The final two rounds of the 2022 Formula E World Championship took place in the bustling metropol of Seoul and it was Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne that ended the season on top, clinching his first World Championship ahead of Mercedes’ pending exit from the sport.
The former McLaren Formula 1 driver took the the helm of the Mercedes-EQ for the third season in a row and not only won his maiden Formula E Drivers’ World title but helped seal the Constructors’ Championship alongside 27 year old Nyck de Vries in the sister car.
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Sublime Stoffel Vandoorne in Seoul
Vandoorne commenced the final race weekend of the season with a commanding position in the Drivers’ Championship. The drama-filled first race on Saturday saw title-rival Mitch Evans come through to take the win and keep his own championship hopes alive but it was not meant to be on Sunday after on-track misfortune meant that the New Zealand driver could not reduce the deficit further.
Vandoorne credited overall consistency during the season after managing to finish behind race winner Edoardo Mortara after starting down the order in fourth. Despite some entertaining collisions, the 2022 Champion kept his battery powered single-seater out of trouble and finished three seconds off of the lead.
“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.” Vandoorne only managed to take the chequered flag once during the season in Monaco, with Evans and Mortara taking four each but suffering less consistent results.
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The Belgian driver ended the season off in convincing style with a points tally of 213 while rival Mitch Evans, racing for Jaguar TCS Racing, could only achieve 180 points after a mixed bag of results. Here are the final driver standings from the 2022 ABB Formula E World Championship Season.
Mercedes-EQ get out on top
After now winning back-to-back double titles, the Mercedes-EQ decision at the end of 2021 to depart from Formula E at the end of Season 8 in 2022 seems in vain. Regardless, the Championship victory of Stoffel Vandoorne means that the German automaker will leave the net zero carbon footprint sports series on a high after citing their departure to concentrate its works motorsport activities in Formula 1 after narrowly losing out on the Drivers’ Championship to Max Verstappen in 2021.
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