2018-19 Formula E Season Review

It is July and that means the Formula E season is in the bag. Another season that started during the days of dwindling daylight has ended in the heat of a Northern Hemisphere's summer and we are to look back on what was the start of a new chapter for Formula E. 

The 2018-19 season introduced the second-generation Formula E car, allowing drivers to complete a 45-minute race without having to leave the seat and get into another vehicle. It saw a few new manufactures get involved and more are on the way, a rare occurrence for a motorsports series in the 21st century.

We will look back at this season in order of the teams' championship results. We will look back at the previews written in December and see if they were on the nose or way off base. It was a new season but the same man ended up on top when the series concluded in the United States.

DS Techeetah - 222 Points

Jean-Éric Vergne: #25 DS E-Tense FE 19 (1st - 136 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Vergne is going to put up a strong title defense. He was quick in testing. He is coming off the best year of his career across the board. He is going to win a few races; he is going to pick up points regularly.

How wrong was it: Vergne did put up a strong title defense in that he put up a successful title defense and became the first repeat champion in Formula E history. Vergne won three races and he scored points in eight of 13 races. 

I am not sure how Vergne won this title or at least I am not sure he won this title so emphatically. Vergne could have clinched this title in the penultimate race. After Paris, with five races to go, Vergne was sixth, 19 points back. He entered the Brooklyn finale leading the championship by 32 points. That is a 51-point swing in three races! 

It helps that in those three races Vergne won twice and finished third while Robin Frijns, who was leading the championship after a victory in Paris did not score a point over those three races. André Lotterer was second after Paris and scored only six points over the next three races. António Félix da Costa had a fourth place finish in Berlin but was disqualified from sixth at Monaco and didn't score in Bern. Lucas di Grassi won at Berlin but didn't score at Monaco and scored two points at Bern. Jérôme d'Ambrosio did not score over the three races between Paris and Brooklyn. 

For most of this season it seemed like the Formula E title was unpredictable and it was going to be up for grabs but it left the door open for one driver to take control and possibly leap from outside the top five to the top and that is what Vergne did with a successful European portion of the season. 

André Lotterer: #36 DS E-Tense FE 19 (8th - 86 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: I think Lotterer will improve this season and he could be the biggest hurdle to Vergne's title defense. It could be a case where one Techeetah car is taking points from the other. I think he could win a race.

How wrong was it: Lotterer finished eighth in the championship for the second consecutive season but he did score 22 more points than last season, albeit with one more race on the calendar. Going off of points per race, Lotterer went from 5.333 points per race to 6.615 points per race. Lotterer only finished ahead of Vergne in three of 13 races. 

Lotterer nearly won at Hong Kong had it not been for contact from Sam Bird in the closing laps and he had two close runner-up finishes at Rome and Paris.

Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Formula E Team - 203 Points

Lucas di Grassi: #11 Audi e-Tron FE05 (3rd - 108 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: It is Lucas di Grassi. Multiple victories, plenty of podium finishes and another title fight. Last season saw a rough start for di Grassi and the Audi Sport Abt team. I do not think they will start as far behind the eight ball as they did last season.

How wrong was it: Di Grassi did not have a rough start. He scored points in four of the first five races and two of those results were a victory and a second place finish. He also won at Berlin but that was his only other victory of the season. He was third in the championship but very well could have been second if he and Mitch Evans did not get together on the final lap of the season. 

Daniel Abt: #66 Audi e-Tron FE05 (7th - 95 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Abt is coming off a career year but I do not think he will outscore his teammate and while he has a car that will be capable of winning races I think the grid is tougher and the top step of the podium might not be a destination for Abt this season.

How wrong was it: Abt did not get a victory and his best result was third at Santiago and Paris. He dropped two positions in the championship and scored 25 fewer points than the season before.

Envision Virgin Racing - 191 Points

Sam Bird: #2 Audi e-Tron FE05 (9th - 85 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Bird has been one of the most consistent drivers in Formula E's short history with championship finishes of fifth, fourth, fourth and third. Not only is he consistent but he is improving year-to-year. He has won every year he has been in the series and he is third all-time in victories with seven, only one behind di Grassi. I expect Bird to continue to be in the top five and win at least one race. I think Virgin is lacking that last bit necessary to take the fight for the championships but they will have the Audi powertrain and that sets the team up for success.

