Pascal Wehrlein edged out Mitch Evans to win the 2023/24 Formula E title, but in the midst of the chaos at the front, there was one driver who did not meet expectations.
Robin Frijns has raced in Formula E for eight out of the 10 seasons run in the all-electric category.
The Dutchman has enjoyed a lengthy career in several other categories, winning the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class in 2021.
Alongside his season in FE with Envision, Frijns remains in the WEC in the hypercar class with BMW, where he is currently 16th in the drivers’ standings.
Tom Brooks says he was surprised at how ‘mediocre’ Robin Frijns was for the majority of 2023/24
It has been a challenging season in the WEC for Frijns, managing just two points finishes from the five races thus far alongside drivers Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde.
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, it was not any better in FE this season and he struggled to get his Envision regularly in the points.
The Dutchman started the year with a retirement in the opening race in Mexico, before achieving a double points finish at the two races in Diriyah, one of them being second place in the second race.
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Frijns would finish in the points only once in the next eight races – he was replaced by Joel Eriksson in Berlin due to his commitments to the WEC – before improving his form at the end of the season, finishing second in both races in Portland.
The Envision driver finished the year with three podiums and ninth overall in the standings, and speaking on The Race Formula E Podcast, FE commentator Tom Brooks was left surprised by Frijns’ performances at the start of the year.
“I was surprised at how mediocre Frijns was for the majority of the season,” he said.
“Up until Portland, I never really spoke about him much in comms, to be honest with you, because he’d sort of been nowhere really.”
Robin Frijns has secured a best overall finish of fourth in his Formula E career
Frijns did show his ability in parts last season with his three second-place finishes, with Brooks’ surprise at his performances likely stemming from his inconsistency.
After spending two years with Andretti from 2015 to 2017, the Dutchman joined Envision following a year away from the sport and enjoyed his best season to date in 2018/19
Frijns grabbed his only two victories in FE that season in Paris and the season finale in New York to finish fourth in the standings, 30 points behind the champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
The 33-year-old has amassed a total of 16 podiums in his FE career so far.