The 2018-2019 Formula E driver championship battle could very well turn into a two-driver fight among former champions. But three other drivers are aiming to keep it close.
With just three races remaining on the 2018-2019 Formula E schedule, every point in every race is crucial. It goes without saying that most important race to date is this afternoon’s race, the Bern ePrix, at Bern Street Circuit.
Entering this 45-minute race around the 14-turn, 1.657-mile (2.667-kilometer) Bern Street Circuit temporary street circuit in Bern, Switzerland, former champions Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Techeetah and Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler sit atop the driver standings in first and second place, respectively, as they aim to become Formula E’s first two-time champion.
Just six points separate last season’s champion from the champion of two seasons ago, as Vergne has scored 102 points through the season’s first 10 races while di Grassi has scored 96.
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These two drivers are the only two drivers who have earned two victories this season, as Vergne won the season’s sixth and ninth races, the Sanya ePrix and the Monaco ePrix, respectively, while di Grassi won the season’s fourth and 10th race, the Mexico City ePrix and the Berlin ePrix, respectively.
A total of 14 other drivers are still mathematically eligible to win this season’s championship, but only three of them are within one race’s worth of points of the top spot in the driver standings.
However, these three drivers are in a position where if they don’t have a solid Bern ePrix, they could very well slip right out of the championship battle heading into the season’s final two races, the two races of the New York ePrix, at Brooklyn Street Circuit on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14.
These three drivers are DS Techeetah’s Andre Lotterer, BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Antonio Felix da Costa and Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns.
Unlike Vergne and di Grassi, none of these three drivers are former Formula E champions, so a championship for any one of them this season would give the series five champions in its first five seasons.
Of these three drivers, only Lotterer has not won a race this season. Da Costa won the season opener, the Ad Diriyah ePrix, while Frijns won the season’s eighth race, the Paris ePrix.
None of these three lurking drivers are within 15 points of Vergne in the driver standings, but none of them are more than 15 points away from di Grassi. Here is how they stack up in the driver standings compared to Formula E’s two most recent champions heading into this afternoon’s Bern ePrix at Bern Street Circuit, a race that could make or break their championship dreams.
Rank – Driver, Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind)
1st – Jean-Eric Vergne, #25, DS Techeetah, Spark-DS Automobiles: 102 (0)
2nd – Lucas di Grassi, #11, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, Spark-Audi: 96 (-6)
3rd – Andre Lotterer, #36, DS Techeetah, Spark-DS Automobiles: 86 (-16)
4th – Antonio Felix da Costa, #28, BMW i Andretti Motorsport, Spark-BMW: 82 (-20)
5th – Robin Frijns, #4, Envision Virgin Racing, Spark-Audi: 81 (-21)
How will the Bern ePrix play out for championship frontrunners Jean-Eric Vergne and Lucas di Grassi, and which, if any, of the three drivers vying to keep themselves in championship contention, Andre Lotterer, Antonio Felix da Costa and Robin Frijns, will keep themselves within striking distance of winning this season’s Formula E title with their performance(s) in this race?