How wrong was it: Bird was not in the top five in the championship but his season felt a lot better than ninth. He won at Santiago and was third at Marrakesh but he did not have a podium finish in the final ten races. He lost the Hong Kong victory due to a five-second penalty for his contact with Lotterer. If he had kept that victory, he would have scored 15 more points and finished sixth on 100 points. That kind of feels where he should have been because I feel like he had a better year than Abt and Lotterer.

Robin Frijns: #4 Audi e-Tron FE05 (4th - 106 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Frijns was good in his first stint with Andretti Autosport with a podium finishes and 12 points finishes from 22 races but in the first era of Formula E, Andretti Autosport was not a team at the sharp end of the grid and Frijns got the most out of what he was given. I expect an improvement from his previous stint and I think he will beat his career-best championship finish of 12th but it is hard to pinpoint where he will fall. In four seasons, Bird has had five different teammates at Virgin Racing and the best championship finish for those teammates is ninth. I feel like Frijns might end up there.

How wrong was it: Frijns obliterated his previous career best championship finish and he obliterated ninth. He won two races and had two other podium finishes. He led the championship after Paris but it is interesting look at his championship position race-by-race: 11th, fifth, third, seventh, sixth, eighth, sixth, first, third, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourth. 

Frijns never had the same championship position for two consecutive races and his season might best encapsulate what the first two-thirds of the season was in that he went from sixth to leading the championship after winning one race and it is not like he went from sixth to first in the second race of the season but after the eighth race of the season! 

I am happy Frijns got a great championship result because I do not think he gets the credit he deserves and he could be in IndyCar or even Formula One.

Nissan e.dams - 190 Points

Oliver Rowland: #22 Nissan IM01 (10th - 71 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Rowland got one test day at Valencia, the final day, and even then it wasn't clear who Nissan's second driver would be. After the tussle over Alexander Albon was lost to Toro Rosso, Rowland got the seat. This has the feeling of a team not ending up with who they wanted and has the potential of Rowland never really being embraced by the team. Nicolas Prost did not get great results last year in that seat, as Prost only scored eight points. Rowland should do better than that but this could be a case where Rowland is quite a distance below his teammate.

How wrong was it: Rowland finished eight positions and 48 points behind teammate Sébastien Buemi, which is probably better than I had originally thought. Rowland held his own and had two runner-up finishes and he had three pole positions. I think Nissan improved mightily over the course of the season. This was a respectable rookie season and it was the top rookie season so kudos to him. 

Sébastien Buemi: #23 Nissan IM01 (2nd - 119 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: You would think Buemi would bounce back after not winning a race last season. But Nissan has not shown the dominant pace that e.dams had with Renault at the start of this series. I think Buemi will be toward the front but this team is not leading the pack any more. He could win a race but he will not be reeling them off like he did a few years ago.

How wrong was it: Buemi won one race, the penultimate race but he put on a charge in the final third of the season to lift him from 13th in the championship after Monaco with four races remaining to second. He did it with four consecutive podium finishes and two pole positions in that timeframe. 

This season did not start well for Nissan. In the first five races, the team had 21 points, had double retirements in two races and scored zero points in a three-race stretch. This wasn't the Formula E season we are used to seeing from Buemi but if he and Nissan can carry this over into 2019-20, he will be title contender.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport - 156 Points

Alexander Sims: #27 BMW IFE.18  (13th - 57 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Sims topped two of three days of the Valencia testing in October. He has been kind of a sleeper the last few years. He came to IMSA and was successful right off the bat. This will be his first time in a single-seater since he ran a Formula Three round at Hockenheim in 2016. He has not won in a single-seater since the 2013 GP3 sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps. He will be competitive, could win a race or two and he should be the best rookie.

How wrong was it: Everything about BMW was a disappointment this year. Sims had a great shot to win at Marrakesh but contact with his teammate while they were running 1-2 knocked Sims off the podium and António Félix da Costa out of the race. Sims could have won in Morocco and he led a good chunk of the season finale from Brooklyn before Frijns passed him and Sims settled for second. 

Outside of that, Sims had a six-race stretch where he did not score a point and he was not the top rookie, he wasn't even the second best rookie but the third best rookie in the 2018-19 season. 

