Jaguar Racing and Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team will compete in next year's campaign with an unchanged driver line-up.
18/08/21
On the 3rd of August, Jaguar announced that long-time driver Mitch Evans will remain with the 'Big Cat' having signed a multi-year deal.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Evans finished on the podium more times than any other driver this season but four retirements put pay to the Kiwi's title aspirations
Evans will partner Sam Bird as Jaguar look to go a step further than their second-place finish in the Team's Championship - agonisingly losing out to Champions Mercedes Benz-EQ by four points.
The 27 year-old made his debut with Jaguar as the team entered the all-electric racing series for the 2016/17 Season. Scoring the team's first points, first podium and maiden victory at the 2018/19 Rome ePrix, Evans was a championship contender this season with five podium finishes keeping him in the frame of the title.
However, having qualified ahead of his main title-rivals ahead of the final race in Berlin, Evans's Jaguar failed to move off the starting grid when the lights went out. Evans was left vulnerable on the grid as the cars rushed past until Venturi's Edoardo Mortara careered into in the rear of the Jaguar.
Evans's retirement effectively ended Jaguar's charge for the title as team-mate Bird started from the rear of the field but made progress during the race to finish in seventh.
RACE-WINNING COMBINATION: Jaguar celebrated their first ever double podium with Bird and Evans finishing in 2nd and 3rd in Rome en route to 2nd in the Teams Standings
Many pundits within the Formula E paddock have ranked the Evans/Bird pairing at Jaguar as one of the strongest on the grid with 13 wins, 33 podiums and 145 races between the two drivers.
Meanwhile at Porsche, it was a season of what could have been for the German outfit. On the 11th of August, the team confirmed that Andre Lotterer and Pascal Wehrlein will continue to pilot 99X Electric heading into Season 8.
GERMAN GIANT: With one of the most successful motorsport records in the world, surely it's just a matter of time before Porsche add Formula E to their record-sheet?
After having left Mahindra halfway through the 2019/20 Season, Wehrlein joined Porsche and started his season in the best possible way with four consecutive races in the points with a third place in Rome. Two retirements followed before his disqualification in Mexico despite leading the race and crossing the line in first. In the following seven races, Wehrlein scored in five of them ending the season 11th in the standings on 79 points.
ROBBED OF VICTORY: Having been disqualified in Mexico, Wehrlein is still looking to take his maiden win in the championship
On the other side of the garage, Formula E veteran Andre Lotterer is still looking for that elusive victory. The German-Belgian driver made the move to Porsche for the start of the 2019/20 season after two seasons with Championship-winning team Techeetah.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Lotterer's time in Formula E could be coming to a close if the German-Belgian struggles again this season
With 50 ePrix's under his belt, Lotterer added another podium finish to his record with second place at the second race in Valencia. Before the podium, it had been a struggle with Lotterer unable to finish higher than 11th in the five previous races. However, like team-mate Wehrlein, Lotterer scored in five of the following seven races but ended the season a lowly 17th on 58 points.
This marked Lotterer's worst result in the Championship having finished all three seasons before in eighth - all with more points scored.
At 39 years old, Lotterer will turn 40 before the start of the 2021/22 Season and his chances of still competing at a high level for much longer in the championship are narrowing by the month.
Three double point finishes with Wehrlein and Lotterer across the season as well as the Julius Baer Pole Position for Wehrlein in Mexico does show that the car has potential. Wehrlein should have won in Mexico and Porsche would have their maiden win under their belt.
As FIA ABB Formula E World Champions Mercedes Benz-EQ announce their departure heading into the 2022/23 Season, Porsche will become the only German brand on the grid come Season 9.
Fellow German brands, Audi and BMW, have already withrew from the championship as an official manufacturer teams with both finishing their last ePrix's in Berlin.
Porsche, like Jaguar, have already reconfirmed their faith in the new Gen3 regulation set to come into place come the 2022/23 Season.