Stoffel Vandoorne wins Formula E title as Mercedes leaves the sport

Stoffel Vandoorne has won the 2021/22 FIA Formula E World Championship after finishing second at the Seoul E-Prix, with his Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team defending its Team World Championship title in the process. 

Formula E’s eighth season came to a close in South Korea with the 100th race in the sport’s history on Sunday. Vandoorne had a fairly hefty lead in the championship standings over Mitch Evans heading into the weekend, but the Jaguar driver won the first of the weekend’s two races on Saturday to set up a tense finish.

Vandoorne started the final race of the season in fourth and moved up into the podium places in the second half of a race that was extended thanks to a long period behind the safety car. The Belgian crossed the line third but took second place thanks to a five second penalty for Andretti driver Jake Dennis. Evans could only finish seventh. 

It was Evans who finished the season with the most wins (four), but Vandoorne took eight podiums and finished in the points in all but one race to rack up 213 points. His Mercedes team, with 2020/21 championship winner Nyck de Vries in the second car, took the Team World Championship ahead of Venturi Racing. That means back-to-back double championships for Merc, although the team will of course be taken over by McLaren for next season as Formula E heads into its new Gen3 era.

Will you miss Merc? And what’s next for both Vandoorne and de Vries?