Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne won the Formula E title for the outgoing Mercedes team on Sunday as the electric motor racing championship ended season 8 with the 100th race in its history.

The second of two E-prix in Seoul also ended an era for the FIA-sanctioned series, with season nine in 2023 introducing a new generation of faster, lighter and more fuel-efficient cars.

Former McLaren F1 driver Vandoorne started fourth and finished second in Sunday’s race in and around the Olympic Stadium in the South Korean capital to claim his maiden championship 33 points ahead of Mitch Evans in a Jaguar.

New Zealander Evans, who had won from third place on Saturday to close the gap to 21 points, finished seventh after qualifying only 13th for a race he needed to win while hoping Vandoorne would finish outside the first seven.

“It’s amazing, what a season it’s been. It’s just the best feeling ever…what we’ve achieved is something special,” Vandoorne said.

“It was really about consistency at the end,” added the 30-year-old, who won the title despite winning fewer races than Evans and Swiss-Italian Edoardo Mortara, Sunday’s winner for the team. Venturi and third overall.

Vandoorne have only won once in 2022, in Monaco, Evans and Mortara taking four each.

Briton Jake Dennis finished third on Sunday for Avalanche Andretti after being second on the road but given a five-second penalty for causing a collision that left pole sitter Antonio Felix da Costa at the back of the pack.

Mercedes EQ, who retained their team title ahead of Venturi and DS Techeetah, have sold their outfit to McLaren and are leaving Formula E in style after sealing both championships for the second consecutive year.

They won the drivers’ title last year with Dutch driver Nyck de Vries.