Formula E: Will 8th different driver from 8th different team win 8th race?

By Asher Fair | Apr 25, 2019

HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA - MARCH 23: Mitch Evans (NZL), Panasonic Jaguar Racing, Jaguar I-Type 3 during the 2019 Sanya E-Prix as part of Formula E 2019 season on March 23, 2019 in Hainan Island, China. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro/Jaguar Racing/Getty Images) /

Will an eighth different driver representing an eighth different team win the eighth race of the 2018-2019 Formula E season, the Paris ePrix?

With 13 races on the 2018-2019 Formula E schedule and 11 teams competing in the sport, the level of parity that has been on display through the season’s first seven races cannot mathematically continue throughout the rest of the season.

Seven different drivers representing seven different teams have each won one race through the season’s first seven races, something that has never been the case prior to this season in the sport’s five-year history dating back to the 2014-2015 season.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Antonio Felix da Costa, Mahindra Racing’s Jerome d’Ambrosio, Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Lucas di Grassi, Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara, DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans have all won one race this season to create the most parity-filled and competitive racing series in the world.

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As a result, four teams have not yet won a race this season. These four teams are Nissan e.dams, HWA Racelab, NIO and Geox Dragon Racing.

Will one of these four teams win the season’s eighth race, the Paris ePrix, at the 14-turn, 1.20-mile (1.931-kilometer) Circuit des Invalides temporary street circuit in Paris, France?

At this point, it would appear to be safe to say that NIO and Geox Dragon Racing will not be winning this race. NIO have yet to have either one of their two drivers, Tom Dillmann and Oliver Turvey, finish a single race in the top seven this season. In fact, Dillmann has not yet finished in the top 11. Turvey’s eighth place finish in the season’s third race, the Marrakesh ePrix, is the team’s top finish of the season.

Meanwhile, Geox Dragon Racing’s top finish of the season is Jose Maria Lopez’s ninth place finish in the Marrakesh ePrix. This result is the team’s only top 10 finish of the season. Two other drivers, Maximilian Gunther and Felipe Nasr, have driven for the team on a part-time basis, and their top result is Gunther’s 12th place finish in the season opener, the Ad Diriyah ePrix.

However, Nissan e.dams and HWA Racelab have both shown that they can be competitive, especially Nissan e.dams. Neither one of their two drivers, Oliver Rowland and Sebastien Buemi, has finished either of the last two races outside of the top eight after going three consecutive races without finishing in the top 14.

Most notably, Rowland finished in a season-high second place in the season’s sixth race, the Sanya ePrix, and Buemi finished in a season-high fifth in the season’s seventh and most recent race, the Rome ePrix.

Add to that the fact that Buemi is the winningest driver in Formula E history with 12 victories yet he is still searching for his first victory in nearly two years, and it is clear that one of Nissan e.dams’ two drivers could become the eighth different driver representing the eighth different team to win a race this season and that this driver could do it in the season’s eighth race.

HWA Racelab, meanwhile, have shown speed in spurts. But most recently, Stoffel Vandoorne turned his career-high finish from 16th place into third in the Rome ePrix. Additionally, he took the pole position for the season’s fifth race, the Hong Kong ePrix, so he clearly has what it takes to get the job done.

However, Vandoorne’s teammate, Gary Paffett, has struggled, as his top finish of the season is his eighth place finish in the Hong Kong ePrix, and this eighth place finish is his only top 13 finish of the season.

If an eighth different driver representing an eighth different team wins the eighth race of the 2018-2019 season, expect that driver to be either Rowland, Buemi or Vandoorne.

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Will the eighth race of the 2018-2019 Formula E season, the Rome ePrix, feature the eighth different winner representing an eighth different team this season? This race is scheduled to take place this Saturday, April 27 at Circuit des Invalides in Paris, France, and it is set to be broadcast live on the Fox Sports app beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.