António Félix da Costa: #28 BMW IFE.18 (6th - 99 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Da Costa was fastest on the second day of Valencia testing. This should be his best season in Formula E yet. He seems to have finally landed in the right car at the right time. I expect him to score at least 80 points and get a victory or two.

How wrong was it: Da Costa did win a race, the season opener from Saudi Arabia, and he scored 99 points but he could not get back to the top step. How different would this season have looked if the BMW drivers had not collided in Marrakesh? Da Costa was the leading car when the collision occurred and even if he had finished second, the championship would have looked much different after two races. 

BMW came into this season with a lot of pace but outside of the first two rounds we didn't see this team show its strength until Sims won pole position and finished second in the finale. Da Costa led 39 laps, all coming in the first two races. Sims' only 16 laps led where all in the finale. The BMW Andretti squad made a big jump from last in 2017-18 on 24 points to fifth with a race victory and 156 points but this season feels like a let down.

Mahindra Racing - 116 Points

Jérôme d'Ambrosio: #64 Mahindra M5Electro (11th - 67 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Though this team has had success and d'Ambrosio is a Formula E race winner, this could be the sneaky pick of the season. The team was quick during testing and this could be a shot in the Belgian's arm after two rough years at Dragon Racing. He should be in the top ten of the championship.

How wrong was it: Well... d'Ambrosio was 11th, four points off of Rowland and the Belgian won a race! He was third at Saudia Arabia. D'Ambrosio was first or second in the championship after each of the first seven races but dropped to 11th after his best finish was fourth in the final six races. D'Ambrosio never got back on the podium after his Marrakesh victory. 

Pascal Wehrlein: #94 Mahindra M5Electro (12th - 58 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Wehrlein is going to miss the opening round due to him not being able to get out of his Mercedes-Benz contract until the start of 2019. That means Felix Rosenqvist will get one final round before his Formula E career comes to a close and he moves to IndyCar. My concern with Wehrlein is we haven't seen him do much in single-seaters in six years and he never got the results expected. He didn't have many flashy days in Formula One. He wasn't in great equipment but for some reason I do not have high expectations for him. I think he will do well but he will be in a tough fight for the top ten in the championship.

How wrong was it: Wehrlein finished 12th in the championship, nine points off of his teammate and 13 points behind Rowland in tenth, and that feel right for him. He was runner-up at Santiago and never stood on the podium again. He won pole position Mexico City and led most of that wonky race before he threw it away on the final lap and cut a chicane, leading to a five-second penalty. It was not a bad season. I think this was the best he could have been.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing - 116 Points

Nelson Piquet, Jr.: #3 Jaguar I-Type III (22nd - 1 Point)

What to expect in 2018-19: For the inaugural champion, Piquet, Jr.'s Formula E career has been crap. He has not had a podium finish since he won at Moscow in June 2015! He started last year well with four points finishes from the first five races but that was followed with five retirements from the next six races. I don't think he finishes in the top ten in the championship. If he does, he finishes tenth

How wrong was it: Add this to another chapter of the long, incredible incoherent career of Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelsinho has gone from promising Formula One star to a Formula One pariah to respectable NASCAR driver that won a Truck race at Michigan and his second Grand National Series start at Road America and he won at Bristol, granted in an East Series race but against the developing stars of Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Darrell Wallace, Jr. and Brett Moffitt and after all that he went to Formula E and won the inaugural championship. 

It has been shit since. He hadn't been on the podium since he won the ninth ever race of the series at Moscow. He scored 144 points in that inaugural season. He scored 93 points over the next three and a half seasons. 

And now what? Where does Piquet go from here? I am pretty sure I wrote after his Formula E title how his career ran counter to Lewis Hamilton, who he went toe-to-toe with in GP2, and how both drivers found there own level of success despite taking two dissimilar paths. That has not aged well. 

Alex Lynn: #3 Jaguar I-Type III (16th - 10 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: (Nothing was written)

How wrong was it: Piquet out, Lynn in and he scored ten points over seven races, nine more points than Piquet. Good for him.

