Team principal of Jaguar TCS Racing, James Barclay, made history this weekend after leading Jaguar to the British manufacturer’s maiden Formula E Team Championship title, concluding Season 10.
Jaguar entered the final race weekend ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche in second and finished the campaign with a margin of 36 points.
Also read: Will South African James Barclay lead Jaguar to Formula E victory?
Barclay had led the team’s entry into Formula E in 2016 and has been at the helm ever since. Since joining the sport, Jaguar has claimed 44 podiums, including 16 wins.
‘Jaguar has a rich racing history, and when we started our Formula E programme back in 2016 we were determined to add to that legacy. To win the 2024 ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship – the pinnacle of electric racing – is [a] fitting reward for everyone’s hard work and winning mindset,’ said Barclay.
‘I feel for both Mitch [Evans] and Nick [Cassidy] – coming so close to the Drivers’ crown is tough for both of them – but they have driven incredibly well all year and I know they will be fighting for the title again next year,’ he added.
This followed after the Jaguar team ‘missed out on the Driver’s Championship’, as drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy finished in second and third place, respectively.
Cassidy, a long-time championship leader, was forced to retire from the season finale after he ‘suffered a puncture towards the end’, along with Evans, who could not convert his strong performance into a win.
Despite this, the team claimed the newly introduced Manufacturer’s Trophy, thanks to strong performances from Evans and Cassidy and a ‘solid points haul’ from customer team Envision Racing.
Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein was able to claim the Driver’s Championship after finishing the race in P2, leaving him ‘five points ahead’ of Evans in the final standings.
This marked Wehrlein’s first Formula E World Championship and would make him the first driver of Mauritian descent to claim an FIA World Championship.
‘It feels good. I don’t know what to say. It’s definitely not expected, [but] I always believed in it,’ said Wehrlein.
‘In the last couple of weeks at the beginning and of each day, I’d tell myself ‘I can do this’. I am just super proud of everyone at the factory as well,’ he added.
Also read:
Formula E world champion Jake Dennis labels Cape Town as favourite destination
Picture: Supplied