Initially Pascal Wehrlein looked set for a maiden Formula E title when Porsche hit the ground running with the Gen3 machines.
The German took a brace of wins in Saudi Arabia after claiming second in the Mexico City season-opener. Impressively, he only failed to finish in the points once in 16 races (he was taken out in Cape Town) and remained at the head of the standings until the season’s second half.
He moved back to the top of the table with his third and final win of the season in Jakarta, but couldn’t extract enough performance from Porsche’s powertrain over the remaining races and slipped to fourth overall.
Why Wehrlein’s title bid fell apart
That Wehrlein slumped to fourth despite only failing to score points in one race showcases just how far Porsche’s early dominance fell away over the course of the season.
A weakness of the German powertrain compared with its rivals was its one-lap pace, often leaving Wehrlein and team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa down the grid and needing to recover during the races.
Even in Diriyah, where Wehrlein won twice, he had to make up positions after starting ninth and fifth. Early in the season this was less of an issue as Porsche’s race performance was the best on the grid. By the second half of the season, though, rivals – Jaguar in particular – had got on top of the new Gen3 machines which meant continual recoveries from lowly grid positions became an increasingly difficult struggle.
Having led the championship standings by 24 points at one stage, Wehrlein finally dropped from the top of the table after a lacklustre performance in Monaco, finishing 11th on-the-road before being promoted to 10th and earning a single point after post-race penalties.
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The poor result prompted Wehrlein to state “we need to make a step forward”. He added: “We are working hard, and we win and we lose together. But for sure the next couple of races we need to find our pace back to the front otherwise it’s going to be difficult.”
Porsche did bounce back at the next round in Jakarta, where in warmer conditions which suited its car’s characteristics better, Wehrlein won after securing his best qualifying performance of the year in third. But thereafter Wehrlein never stood on the podium.
Qualifying on the fringes of the top 10 meant he finished no higher than seventh over the final five races. Although he entered the London finale with a mathematical chance of the title, any serious ambitions of glory had disappeared weeks earlier.
The drop in performance was made all the more difficult to accept given Jake Dennis was able to clinch the drivers’ title with Porsche customer squad Andretti, showcasing what could have been for Wehrlein.
