Stoffel Vandoorne and Mercedes-EQ seal Formula E world titles

SEOUL: Stoffel Vandoorne raced ahead to a second-place finish in the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix to seal the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship and secure the Teams’ World Championship for his team Mercedes-EQ.

On a day that saw Edoardo Mortara of ROKiT Venturi Racing win the 100th E-Prix race in the world’s first electric motorsport World Championship, Vandoorne’s Season 8 title also marked the end of the Gen2 era in Formula E — the second iteration of electric racecar in the series.

The Gen3 car will debut next season as the fastest, lightest, most powerful and most efficient electric racecar ever built.

Formula E’s first venture into the South Korean capital of Seoul saw Vandoorne navigate a Lap 1 melee and keep it clean throughout the rest of the race to bring the Silver Arrow 02 home in second place.

Only Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) had any chance of catching Vandoorne going into the race. But Vandoorne’s eighth podium of the season — more than any other driver — proved to be enough to see him take a maiden Drivers’ crown and hand Mercedes-EQ back-to-back Drivers’ and Teams’ titles on the German marque’s Formula E swansong.

“World champions, wow,” said Vandoorne. “It’s just the best feeling ever. Just look at the season we’ve had, the consistency and the car has been amazing, and the team has done an incredible job. I think every single one of us deserves it. What we’ve accomplished is something special.

“Mitch has pushed me all the way along, the same with Edo, they were there all the time. It was really about the consistency in the end. They all have more wins than me, but I have the most podiums, I think. It was difficult to focus because the pace at the end was so high. I knew Jake had a