Mitch Evans: #20 Jaguar I-Type III (5th - 105 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Jaguar had a pendulum of a Valencia test. Both cars were at the bottom of day one, both were toward the middle of day two and Evans was fourth on the final day but Piquet, Jr. was 19th! I am not sure where this car falls in the pecking order but Evans went from 14th to seventh over his first two years and he has finished ahead of his teammate each season. I do not see that changing. Evans had one podium finish last year and on certain days he might have the ability to finish in the top three but I don't think those days will be frequent. He will finish in the backend of the top ten of the championship.

How wrong was it: Evans scored points in the first seven races but his only podium finish was first at Rome. He had runner-up finishes at Bern and the first Brooklyn race and it got him fifth in the championship. I always felt Evans was an underrated driver. He won the GP3 Series championship, won GP2 races but was never given a look by a Formula One team, not even for one of the bullshit, back-of-the-garage headset wearing positions.  

Evans moved up two positions in the championship but scored 37 more points. He went from 5.666 points per race to 8.07 points per race. Evans has dragged Jaguar into the Formula E ring and has stayed on his feet. Can Evans carry it a little further? It only gets tougher from here.

Venturi Formula E Team - 88 Points

Felipe Massa: #19 Venturi VFE05 (15th - 36 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: This team is going to be middle of the road, scoring one week and then not scoring the next. I am not sure it can compete for podium finishes but I would not be surprised if Massa scored in six or seven races with his best finish being fifth.

How wrong was it: Massa finished third in Monaco but he scored points in six races, four of those finishes being eighth, ninth, tenth and eighth. It felt like Massa was just there and not a contender.

Edoardo Mortara: #48 Venturi VFE05 (14th - 52 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: I think Mortara can match his results from last year, runner-up at Hong Kong aside. I think he and Massa will be in a tough fight for best Venturi driver, similar to last season when Maro Engel finished one position and two points ahead of Mortara.

How wrong was it: Mortara won at Hong Kong, granted it came after Bird took out Lotterer and Bird received his penalty. He scored points in three consecutive races, fourth at Santiago, third in Mexico City and first in Hong Kong. He retired from six of the next eight races. It is hard to say he had a better season than Massa and it should be noted that each of Mortara's results were elevated due to penalties. 

We went over Hong Kong but he moved up to fourth after Sims got a 19-second penalty at Santiago and he moved up to third at Mexico City after Abt's penalty for cutting the chicane. His results should have been fifth, fourth and third and his points total would have been 37 points, much closer to his teammate.

HWA Racelab - 44 Points

Stoffel Vandoorne: #5 Venturi VFE05 (16th - 35 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Vandoorne could have left one difficult situation for another difficult situation. HWA was not toward the top of the grid in testing and I fear what Vandoorne was hoping would be a restart for his career could end up being another set back that some will use it as proof he is not as a great of a talent despite his junior formula success.

How wrong was it: I thought Vandoorne did a great job for a tough situation. The second half was much better than the first with the third at Rome being the springboard for the second half. There were no standout impressive performances other than Rome. 

The sad thing is I feel like Vandoorne is going to be kicked out the door again with Mercedes-Benz taking over the HWA operation. Add to that Vandoorne lost his LMP1 driver with SMP Racing pulling out of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Where to next?

Gary Paffett: #17 Venturi VFE05 (19th - 9 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: This is Paffett's big move back to single-seaters about 14 years later than expected. He was once a McLaren test driver on the sidelines waiting to breakthrough and Prodrive's attempt to enter Formula One seemed to be his shot but it never materialized. I am not sure how many points will come but the goal should be to keep up and beat his teammate.

How wrong was it: Paffett didn't keep up with his teammate and it should have been silly to expect such a thing with a driver who has not raced a single-seater in 14 years against a driver fresh out of a McLaren Formula One seat and was a hyped up-and-coming driver in the five years prior. 

Geox Dragon Racing - 23 Points

Maximilian Günther: #6 Penske EV-3 (17th - 20 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Dragon Racing has slid from second in the champion in year one to fourth, eight and ninth last year. Günther ended the three-day Valencia test strong but he only had 13 laps over the first two days and that is a concern. We really haven't seen a driver come into Formula E from GP2/Formula Two and do well. I think he will be finishing toward the back of the championship.

How wrong was it: Günther was 17th out of 25 drivers and he missed three races for Felipe Nasr. He finished fifth at Paris and fifth at Bern but he had three retirements and twice finished 19th. I got to admit this is one driver that just didn't seem to fit on this grid. He had good results in Formula Three but he never have enough cache to justify this seat.

