The tops / flops of the 2022 Formula E season

The tops:

• Vandoorne, the patience of the champion 

Stoffel Vandoorne waited until he was 30 to be world champion. The Belgian, who was promised a brilliant career in Formula 1, finally took its revenge in its cousin competition, in electric. And the least we can say is that he did not steal his title: 15 times in the points in 16 races, 8 podiums and one victory.

By winning the title in Formula E with just one success this season, the Fleming proved that it is not enough to be fast to be crowned: you also have to be patient, and above all regular. At the end of his fourth season in FE, Stoffel Vandoorne finally acquired what many had granted him for a long time: a world title.

• Evans and Mortara, beautiful defeats

If Stoffel Vandoorne makes a fine champion at the end of the 2022 Formula E campaign, it is also thanks to the adversity offered by its two main rivals. Mitch Evans (Jaguar) and Eduardo Mortara (Venturi) have little to complain about this season and fought until the last meeting, in Seoul, for the title.

The top 3 of the 2022 championship: Vandoorne – Evans – Mortara © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

For the New Zealander, the regrets could be around the first three rounds of the season. With only one small point scored at the end of the third race, in Mexico (where he lost 7th place due to poor energy management), Evans started the season with a points handicap over Vandoorne. Despite his 4 victories this season, the Jaguar driver has never been able to get back on the Belgian. His abandonment due to a breakdown in London also cost him dearly.

For the Swiss, it was a lack of consistency that cost him the title. The Venturi driver had an up-and-down season, with him sitting at the top of the championship with 6 races to go before the end of the season.

• The new qualification system, to be confirmed in 2023

This was the big question mark of this season: whether the new “duel” qualification format would make its mark. The answer: yes…but. Yes, because it allowed us to regularly have surprises, varied grids between all the teams, suspense at the start of the E-Prix. The spectacle during the 1v1 confrontations was often there and spectators and drivers alike rather appreciated this new system, which also avoided injustices with the weather.

But there is a but: often considered too long, too uncertain and too cruel (qualifications in one round), the new format has not yet been unanimously accepted. It is also difficult to understand for newbies who are not familiar with the category. With the new generations of single-seaters which will be introduced next year, the format will have to prove itself again in 2023 to be definitively adopted.

The flops: 

• Giovinazzi, the fall into hell

The word nightmare would be an understatement when talking about Antonio Giovinazzi's season. The Italian, who lost his seat at Alfa Romeo in Formula 1 last season, arrived in Formula E with the label of outsider, with his history in the premier category. But the adventure quickly turned sour.

This season, we have seen Giovinazzi more on foot than in his car… © Clément Luck / DPPI

Unable to adapt to electric single-seaters and energy management, the ex-F1 driver achieved zero points this season. No points scored, a ridiculous 23rd place in the drivers' championship and 8 retirements in 15 races (Giovinazzi did not participate in Race 2 in Seoul, absent due to injury). His best result? A 14th place, in Monaco, the only track also used by F1. A sign of stubborn nostalgia or a lack of motivation? He alone has the answer, but he will not have a seat in 2023 in Formula E to prove himself.

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• Buemi – Nissan e.Dams, failed separation

Formula E's most symbolic collaboration ended in the shadows, without fanfare. Sébastien Buemi leaves the e.Dams team (in partnership first with Renault then with Nissan) in total anonymity. The second most successful driver in Formula E will have spent 8 years with the French team. Eight years of success: 13 victories, a championship title in 2016 and three times vice-champion.

But after the arrival of Gen2, Sébastien Buemi and Nissan e.Dams stood still. This season, the Swiss finished the championship in a sad 15th place with 30 points, far from his standards at the start of his career in FE. The native of Aigle, present with e.Dams since the start of the adventure in 2014, is therefore preparing to leave the ship to join Envision in 2023.

• The circuits, when will they change?

The last point of the season's flops will be more like a rant. Once again this season, Formula gave us spectacle, but often in the bad sense of the word. Too many times we have seen circuits that are bland, tasteless, narrow and deserted by spectators in sometimes crazy places. Above all, the design of certain lines clearly left something to be desired. Tight hairpins, where only a car can pass. Successions of turns which are of no interest either for the drivers or for the show. Above all, heavy braking with very little escape, extremely dangerous in the event of an accident.

The pileup of race 1 in Seoul © Germain Hazard / DPPI

With the move to much faster cars with Gen3, how will drivers be able to drive on these circuits in optimal safety conditions? We saw it again in Seoul, during the two races (the first with the huge pile-up in the rain, the second with the multiple contacts and the traffic jams in the winding section) that safety could still be improved. If some tracks have been a great success – Monaco and Mexico for example – others simply have no or no longer their place in Formula E. When will there be a change?

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