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HANKOOK DEBRIEF: Five things we learned in London

FEATURE 17 Aug 2026 5 Mins

Championship Journalist Katy Fairman picks her five top talking points from a busy season finale in London.

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Feature by Katy Fairman

The 2026 Hankook London E-Prix double-header at the London Excel marked the end of several eras across the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – from racing retirements, first-time winners, and the last running of the GEN3 era, here are five storylines defined the weekend.

Tense and tight championship battle

The 2025/26 Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championship title race came down to the absolute wire, with both accolades being decided in the final laps of the final race.

Heading into the season finale weekend, the top three contenders of Jake Dennis (Andretti), Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), and Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) were separated by just five points. Wehrlein took the advantage in Saturday’s Round 16 by securing the Julius Baer Pole Position and victory, as Dennis finished second and Evans found himself the victim of an unfortunately timed Full Course Yellow.

However, come Sunday, Wehrlein couldn’t manage back-to-back poles and instead started behind a first-ever Mahindra front-row lockout. Despite starting fourth and having teammate Nico Müller behind, Wehrlein eventually fell back in the pack until he found himself alongside his championship rival Jake Dennis. The two made contact, with Dennis going into the wall and out of the points which handed advantage to Wehrlein – meanwhile Evans tried to fight his way to the front as the only way to win his first drivers’ crown was to finish in first place and both Wehrlein and Dennis to be out of the points.

Evans could only manage fourth at the flag, and with Wehrlein and Dennis out of the points after their coming together, it meant it was the Porsche of Wehrlein who became only the second driver in Formula E’s 12 year history to become a double champion.

In the Teams’ title, it was Jaguar TCS Racing who took the honours thanks to a brilliant effort all season by Evans and his teammate Antonio Felix da Costa. It was a particularly emotional effort from the Jaguar team, as they bid farewell to Mitch Evans who has been racing for the team since he entered the all-electric championship a decade – and 143 race starts – ago.

Barnard breaks more records

Following his debut win in London, DS PENSKE’s Taylor Barnard became the youngest driver to win a Formula E race at 22 years and 76 days old. It’s a record he could only have secured at that race in London, as by the time we get back racing in GEN4 the record couldn’t have been broken, and the Brit delivered.

That’s now another statistic for Barnard, after being the youngest driver to start a race, youngest points scorer, youngest podium finisher and youngest pole sitter – all in Formula E.

The win comes after a challenging season for the DS PENSKE squad, and in the final race where DS will be participating after they announced their departure earlier this year. It also means that every single Formula E team recorded at least one podium this season, and all but one team – Envision – managed a victory.

One more time

It was the final race weekend for former Formula E driver Lucas di Grassi, who announced his retirement from racing earlier this season with Lola Yamaha ABT. The Brazilian was one of the first drivers to confirm his participation in the series, and has started 165 E-Prix during those 12 seasons. ABT are also ending their time in the championship, after several successful seasons in Formula E over the years.

As well as his departure, it was also the final race for 2015/16 champion Sebastien Buemi who announced ahead of the weekend that he’ll be stepping down from a full-time race seat by continuing with the team in an advisor and development role in GEN4. His Envision teammate Joel Eriksson was also confirmed to not be resuming his racing driver role at the team from next season.

Norman Nato shared that his last race in Formula E with Nissan was in London, with Maximilian Guenther also confirming the news that he was leaving DS PENSKE ahead of the next generation of Formula E. There are also question marks over Dan Ticktum, who – after winning in Tokyo last month – reminded people he was a ‘free agent’ with no seat promised for next season.

It was also the last event for Hankook – also the title sponsor of the event – who have been providing the championship with tyres for the entire GEN3 era.

Last dance at the London Excel

This past weekend marked Formula E’s final appearance at the popular Excel Docklands venue, which has hosted the event on its unique indoor-outdoor track since the 2020/2021 season. It’s been a venue that has seen championships crowned, plenty of home heroes achieving wins, podiums and pole positions, as well as smashing a Guinness World Record for setting the world record for the fastest speed achieved by a vehicle indoors.

Formula E car hits 218km/h indoors to smash Guinness World Record

Starting from next year, the London E-Prix will find a new home at Brands Hatch with the legendary circuit, situated in Kent – 30 minutes outside London – welcomes Formula E for the first time.

A new way to watch for GEN4

Off the track, Formula E announced a major global streaming partnership with Disney+ and ESPN+ from next season.The landmark multi-year agreement brings every Formula E race live across 144 territories, including the US, The agreement marks one of the most significant milestones in Formula E’s history, bringing together Disney’s unrivalled global entertainment platforms with the world’s leading all-electric motorsport championship.

Majority-owned by Liberty Global, Formula E will leverage Disney’s global streaming ecosystem to reach millions of new households while complementing its established portfolio of free-to-air and linear broadcast partners around the world, ensuring fans continue to enjoy broad access across key markets.

Launching alongside the revolutionary GEN4 era, the collaboration will introduce Formula E to millions of new fans through Disney+ while preserving the broad accessibility that has underpinned the series' success to date.