Eight Winners in Eight Races

With Mitch Evans’ victory in Mexico City, Formula E has now seen eight different winners from the last eight races, equalling the record from the start of Season 5. In the 17 Gen-2 races there have been two separate streaks of eight different winners, showing the competitiveness and unpredictability of Formula E. The two streaks were split by Jean-Eric Vergne’s victory in Monaco last season.

The first streak started at the beginning of Season 5 and ran all the way through to the Paris E-Prix, after which Jean-Eric Vergne claimed his second win of the season in Monaco. Five drivers have won a race in both streaks (Lucas di Grassi, Jean-Eric Vergne, Robin Frijns, Sam Bird and Mitch Evans), with Envision Virgin Racing having won two races in each of the streaks. The nature of the qualifying format has kept the racing unpredictable. In each of the streaks, only one driver has gone on to finish on the podium in the race after their win. In the first streak, Lucas di Grassi finished second in Hong Kong after having won in Mexico City, and in the current streak, Sebastien Buemi finished third in the second race in New York, having won the previous day.

Quick race recap

1. Lucas di Grassi (Berlin Season 5). After taking an early lead in the German capital, Lucas di Grassi controlled the pace as others behind him battled for the other podiums positions. The win moved di Grassi to within six points of championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne.

2. Jean-Eric Vergne (Bern Season 5). An early red flag led to heated words in the pit lane by a few of the drivers. After a race-long battle with Mitch Evans and a late-race rain shower, Vergne took victory in a drag race to the line.

3. Sebastien Buemi (New York City Race 1 Season 5). Sebastien Buemi claimed his first win in over two years, and the first win for Nissan, as chaos ensued behind him. A disastrous race for Jean-Eric Vergne meant that four drivers had a chance of winning the championship going into the final race.

4. Robin Frijns (New York City Race 2 Season 5). Robin Frijns squeezed past Alexander Sims to take victory in the last race of the season, to become the third double winner of Season 5. Jean-Eric Vergne managed to avoid any incidents to become the first double Formula E champion.

5. Sam Bird (Diriyah Race 1 Season 6). Sam Bird worked his way through the field from fifth on the grid to win the first race of the season. Bird was joined on the podium by Andre Lotterer and Stoffel Vandoorne, whose teams, Porsche and Mercedes, claimed a podium in their first Formula E race.

6. Alexander Sims (Diriyah Race 2 Season 6). After claiming his third pole position in a row (which is a Formula E record), Alexander Sims led from start to finish to claim his maiden Formula E victory and moved into the championship lead.

7. Max Günther (Santiago Season 6). BMW took their second consecutive victory, as a battle between Max Günther and Antonio Felix da Costa went to the last lap, with the German driver passing around the outside to claim his first win.

8. Mitch Evans (Mexico City Season 6). Mitch Evans took a dominant victory, leading for the first corner to the chequered flag. Many drivers, including championship contenders Sam Bird and Stoffel Vandoorne, fell foul of the new Turn 3, allowing Evans to take the championship lead by just one point.

How long could this current streak continue for?

In theory, many drivers still have a chance of taking victory and keeping the streak alive. Mexico City pole-sitter Andre Lotterer has shown that his car has the speed to be fighting at the front in Formula E. Antonio Felix da Costa has claimed two second place finishes in the last two races for DS Techeetah, it is only a matter of time before we see him on the top step of the podium for his new team. Both Daniel Abt and Oliver Rowland have had teammates that have won during the streak. The Mercedes powertrain has shown that it has the pace, propelling Stoffel Vandoorne to the championship lead coming into Mexico City. Could the German team (or their customer team Venturi, who Edoardo Mortara won for last season) continue the streak? However, all of this relies on none of the previous eight winners standing on the top step of the podium again in Marrakesh. The only teams without even a small chance of winning any time soon are Geox Dragon and NIO (who use Dragon powertrains), who so far this season have a combined two points, thanks to a ninth place finish from Brendon Hartley in the second race in Diriyah.

Image credit: FIA Formula E Media