José María López: #7 Penske EV-3 (21st - 3 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: While Günther struggled to get laps, López did well the first two days and I think López will carry the load for this team. He will likely finish outside the top ten of the championship but it would not be surprising if he scored points in five or six races.

How wrong was it: López scored in two races. Although, it may be forgotten he started second in the season opener and he started third at Rome, neither race earned him anything. I think he should stick to the Toyota LMP1 program.

NIO Formula E Team - 7 Points

Tom Dillmann: #8 NIO Sport 004 (23rd - 0 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: NIO was not fast in testing. Dillmann was never better than 12th at the Valencia test. He scored 12 points from three races last year and I am not sure he is going to score more than that in 2018-19.

How wrong was it: Dillmann didn't score a point. NIO was bad! His best starting position was ninth. He started on one of the final two rows in five races. 

Oliver Turvey: #16 NIO Sport 004 (20th - 7 Points)

What to expect in 2018-19: Like Dillmann, Valencia testing was not kind to Turvey. He was never better than 15th on any of the three test days. He is destined to take a big step back from his 2017-18 results. I think it will be a tight fight between who will be the best NIO driver in the championship but unfortunately, both drivers might be fighting outside the top fifteen in the championship.

How wrong was it: It wasn't that close of a fight and both were outside the top fifteen. Turvey's best starting position was tenth. He dropped ten spots in the championship and scored 39 fewer points. Turvey has been with this team since the NEXTEV days in the inaugural season. It might be time for him to move on and I am sure someone would give him a great opportunity in sports cars.

Conclusion

This was the first season without the car change and the races definitely felt better without the pit stops. It felt like one race and not two races.

I would like to see Formula E get off most of these street courses. For starters, most are too narrow and lead to processional races. The Bern course was claustrophobically narrow. There is a common feature in Formula E courses, the section of the course that is one corner into another into another. These type of corners work for motorcycles but not for race cars. Brooklyn has one, Berlin has one, Mexico City has one, though Mexico City is one of the better courses on the schedule and not a street course.

I would really like to see Formula E go to an actual racetrack and run an existing configuration, not Mexico City's abbreviated/condensed track. I want to see a race on the Donington Park national course or Brands Hatch's Indy course or Adria International Raceway in Italy. I think the series could put on a good show at Lime Rock Park. The series could run Suzuka's East circuit. I want to see what these cars can do when they have a racetrack wide enough to make a passing attempt without having to worry about bounce off a barrier.

I thought Attack Mode worked but there were things I would change. I don't like the limited nature of it. I think it should be unlimited and if a driver uses it too much and his car dies on him then great! It would teach drivers how to be conservative but encourage them to be aggressive. I also think there should be multiple activation zones. Instead of having one area, why not have two or three and increase the action all over the racetrack? 

Looking toward next year, Mercedes-Benz takes over the HWA operation and Porsche comes in, BMW will look to put together a complete season, Jaguar has a competitive car and Nissan ended this season on a high note. Add to that Audi was near the top again and Teechetah, while a privateer operation, runs in partnership with DS Automobiles, from under the Peugeot umbrella.

Formula E is a fascinating series. There are seven major manufactures in the series with lesser-known NIO, Mahindra and the lone unaffiliated team in Dragon Racing with its Penske-branded powertrain.

The schedule will look like much of the same with Saudi Arabia, Santiago, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Brooklyn returning. The series will end at London but at a new venue. Seoul, South Korea is a completely new city the series is visiting and there are two open spots, one reserved for a race in China and one complete open to anywhere in the world.

The series is still evolving and with increased manufacture present the series will only continue to change. I wish Formula E would be aggressive with the series and instead of taking energy away from the cars and trying to get everyone to try and last 45 minutes the series should make manufactures push the limit. Instead of trying to fill 45 minutes, the goal should be to cover the most distance in a 45-minute period.

In a time when people are suspect of purchasing an electric vehicle due to range anxiety, Formula E should be the place where those concerns are taken care of. A greater distance should be covered in each race and that should be Formula E's mission going forward.

For now, we will let summer burn out and the leaves change. The next feast begins the weekend before Thanksgiving.