Pascal Wehrlein fears extreme instances of team tactics during the Formula E title decider in London and proposes a radical solution
Will the Formula E title race this weekend in London be “manipulated” by extreme forms of team orders? This concern is weighing on Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein ahead of the two races at the ExCeL venue. There, the 2025/26 Formula E season is set for a dramatic showdown on Saturday and Sunday.
The title race is more wide open than ever before in Formula E history. Ahead of the races in London, nine drivers still have a mathematical chance at the world championship. The top four drivers are separated by just 14 points—with a total of 58 points still up for grabs in London.
While Jaguar and Nissan each have a strong title contender in the running, Porsche is fielding two contenders: works driver Wehrlein and customer driver Jake Dennis in the Andretti-Porsche.
Wehrlein admits, however, that he’s concerned rivals could “manipulate” the outcome of the championship through team tactics. The German already experienced such a scenario firsthand at the race in Tokyo.
Wehrlein Criticizes Extreme Team Tactics
“There aren’t really any uncertainties. The only thing I’d say is that this year it feels like there’s a lot more team tactics than in the past—and I’m not a fan of that,” Wehrlein explains to the English-language edition of Motorsport.com.
“There’s a difference between trying to deliberately manipulate the race and helping your teammate when you’re running close together. There’s a wide range of possibilities.”
In the first of the two races in Japan, Envision driver Sebastien Buemi—who had a penalty to serve—used his first Attack Mode early to storm through the field. However, when the window for mandatory pit stops opened, he deliberately slowed down to help his teammate Joel Eriksson, holding up a whole string of drivers in the process—including Wehrlein.
The Porsche driver got stuck in the group behind the Swiss driver and eventually collided with Jaguar driver Antonio Felix da Costa. The resulting damage knocked him out of the points.
“What Buemi did in Tokyo goes way beyond the line for me,” Wehrlein criticizes in retrospect. “He had a penalty and held up half the field so his teammate could score points. That’s taking it way too far.”
“That’s completely different from when you and your teammate are in second and third place and then swap positions. It can go very far, and that’s the only thing that’s a bit uncertain for me this weekend: How will the game be played, and what will the reaction be?”
Here’s Porsche’s game plan
Wehrlein’s factory teammate Nico Müller is in eighth place in the championship and, trailing leader Dennis by 44 points, has only a theoretical, long-shot chance of winning.
The German makes it clear that while Müller would support him in the title race, team strategy at Porsche would be limited to swapping positions: “We’re both here to maximize the team’s points haul, because we’re also fighting for the Teams’ World Championship,” emphasizes Wehrlein, who trails Dennis by just five points in the overall standings.
“And then we’ll see. I’m certain that if there’s nothing to gain or lose and we’re racing together, Nico will help me. But he also needs a good weekend for the team standings.”
Wehrlein’s Radical Proposal: A Radio Ban in Formula E?
According to information from Motorsport.com, Formula E is already working to curb team orders in the Gen4 era—including those between manufacturers and their customer teams.
When asked what could be done to prevent teams from influencing the outcome of a race with tactical maneuvers, Wehrlein has a radical solution: “We should ban radio communication.”
When confronted with the objection that drivers urgently need information from their team during the race, he counters: “I know when the pit stop window is open. I have all the information on my steering wheel to make the right decisions at the right moment.”
“It would be a nice addition if drivers could once again make that small difference: reading the race, understanding what’s needed—and, above all, avoiding exactly those kinds of things.”