Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship comes to a close in this weekend with the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix, where the champion driver and team will be crowned and the world’s first all-electric motorsport series will mark 100 races. Heading into Rounds 15 and 16 this Saturday and Sunday (2:30am, CBS Sports Network) four drivers are still in contention for the title.
The debut for Formula E in South Korea takes place on a unique 2.6km/1.6-mile, 22-turn track constructed around — and even looping through — the Jamsil Olympic Stadium. It will mark the first world championship sporting event held at the venue since the 1988 Olympic Games.
Stoffel Vandoorne leads the way for Mercedes-EQ in a bid to make it back-to-back titles for the team following its drivers’ (with Nyck de Vries) and teams’ championship crowns last year. The Belgian extended his lead to 36 points over nearest rival Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) during the SABIC London E-Prix doubleheader two weeks ago, where his closest competitors faltered.
While Vandoorne has achieved only one win this season compared to three each for Evans and Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) in third place, Vandoorne has the most podium finishes and has scored on 13 occasions this season.
Evans had worked his way into closest contention of top spot but an inverter problem at the end of Sunday’s race in London knocked him out. Opportunity remains for Evans, though: He has dominated entire race weekends before, most notably in Rome this season, but the stakes are much higher this time around and Vandoorne only has to outdo the Jaguar driver in Round 15 for the battle to be over.
In third and fourth respectively, Mortara and DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne have it all to do. Mortara topped the standings at the halfway stage of the season after a run of two wins and two more podiums in Berlin and Jakarta. Since then, the Swiss has only managed two low-scoring points finishes in New York City and a pair of non-scores in London, but he remains just five points back from Evans.
