A few weeks ago, the Formula E season concluded in Seoul, South Korea. The championship again went down to the final race and it was another highly successful season for Formula E.
Nine drivers won a race from seven different teams. Formula E visited two new venues and returned to Asia after a lengthy delay due to the pandemic. Though not as many drivers were in the championship picture entering the final races, Formula E still had a highly contested fight between some of the top competitors in the series.
With the silverware awarded, this is a chance to go back to what was written before the first race of the season and see how the year unfolded. Who performed better than expected and who met expectations? Who were we wrong about? Were there any other strange circumstances this season?
A lot can change over 16 races. Though this year mostly ran a steady course.
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team - 319 points
Stoffel Vandoorne: #5 Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrows 02 (1st: 213 points)
What was expected in this season: Vandoorne led Valencia testing in November. This might be Mercedes' final season before withdrawing from Formula E, but I expect it will continue to be at the top and winning races. Vandoorne will be more in the championship fight than last season. Multiple victories are highly possible.
How wrong was it: Vandoorne only won once, at Monaco, but he had eight podium finishes and he finished in the points in 15 of 16 races, 13 of which were top five finishes. That was enough to take the Formula E championship. He very well could have won more races, but consistency paid off and the Belgian was the best driver this season.
What was expected in this season: With how the 2021 championship played out due to the qualifying format and the top drivers constantly being rotated into the worst qualifying groups, the championship was closer than it should have been. Without that qualifying format, de Vries likely would have still been champion, but with a more dominant season. He should win multiple races again, and possibly more than last season. Both Mercedes drivers are top tier drivers for the 2022 title.
How wrong was it: De Vries won multiple races, but results were tough. He won the season opener in Saudi Arabia and won the second Berlin race but his only other podium result was third in the second London race. He didn't have any other top five finishes and he retired from four races. It is slightly disappointing de Vries couldn't be closer to Vandoorne.
ROKiT Venturi Racing - 295 points
Lucas di Grassi: #11 Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrows 02 (5th: 126 points)
What was expected in this season: After a difficult 2019-20 season, di Grassi bounced back in 2021. After six seasons in the Audi Team Abt lineup, this is a significant change for the Brazilian. Di Grassi has been one of Formula E's best. He will have a formidable challenge in his own team with Edoardo Mortara. The battle will be for best in the team.
How wrong was it: There were only one position between the Venturi drivers. di Grassi did win a race and had four podium results. He wasn't far off his teammate and both did slightly better than expected.
Edoardo Mortara: #48 Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrows 02 (3rd: 169 points)
What was expected in this season: Mortara was quick in testing, but despite Mortara coming up just short of the Drivers' Championship. Venturi was still only seventh in the Teams' Championship. Mortara will be good, somewhere in the top ten in the championship, but I am not sure the team will be consistent enough to have him come out on top.
How wrong was it: Venturi did better than expected. It got both drivers in the top five of the championship. Mortara won four times, tied for the most this season, but a few rough patches kept him from being a champion. Still an impressive year with good pace shown.
DS Techeetah - 266 points
António Félix da Costa: #13 DS E-TENSE FE20 (8th: 122 points)
What was expected in this season: After consecutive Teams' Championships, 2021 was a down year for Teechetah, however, 2022 should be a more competitive season. Da Costa should be further up the running order. It will be tough to reclaim the title, but he will not be as inconsequential.
How wrong was it: After being eighth in 2021, da Costa was eighth again in 2022. There was one more race in the 2022 season, and da Costa did score 36 more points, but it was nearly identical results to 2021. One victory, same as last year. Two podium finishes, one fewer than last year. One pole position, same as last year. Da Costa did finish in the points 12 times after only finishing in the points seven times last year. He had a good year, but not much closer to great.
Jean-Éric Vergne: #25 DS E-TENSE FE20 (4th: 144 points)
Jean-Éric Vergne: #25 DS E-TENSE FE20 (4th: 144 points)
What was expected in this season: Better results and more pole positions. Prior to the 2021 qualifying format, he won three pole positions in 2017-18 and twice in 2019-20. With Techeetah, Vergne has been a regular contender until the final races. He will be up there and winning races.
