Vandoorne and Mercedes win 'special' Formula E titles

Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his first Formula E drivers’ title in Seoul as his Mercedes squad wrapped up consecutive teams’ championships in its final race in its current guise.

With Edoardo Mortara winning the E-Prix, former McLaren F1 man Vandoorne put in an assured drive for an eventual second, crucially ahead of main title rival Mitch Evans, saying after the race that he and the team had “accomplished something special.”

With South Korea hosting a double-header, yesterday saw two of the championship contenders, Jean-Eric Vergne and Mortara, knocked out of contention, whilst Evans halved Vandoorne’s points margin with a win as the latter finished fifth.

The Belgian held his nerve at the final hurdle though to become the new world champion today.

Consistency has been the key to the Vandoorne’s title campaign, and it proved so again in Formula E’s final round. Whilst Vandoorne secured a podium Evans, who has more wins this season but also more non-points finishes, qualified 13th and could only bring himself up to seventh in an incident-filled race.

Vandoorne’s eighth podium of the year is a Formula E record in one season.

Mortara won with a superb drive, a small consolation for a disappointing title challenge which has collapsed over the last three races.

The Swiss driver was rewarded for a daring dive down the inside of Antonio Felix da Costa on lap two, in a move which allowed Andretti’s Jake Dennis to overtake the Portuguese driver too.

Several cars had to pit or retire with damage after coming into contact with the barriers or fellow competitors, and Maximilian Günther’s stranded Nissan meant the safety car had to be called out halfway through the race.