Motorsport: Kiwis Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy ready to spark as Formula E crowns a champion

Kiwi rookie Nick Cassidy has been a revelation. Photo / Getty Images

The world champion will be crowned after this weekend's final round of 2021 Formula E championship at Tempelhof in Germany.

Less than a points haul for a race win covers the top 10 drivers in the series, and as there are two races over the weekend 18 drivers are in with a mathematical chance of the title.

In the mix are two New Zealand drivers. Early adopter of the electric series Mitch Evans is eighth, 20 points behind points leader Nyck De Vries, and rookie Nick Cassidy with one more point is in seventh.

Cassidy has been a revelation this year, especially so considering he didn't score a point in the first three rounds of the championship. He did however, find a purple patch in races nine, 10 and 11 picking up 51 points to put him into contention.

"Heading into this weekend we're focusing on the teams' [Envision Virgin Racing] championship," Cassidy told the Weekend Herald from Germany.

"We're leading that championship and from my perspective, I'm just going to do the best I can.

"I'll be supporting my teammate Robin [Frijns] while trying to get as many points as I can over the two races. I'll just have to see where we end up at the end of the weekend.

"There's not really been any expectations of winning the championship this season as it's kind of a learning year.

"We have exceeded expectations to be this close to the championship lead with two races to go."

He has good form heading into this weekend's races having picked up two podiums and a top five finish so far. Having this momentum will serve Cassidy well, and if he continues to be consistent, further glory awaits.

"Being this close to the series lead in my first season means there's not a lot of pressure this weekend.

"Consistency has been tough for everyone this year because the championship is close now in terms of performance you've got teams who are strong at certain tracks and not others. Added to that, the qualifying group system makes everything uncertain.

"The racing is pretty rough and tough so scoring each time you go out is difficult. At the beginning of the season, we were fast, but didn't get the results I expected and now it's almost the opposite — an interesting trend.

"We've been putting race days together lately and it's showing in the results," said Cassidy.

The driver line-up doesn't make winning a championship easy in Formula E.

The majority of the field has either won championships in various categories in the past, spent time in Formula One, or some other world championship.

Drivers get selected to race for the various teams on the amount of talent they have and not on the amount of money they can bring to a team.

"It's awesome that everyone on the grid has had great success under their belts. To get into the category in this day and age is incredible and I'm lucky that I came from one professional grid into another," said Cassidy.

"I have really enjoyed the season so far and the category is fantastic. I enjoy the technical side of motorsport and developing the car and bringing my knowledge from Japan has helped the team.

"The cars are very different to ones I've raced in the past where I'm used to high downforce and high grip. This category is just as challenging as you've got massive torque from the electric motor and not a lot of grip or downforce.

"Some of the stuff is more complicated than Formula One," he said.

The Berlin track has unique challenges, especially when using the reverse layout. As always, qualifying will be testing and very important. On the plus side, there several places to pass so having a fast car is vital.

"It'll be an interesting weekend and there are a lot of fast cars. A lot of guys did six races here last season, while it's all new to me. That'll be a bit of a challenge, but I've been fast at new tracks this year so ultimately it should be okay," said Cassidy.