How wrong was it: Vergne was up there but didn't win any races. He had five podium finishes, but couldn't quite get a victory. His slump in Brooklyn and London killed any title hopes, which he had until the final races of the season. He did win two pole positions, one more than last year.
Jaguar TCS Racing - 231 points
Mitch Evans: #9 Jaguar I-Type 5 (2nd: 180 points)What was expected in this season: Evans should continue to be toward the top of the field and should be competing for podium finishes. There should be a race or two where he is fighting for a race victory. The team must be a little more consistent to turn Evans into a championship contender.
How wrong was it: Evans won four times, tied for most victories with Mortara, and Evans took the championship to the final race. Jaguar was more consistent. Evans had six podium finishes and finished in the points 12 times. However, Vandoorne was nearly flawless. Evans had his best year in Formula E and was up there for the entire season. Second is a fitting championship result.
Sam Bird: #10 Jaguar I-Type 5 (13th: 51 points)
What was expected in this season: Bird always finds a way to win in Formula E. I don't expect that to change. Unfortunately, Bird always finds a way to fall out of the championship battle. Jaguar looks good but has some work to do to be great. If it cleans that up, Bird could break through and get that elusive championship. If not, expect him to be somewhere in the top ten of the final standings.
How wrong was it: Bird had his worst season in Formula E. Zero victories, zero podium finishes and he never looked like a title hopeful. To add injury to insult, a broken wrist at London knocked him out of the Seoul season finale and he ended up 13th in the championship. Norman Nato replaced Bird for Seoul and was 13th and 14th in those races.
Envision Racing - 194 points
Robin Frijns: #4 Audi e-Tron FE07 (7th: 126 points)
What was expected in this season: Frijns should win a race or two. He was one of the better drivers in 2021 and if it wasn't for the qualifying format, he would have had a better chance at fighting for the title in the Berlin doubleheader finale. We will see two Dutch drivers trading blows for the championship.
How wrong was it: Frijns was slightly better than de Vries, but they really weren't fighting for the championship. Frijns did finish on the podium four times, but did not win a race. He scored points in 11 races. But he just didn't have enough to be a title contender this year.
Nick Cassidy: #37 Audi e-Tron FE07 (11th: 68 points)
What was expected in this season: The New Zealander will have plenty of strong races and regularly score points. There will be days he is the top Envision finisher, but Frijns will be difficult to beat, and Cassidy's Formula E inexperience will get the better of him in some battles. Overall, his sophomore season will be an improvement.
How wrong was it: Four positions better but eight points fewer in the championship. Is that an improvement for Cassidy? He did win a race in Brooklyn, albeit after being caught in a monsoon, having an accident only for the red flag save his day. He wasn't really much better in terms of competitiveness compared to last year. It felt pretty similar, which isn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t the jump that was expected.
Avalanche Andretti Formula E - 150 points
Jake Dennis: #27 BMW IFE.21 (6th: 126 points)
What was expected in this season: Dennis quietly won two races in 2021 and quietly had a shot at the championship. BMW has pulled its funding from the Andretti Formula E operation, but the team is keeping the drive train. We know this car can win. We also know there are races where it out to lunch. Dennis showed good pace in testing. If the team can limit the bad days, Dennis could make significantly more noise than last year.
How wrong was it: Dennis out-perform the equipment for another season. Sixth in the championship with a victory and four podium finishes, plus he had 12 points finishes. Dennis carried the Andretti organization. I do think Andretti found something in the final few rounds of the season and the team was trending in the right direction.
Oliver Askew: #28 BMW IFE.21 (16th: 24 points)
What was expected in this season: Moving from internal combustion engine racing and IndyCar, Askew is out of his element, but his testing results were promising. There will be some rough days, but it will click on a few weekends, and he will get top ten results. However, it is likely Askew will be outside the championship top ten and there will be distance between him and Dennis.
How wrong was it: Askew was outside the top ten in the championship and only scored points in three races, but he had strong runs to get two top five results before the season was over. The American was ten positions and 102 points behind his teammate Dennis.
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team - 134 points
André Lotterer: #36 Porsche 99X Electric (12th: 63 points)
What was expected in this season: Lotterer and Porsche just seem to be unable to get out of their own way. In the last two seasons, the pairing finds a way to get one or two great results, and then it falls off. The team has been characterized with slow starts and better finishes. Testing results were not fantastic. The team will score points, but not in handfuls.
