– Will the Formula E title fight this weekend in London be “manipulated” by extreme forms of team orders? This concern is troubling Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein ahead of the two races at the ExCeL venue. A dramatic showdown awaits the 2025/26 Formula E season on Saturday and Sunday.
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The title fight is as open as never before in the history of Formula E. Nine drivers still have a mathematical chance at the world championship before the races in London. The top four drivers are separated by just 14 points – with a total of 58 points still up for grabs in London.
While Jaguar and Nissan each have a hot title contender in the race, Porsche is fielding two trumps: factory driver Wehrlein and customer driver Jake Dennis in the Andretti Porsche.
However, Wehrlein admits that the concern rides along that competitors could “manipulate” the outcome of the championship through team orders. The German has already experienced such a scenario firsthand at the race in Tokyo.
Wehrlein criticizes extreme team tactics
“There really aren’t any uncertainties. The only thing I would say is that this year it feels like there is much more team tactics than in the past – and I’m not a fan of that,” Wehrlein explains to the English-language edition of Motorsport.com.
“There is a difference between trying to deliberately manipulate the race or helping your teammate when you are close together. There is a wide range.”
In the first of the two races in Japan, Envision driver Sebastien Buemi – who had a penalty to serve – used his first Attack Mode early to storm through the field. When the window for mandatory pit stops opened, however, he deliberately slowed down to help his teammate Joel Eriksson, holding up a whole bunch of drivers – including Wehrlein.
The Porsche driver was stuck in the group behind the Swiss and eventually collided with Jaguar driver Antonio Felix da Costa. The resulting damage threw him out of the points.
“What Buemi did in Tokyo goes far beyond the line for me,” Wehrlein criticizes in retrospect. “He had a penalty and slowed down half the field so that his teammate could score points. That goes extremely far.”
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“That is something completely different than when you are second and third with your teammate and then swap positions. It can go very far, and that is the only thing that is a bit uncertain for me this weekend: How will it be played and how will the reaction be?”
This is Porsche’s game plan
Wehrlein’s factory teammate Nico Müller is eighth in the championship and, with a 44-point deficit to leader Dennis, only has theoretical outsider chances left.
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The German makes it clear that although Müller would support him in the title fight, team orders at Porsche would be limited to swapping positions: “We are both here to get the maximum yield for the team because we are also fighting for the team world championship,” emphasizes Wehrlein, who is only five points behind Dennis in the overall standings.
“And then we’ll see. I’m sure: If there is nothing to win or lose and we are driving together, Nico will help me. But he also needs a good weekend for the team standings.”
Radical Wehrlein proposal: Ban on radio communication in Formula E?
According to Motorsport.com, Formula E is already working to curb team orders in the Gen4 era – including those between manufacturers and their customer teams.
When asked what could be done to prevent teams from influencing the outcome of a race with tactical games, Wehrlein has a radical solution ready: “We should ban radio communication.”
Confronted with the objection that drivers urgently need information from their team during the race, he replies: “I know when the pit stop window is open. I have all the information on my steering wheel to make the right decisions at the right moment.”
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“It would be a nice addition if the drivers could again make the small difference: read the race, understand what is necessary – and above all avoid exactly such things.”
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