2021 London EPrix Review

Controversy reigns on at London ePrix

The London ePrix's two days were filled with controversy as crashes and driver complaints marred a weekend dominated by the British drivers. BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Jake Dennis took first place on day one of the London ePrix, while Mahindra Racing's Alex Lynn took the spoils on day two. The London ePrix wins leaves both Dennis and Lynn in the top six standings with just one race weekend left on the Formula E 2020-21 calendar.

The Formula E championship crown is still up for grabs as Nyck de Vries' 95 points has him just 17 points above sixth-place Lynn. The championship will come down to the final race day following London's exciting back-to-back days of electric racing.

Jake Dennis' wins with strong performance

While Dennis put in a strong performance throughout Saturday afternoon, Lynn started the day in pole position. The Mahindra driver shocked onlookers by collecting the fastest qualifying time, but it didn't take long after the race began for Dennis to overtake him. Still, Lynn did well to claim third place.

Dennis benefitted from his Attack Mode boost to pull off some brilliant laps to stay ahead of the chasing pack. His Andretti Motorsport car pulled well ahead of the field and claimed a second win of the campaign. The victory sees Dennis just 14 points off first-place De Vries, and a strong performance at the Berlin ePrix could have the BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver claim the championship.

De Vries is in first place in the Formula E standings thanks to a late move to get past Lynn to claim second place. It was De Vries' first podium finish since Valencia.

Alex Lynn stays consistent

Lynn may have been unable to hold onto first place on Saturday, but the British driver didn't let that affect him the following day. The Mahindra man stormed to the win, his first of the season, and only his third podium of 2020-21. Lynn qualified third on the grid as his car continued to show pace and power. Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne and Nissan's Oliver Rowland started from first and second, respectively, on the grid.

While Lynn took the headlines for the win, the Sunday race broke down into complete chaos – and for the most part, will overshadow Mahindra's win. Two early safety cars came out following incidents on the London racetrack.

Audi driver Lucas di Grassi went to the pits when the safety car emerged following one incident. Di Grassi stopped momentarily in his pit before speeding from ninth place to first place thanks to the slow safety car and short pit lane.

After reviewing the incident, race stewards concluded Di Grassi didn't stop for long enough and was given a drive-through penalty. The Audi team didn't inform Di Grassi of the stewards' decision, believing the driver had done nothing wrong. Despite the Brazilian leading the race, he was eventually disqualified for ignoring the race penalty. The fallout from the race has been extreme, with the FIA seeking to amend Formula E's pit lane rules.

Adding to the controversy, and adding further headlines, was Vandoorne and Rowland clashing as they fought for second place. Their clash allowed Lynn to move into the race lead. De Vries then emerged as Lynn's main rival for first place but was held off in the end. The London ePrix victory was Lynn's first-ever in Formula E. Despite the win, De Vries' second straight second-place finish put him in control of the Formula E championship.

London chaos calling

Di Grassi moving from eighth to first has dominated talk following the London ePrix. The Audi driver moved into the lead by travelling through the 50km/h pitlane during a slow safety car period. The move was allowed under Formula E's rules, but Di Grassi did not come to a complete stop in the pitlane following his brakes locking up. He was given a drive-through penalty but was later disqualified for ignoring it.

"It's true that we will have to modify again, so that we adapt and close the potential loophole which may have happened here," Bertrand said about Article 38.11, which reads: "the pit lane entry and exit remain open, and cars are free to pit provided that they stop in front of their pit".

The strategy used by Di Grassi backfired, but had he come to a complete stop, it throws up an interesting scenario had it worked.

Day No. 2 in London wasn't just headlined by Di Grassi's drive-through penalty and subsequent disqualification. Many of the cars on the racetrack exhibited damage by the end of the race from clashes. Reigning Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa was forced out of the ePrix after colliding with Porsche's Andre Lotterer.

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2021 London EPrix Review

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