Wehrlein gains title momentum and claims pole for London E-Prix Race 1; Dennis starts 5th

Pascal Wehrlein secured pole position for Race 1 of the London E-Prix on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Facing teammate Nico Müller in the final duel, the German lagged behind throughout the lap but saw his route simplified when Müller lifted off through the final sector. The tactical move handed the #94 Porsche driver pole position alongside 3 bonus points—drawing him level with Jaguar’s Mitch Evans in second place in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Mitch Evans and Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum were eliminated in the semi-finals, securing the second row of the grid. Jake Dennis, Joel Eriksson, António Félix da Costa, and Jean-Éric Vergne completed the top eight drivers who progressed to the duel stage. Oliver Rowland was the sole title contender eliminated during the group phase, placing 7th in Group B.

Brazilian drivers Felipe Drugovich and Lucas Di Grassi failed to advance from Group A. Drugovich placed eighth in the group, while veteran Di Grassi finished tenth.

Group Stage Breakdown

Group A

Group A featured Jake Dennis, Pascal Wehrlein, Edoardo Mortara, Nick Cassidy, Nyck de Vries, Felipe Drugovich, Jean-Éric Vergne, Dan Ticktum, Lucas Di Grassi, and Norman Nato.

Title rivals tangled early in the session when De Vries chopped across Dennis at Turn 19, making contact with the Andretti car. Dennis complained over team radio that the Dutchman hampered his opening flying lap.

Once clear, Dennis surged to the top, displacing Wehrlein. Lucas Di Grassi temporarily moved up to third before Wehrlein reclaimed top spot, accompanied by Ticktum. Mortara lost rear stability at Turn 16, returning to the pits without completing a final run. Vergne made late improvements to snatch the final duel spot, while Mortara, De Vries, Cassidy, Drugovich, Nato, and Di Grassi were eliminated.

Group B

Group B comprised Mitch Evans, Oliver Rowland, António Félix da Costa, Nico Müller, Sébastien Buemi, Pepe Martí, Joel Eriksson, Taylor Barnard, Maximilian Günther, and Zane Maloney.

Müller set early pace before Eriksson and Barnard registered competitive times. Evans aborted a promising lap in sector two before responding with the fastest time, only to be overhauled by Müller and Eriksson.

Rowland opened the final runs but failed to improve, missing the duels. Evans jumped to second, while Da Costa claimed fourth from Buemi to join Müller, Evans, and Eriksson in the quarter-finals.

Duels and Starting Grid

Quarter-Finals

• Dan Ticktum def. Jake Dennis (Dennis starts 5th; unable to seal championship on Saturday)
• Pascal Wehrlein def. Jean-Éric Vergne
• Mitch Evans def. Joel Eriksson
• Nico Müller def. António Félix da Costa

Semi-Finals

• Pascal Wehrlein def. Dan Ticktum
• Nico Müller def. Mitch Evans

Final

Pascal Wehrlein def. Nico Müller (Müller lifted in the final sector to hand pole and 3 bonus points to Wehrlein)

London E-Prix Race 1 Starting Grid