How wrong was it: Lotterer was 12th in the championship with 63 points. The season started well, but Mexico City was Porsche's one great race. Lotterer was picking off finishes at the back of the points. That got him something, but not points in bunches and he closed the year with only one points result in the final seven races.
Pascal Wehrlein: #94 Porsche 99X Electric (10th: 71 points)
What was expected in this season: Like Lotterer, a few strong races, but some otherwise disappointing races. Wehrlein will score points, but not enough to keep up with the big boys. A Puebla repeat could occur, but without the exclusion from the final results.
How wrong was it: Wehrlein's season looks almost exactly like last year except he repeated the Puebla result in Mexico City and wasn't excluded from the final results. Eerie. Porsche was ok. It could finish in the top ten but it wasn't a challenger.
Mahindra Racing - 46 points
Alexander Sims: #29 Mahindra M7Electro (17th: 14 points)
What was expected in this season: Mahindra is coming off finishing ninth in the Teams' Championship each of the last two years. Testing results were encouraging, but Sims has finished 13th, 13th and 19th in the championship in his three Formula E seasons. I am not sure he will score his career best championship finish. If he does, it is a stretch to think he will crack the top ten.
How wrong was it: Sims was where we have seen him in Formula E. He only scored points in two races and his fourth in the second Brooklyn race was an aberration of his season and Mahindra's season entirely.
Oliver Rowland: #30 Mahindra M7Electro (14th: 32 points)
Oliver Rowland: #30 Mahindra M7Electro (14th: 32 points)
What was expected in this season: Rowland is making a big shift to Mahindra. He was fourth in Valencia testing, but Mahindra yo-yoed a bit over the two test days. He has been consistently good in Formula E, and had a few standout results last year when Nissan had a bad year. He should come out best in the team, but I think bottom half of the top ten is the best he can do in the championship.
How wrong was it: Rowland didn't really threaten for the top ten in the championship. A second in the first Seoul race boosted his championship position. Rowland retired from eight of 16 races. Yikes.
Nissan e.dams - 36 points
Maximillian Günther: #22 Nissan IM02 (19th: 6 points)
What was expected in this season: After finishing tenth out of 12 teams in 2021, Nissan's testing did not leave much to be excited about. It had a few good days in 2021, but those were rare. Good days will remain hard to come by, and it those will likely not come with Günther.
How wrong was it: Günther had two finishes in the points. His best finish was eighth. He did finish 11th or 12th in four races, so there were a few other results close to points, but close doesn’t pay a thing.
Sébastien Buemi: #23 Nissan IM02 (15th: 30 points)
What was expected in this season: Nissan might not be the strongest team, but Buemi is not going to be as bad as he was in 2021. He should lead the Nissan team, but for Buemi to get back into the top ten of the championship he will need a string of fortunate races.
How wrong was it: Fortunate races did not come, but Buemi did pick off more points than his teammate. The Swiss driver had six points finishes, not great but he was working with a slow car.
NIO 333 FE Team - 7 points
Oliver Turvey: #3 NIO 333 001 (18th: 6 points)
What was expected in this season: While Turvey had one good session in Valencia, NIO was regularly at the bottom of the timesheet in testing. Turvey did prove last year he could put together a few results. Some of those might have been aided with the qualifying format. If he cracks ten points again, it will be a great season.
How wrong was it: Not quite ten points, but six points for a seventh in the second Rome race and that was it. That is what we expect for NIO. It can have one good race a year.
Dan Ticktum: #33 NIO 333 001 (21st: 1 point)
How wrong was it: Not quite ten points, but six points for a seventh in the second Rome race and that was it. That is what we expect for NIO. It can have one good race a year.
Dan Ticktum: #33 NIO 333 001 (21st: 1 point)
What was expected in this season: Ticktum was at the bottom of every test session. Any points scored will be a victory but knowing Ticktum the frustration will get the better of him.
How wrong was it: Ticktum scored a point in the second Rome race, and really didn't throw a tantrum. I am sure it was frustrating but Ticktum didn't let it show.
