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The 2022 London E-Prix marked the penultimate fixture of Formula E’s eighth season as the series descended upon the city’s Docklands area for a second year in succession.
Roaring around the unique indoor-outdoor ExCeL Circuit, the technical venue played host to another race weekend filled with intrigue, with a total of four races now having been run on the track.
Following a silverware-studded performance in New York City, in which the team finished on the podium, ROKiT Venturi Racing approached London with high hopes, with the World Championship fight nearing its crescendo.
The Monegasque marque hit its marks from the outset, but following a difficult qualifying and a controversial penalty, the team faced an uphill battle for Race One.
While Edoardo Mortara was eliminated through no fault of his own in only the second corner, team-mate Lucas di Grassi was on a charge after starting from last on the grid.
In an impressive, calculated drive, the Brazilian fought through the field to finish inside the top 10, gaining a staggering 13 positions in only 45 minutes to take home ninth.
Given this raw speed over long distances, the potential was apparent and in Race Two, this performance was unleashed with devastating effect.
Although Edo missed out on the duels, Lucas was on an offensive and topped his group, won his Quarter and Semi-Final head-to-heads and paved his path to the Final.
Facing Jake Dennis in the pole position shootout, a mistake in Sector Three placed Lucas behind the Briton but, by qualifying second, he secured his best starting position of the season to date.
Lucas played a strategic game throughout Race Two and by keeping pace with Dennis, built an energy buffer during his first and second Attack Modes to have a better state of charge in the final phases.
In one final push, he took the lead when Dennis activated his final Attack Mode, but by building a gap despite facing a power disadvantage, Lucas became untouchable.
Upon taking the chequered flag, he scored his first victory as a ROKiT Venturi Racing driver, our fourth of the season and seventh of all-time, although crucially, it marked the 13th of Lucas ’career.
As such, Lucas holds the joint-highest number of wins in Formula E history, with only fellow series veteran Sebastien Buemi achieving such a feat.
Holding 995 points from 98 race starts, Lucas is also only five points shy of a landmark 1,000th career point with two races to go this season.
After facing a challenging qualifying, Edo also made steady progress in the second leg but was cruelly removed from the top 10 with a spin and penalty after fighting forward from 17th.
Although fortune was not on the side of our Swiss-Italian star, a helping of 28 points from the weekend proved to be crucial in the fight for the World Teams ’Championship, in which ROKiT Venturi Racing remains within striking distance of leaders, Mercedes-EQ.
En route to this haul, a total of 289 laps were turned around the 2.141-kilometre ExCeL Circuit, equating to 619 kilometres, with 5,137 kilometres now being driven so far this season.
This is the equivalent of driving around the heart of the next stop of the Formula E calendar, Seoul’s Olympic Stadium, 6,043 times as we gear up for the final weekend of the season and the series ’current era.
With a total of 94 points still up for grabs for teams, everything is still to play for as Season 8 reaches its conclusion on 13-14 August.
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