Formula E season set for close London finale

WHILE Formula 1’s increasing predictability is testing viewers’ appetite, the same cannot be said of Formula E ahead of this weekend’s finale in London.

On Saturday and Sunday race fans will descend on Docklands for a double header to decide the championship. With a maximum of 58 points available across two races, any one of Brit Jake Dennis, New Zealanders Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans, and German Pascal Wehrlein can snap up their first title.

Up For Grabs

Envision Racing, Porsche, Jaguar TCS and Andretti, meanwhile, can wrap up the team championship in the capital. But the London finale, which uniquely features a track that is 50 per cent indoor and 50 per cent outdoor, divides opinion.

Formula E’s new CEO Jeff Dodds declined to commit to London as a longterm home for the last race of the season, and a number of drivers aren’t exactly ecstatic with the location.

“The circuit itself is unique,” championship leader Jake Dennis told City A.M. “Obviously, with the indoor-outdoor section, it’s very different. The indoor section is great, it really supplies a lot of grip and confidence to the driver, compared to the outside surface.

“It’s very difficult to overtake. It would be nice to go a bit more central.

I live in Fulham so it’s quite a way away from the ExCeL [location of the race] but it’s a starting point for sure. “I see the limitations of going more central but I think it’s a unique experience.”

Title Race

Wehrlein, also in contention for the title, agrees. “Inside there’s a lot of grip on the London track, outside there’s a lot less so I would still like to see a race in the rain where it’s wet outside,” he says. “We haven’t had that so far, like a few drops, but not really wet and dry – I think that would be not easy to handle.”

It’s a highly competitive weekend in London and there are a number of manufacturers in the race for a title too. One of those is Jaguar TCS, who are looking for their first team championship, given the long odds on their leading driver Evans picking up the driver title.

“I look where we are now going to the last weekend of the season with two races to go in London, we’re in with a shout of both the driver and teams championship. It’s fair to say [Mitch Evans] had a great year,”

Jaguar team principal James Barclay told City A.M.

MAKING NOISE

“So right from the start we were competitive and we just built on that to the point where we have been really strong overall, not just us but our customers [who use Jaguar power units] Envision Racing. So to have two Jaguar powered teams in the top three of the championship, that’s the biggest proof point.”

Formula E has notably made more noise this season and while their petrol-guzzling peer continues to see the same driver winning every race, there’s ample opportunity for them to capitalise.

YOU MIGHT not know Brian Harman if you walk past him in the street but, as he showed in winning the Open at the weekend, you’ll certainly know him when you hand in your scorecard.

The low-key American was magnificent in all aspects of his game for the whole week on his way to winning by six shots at Royal Liverpool on Sunday. His driving was out of this world, his iron play was great, and his chipping and putting were fantastic.

Harman won by a distance in the end but he was 10 under par after two rounds and never really looked like losing it from there.

His ability to respond on the rare occasion he made a bogey or hit a wayward shot was absolutely key to staying in front in challenging conditions.

The man from Georgia dropped a couple of shots at the start of his third and fourth rounds but quickly responded on both occasions to make the turn level.

Severe Test

Harman seems like a really nice guy and I loved that he said a spectator who heckled him about not having “the stones” to finish the job only made him more determined.

He was 26th in the world before the Open Championship so the boy can play, even if he is not the most highprofile player on the PGA Tour and hadn’t won a major before.

His putting has always been brilliant. He is not the longest hitter – some guys will hit it 20-30 yards past him –but I’d swap their length for hitting as straight as he does.

This was a pretty severe test and that suited him down to the ground. He didn’t try to do anything fancy and played within himself on the last day.

Despite enjoying a commanding lead all weekend, Harman said he didn’t allow himself to think about lifting the Claret Jug until he had got out of the bunker at 18.

That’s absolutely right – if you get ahead of yourself you’ll be making your champions’ speech at the 10th tee – especially with bunkers like these that can easily cost you three shots.