Dragon/Penske Autosport - 2 points
Sérgio Sette Câmara: #7 Penske EV-5 (20th: 2 points)
What was expected in this season: Testing was not great for Dragon. Sixteen points will be hard to match in 2022, and a fourth-place result appears to be unfathomable.
How wrong was it: Dragon never came close to fourth. It barely finished ninth.
Antonio Giovinazzi: #99 Penske EV-5 (23rd: 0 points)
What was expected in this season: The Italian is moving from one of the bottom teams in Formula One to one of the bottom teams in Formula E. He had two points-paying finishes in 2021 driving for Alfa Romeo. Two points-playing finishes might be a great season in 2022 with Dragon.
How wrong was it: Giovinazzi retired from eight of 15 starts. He missed the final race due to a hand injury and Sacha Fenestraz drove to a 16th-place finish. Giovinazzi's best finish this season was 16th at Monaco.
Where Are We Now?
After the saturation of parity and 15 drivers being alive for the championship entering the final round in 2021, this season featured a proper championship battle with the best drivers coming out on top each race. It was still an open battle entering the final race weekends, but Vandoorne's consistency was too much to overcome. It would have required someone being phenomenal in the final five or six races to beat the Belgian, and that didn't happen. Evans slipped up. Mortara slipped up. Vergne slipped up. They let Vandoorne runaway with it in a sense.
An interesting note is only 22 drivers contested a race this season and the two extra drivers both came in as injury substitutes in the final round of the season. Part of that is due to Formula E finding balance with the FIA World Endurance Championship and a few other sports car series that its drivers also frequent for employment, but I also think the teams are changing their hiring strategies. Drivers are making Formula E their commitment and teams are committing to drivers. Teams aren't seeing any added value in rotating drivers. I think that shows a stable and growing series.
There were plenty of strong Formula E races this year. Formula E does a good job of having interesting races. The only problem is the Formula E season does feel too spread out to gain any traction and once it hits May every other series is in action and it makes it more difficult for Formula E to standout.
Formula E had a good thing going when it would start in October or November and end in May or June. However, in recent years it has been a January start and an August finish. It kind of found its niche running when other top series was off and now it competes with the rest of the world for much of the spring and summer.
The 2023 season will run more in the winter. Mexico City opens the year on January 14 before a Saudi Arabia doubleheader two weeks later. The inaugural Formula E round in India is set for February 25 and there are two TBAs for the end of February and mid-March. But eight race weekends are still scheduled for spring and summer. There are still three TBAs on the schedule and Formula E doesn't have a great history filling TBAs. More times than not it feels like those race weekends don't happen.
Next year will be the tenth season for Formula E, a historic accomplishment for the series, but this will be a transition year. On the current schedule, there is no American round, no British round, a Vancouver round never materialized for 2022 and isn't included for 2023. A South American round hasn't been held since January 18, 2020. A São Paulo round is on the provisional 2023 schedule, but we have seen multiple Brazilian rounds scheduled only not to happen before, including in the inaugural season. Brazil has yet to host Formula E.
In ten years, Formula E has found events it can count on, but it is still struggling to branch out and have a firmer foundation.
Next season will see a big shift on the grid. Mercedes is gone after three seasons. McLaren is entering and has purchased the assets of Mercedes, but will run Nissan powertrains. Maserati is partnering with Venturi. DS is moving its support from Techeetah to Dragon Racing. Team ABT is returning to run Mahindra powertrains.
Then there are the drivers. Teams have been confirming drivers rapidly the last few days. The last two champions Vandoorne and de Vries remain unemployed though. Di Grassi is moving to Mahindra. Buemi is leaving Nissan for Envision to replace Frijns. Frijns moves to Team ABT alongside Nico Müller. Da Costa is joining Porsche. Jaguar is the only team confirmed to be retaining both its 2022 drivers. Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz will form an all-French Nissan lineup. René Rast is McLaren’s first confirmed driver.
Next season will also be the introduction of the third generation car. The regenerative braking should increase with more than 40% of the car's energy coming from the braking system. It is a lighter and smaller car. Top speeds should push 200 mph.
For all of Formula E's imperfections, it has made it to a tenth season and continues to be a healthy series with a strong group of drivers. Many didn't think it would get to year two. Some manufactures have come and gone, but others are entering. Interest is still there and Formula E will only continue to evolve.
