How de Vries claimed Formula E title glory as Mercedes exit bombshell looms

An FIA world championship. A drivers’ and teams’ title double for Mercedes. It’s a phenomenon that has become almost commonplace in motorsport since 2014. But none of the manufacturer’s commanding Formula 1 achievements have arrived in quite the same dramatic fashion as that of Nyck de Vries sealing the 2021 Formula E crown last weekend.

This was a driver whose pre-event six-point cushion atop the standings looked perilously slender when he qualified only 19th for the first race of the Berlin E-Prix double-header season finale. But even de Vries, who has beaten Max Verstappen to become the first-ever Dutch FIA world champion, would “not deny that the picture could have been worse” when he emerged at Tempelhof Airport still holding a three-point advantage after a round won by Lucas di Grassi.