSKE’s final Formula E appearance before its departure from the championship, and Barnard sent the team out with a victory — almost a poetic end.

He did it in front of a home crowd, with his family watching, while the biggest names in the championship were busy fighting over a title that had become increasingly ugly.

Barnard’s emotion afterwards — admitting that he cried and describing the achievement as unbelievable — was exactly the kind of human story that Formula E needed, and that we as fans love to see.

There was no bitterness or score to settle. Just a young driver realising that he had achieved something he had dreamed about.

A Strange Way to End the Gen3 Era

What ultimately makes the London finale so fascinating is that the race winner won our hearts, while the championship winner won only the championship.

Wehrlein is a two-time world champion and nobody can take that away from him. His performances throughout the season were outstanding, and he produced specifically admirable drives across the London weekend.

But for many fans, his victory left a bitter taste because of the way the final race unfolded and the less-than-graceful acceptance of one of the most sought-after trophies in modern motorsport.

The 2026 London finale demonstrated both sides of Formula E.

As fans, we got an incredible race. We saw tactical ingenuity, extraordinary closeness and a willingness to fight for every advantage.

But we also saw the ugly side: gamesmanship, aggressive driving, deliberate-looking contact, angry radio messages and a championship fight in which the aftermath became almost as controversial as the racing itself.

Dennis’s “embarrassing” verdict may be harsh, but it captures the feeling surrounding the finale for many fans.

The irony is that Wehrlein had already won and could have easily forgiven and forgotten.

Instead, the image left behind is of a champion who barely survived one last race of the season and seemed unwilling to let the personal tensions of the title fight disappear with the chequered flag.

Formula E’s Gen3 era deserved a great finale and it got one, but perhaps the final word should therefore belong to Taylor Barnard.

While Wehrlein leaves London with the trophy, Barnard leaves with something arguably more valuable: a first victory that felt joyous rather than bitter, earned rather than engineered, and memorable for all the right reasons.