{"id":105466,"date":"2026-08-17T21:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/105466\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T21:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:50:21","slug":"hankook-debrief-five-things-we-learned-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/105466\/","title":{"rendered":"HANKOOK DEBRIEF: Five things we learned in London"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                    Feature by Katy Fairman<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 from racing retirements, first-time winners, and the last running of the GEN3 era, here are five storylines defined the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Tense and tight championship battle<\/p>\n<p>The 2025\/26 Drivers\u2019 and Teams\u2019 World Championship title race came down to the absolute wire, with both accolades being decided in the final laps of the final race.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, come Sunday, Wehrlein couldn\u2019t manage back-to-back poles and instead started behind a first-ever Mahindra front-row lockout. Despite starting fourth and having teammate Nico M\u00fcller 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 \u2013 meanwhile Evans tried to fight his way to the front as the only way to win his first drivers\u2019 crown was to finish in first place and both Wehrlein and Dennis to be out of the points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\" js-faded-image fade-in-on-load object-fit-cover-picture__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2290741202.jpg\" alt=\"2290741202\"\/><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s 12 year history to become a double champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the Teams\u2019 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 \u2013 and 143 race starts \u2013 ago.<\/p>\n<p>Barnard breaks more records<\/p>\n<p>Following his debut win in London, DS PENSKE\u2019s Taylor Barnard became the youngest driver to win a Formula E race at 22 years and 76 days old. It\u2019s 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\u2019t have been broken, and the Brit delivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s now another statistic for Barnard, after being the youngest driver to start a race, youngest points scorer, youngest podium finisher and youngest pole sitter \u2013 all in Formula E.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\" js-faded-image fade-in-on-load object-fit-cover-picture__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2290732356.jpg\" alt=\"2290732356\"\/><\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 Envision \u2013 managed a victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One more time\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019ll 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 after winning in Tokyo last month \u2013 reminded people he was a \u2018free agent\u2019 with no seat promised for next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was also the last event for Hankook \u2013 also the title sponsor of the event \u2013 who have been providing the championship with tyres for the entire GEN3 era.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last dance at the London Excel<\/p>\n<p>This past weekend marked Formula E\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/news\/474063\/formula-e-car-hits-218km-h-indoors-to-smash-guinness-world-record\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Formula E car hits 218km\/h indoors to smash Guinness World Record<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Starting from next year, the London E-Prix will find a new home at Brands Hatch with the legendary circuit, situated in Kent \u2013 30 minutes outside London \u2013 welcomes Formula E for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\" js-faded-image fade-in-on-load object-fit-cover-picture__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2290720347.jpg\" alt=\"2290720347\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A new way to watch for GEN4<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s history, bringing together Disney\u2019s unrivalled global entertainment platforms with the world\u2019s leading all-electric motorsport championship.<\/p>\n<p>Majority-owned by Liberty Global, Formula E will leverage Disney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217; success to date.<\/p>\n<p>Find out more<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/formula-e-gen4-unleashed?_gl=1*1bbwzak*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3Njk3ODU1MzUuQ2owS0NRaUF5dkhMQmhEbEFSSXNBSHhsNnhyM1lHZVRTTDdlb044amgzVFRWWFk1UEFmUU9fcVJwQWp1NmxWZTVDMUxoVlBaWFNRN3RSa2FBcVV5RUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*MTMxMzQyMDcwOC4xNzcxMjU2NDkx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GEN4: A new era of Formula E is about to begin<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/ways-to-watch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WATCH: How to watch every Formula E race in your country<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/news\/822334\/trailer-driver-returns-for-season-2-on-amazon-prime-video\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UNMISSABLE: Watch the brand-new season of &#8216;Driver&#8217; on Amazon Prime\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/calendar\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CALENDAR: Here&#8217;s every race set for the 2025\/26 Formula E season<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/download-the-app\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FOLLOW: Download the Formula E App on iOS or Android<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/tickets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TICKETS: Secure your grandstand seats and buy Formula E race tickets<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformulae.com\/en\/video\/boxset\/485829\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HIGHLIGHTS: Catch up with every race from Formula E IN FULL<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seatunique.com\/sport-tickets\/motorsport\/formula-e-hospitality-tickets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HOSPITALITY: Experience Formula E and world-class motorsport as a VIP<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feature by Katy Fairman The 2026 Hankook London E-Prix double-header at the London Excel marked the end of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[27,7322],"class_list":["post-105466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-london","tag-text"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117113063135925896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}