It's the end of an era for Formula E

Lucas di Grassi took his second consecutive win of the season in New York, as Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne fought through the field to move out of reach of title rival Sam Bird and secure the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with one round to spare.

A win in the final round of the season, which was also in New York as part of the season ending ‘double-header’, for Vergne was a way to stamp his authority on the season. Di Grassi and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler teammate Daniel Abt were second and third to secure Audi the teams’ championship by just two points over Techeetah.

It was also the end of a disappointing season for Mahindra Racing as their top driver was sixth in the drivers’ championship after leading early in the season. And they also finished fourth in the teams’ championship, again after being the early season leaders.

The first race of the double-header that decided the driver’s crown saw the title contenders starting on the back foot after a difficult qualifying session, but Vergne drove a resilient race from the back row of the grid to fifth position, beating Bird and extending his lead to 31-points and clinching the Formula E crown.

After being excluded from the qualifying due to technical infringement, it looked like the championship would go down to the wire once more. However, Vergne calmly and carefully moved his way up the order leaving Bird defenceless, becoming the fourth different champion in as many seasons.

Bird couldn’t match the speed of his nearest competitors and, agonisingly, had to watch his championship hopes fade away, as Vergne eased off into the distance, eventually coming home in ninth for DS Virgin Racing.

Di Grassi started out of position in 11th after a tricky qualifying session, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Brazilian taking his eighth E-Prix victory, which came from the second-lowest winning starting position – bettered only by his own win in Mexico City last season from a lowly 15th place.