The ‘wrong’ Porsche won Sunday’s Formula E race at its premiere in Shanghai: Antonio Felix da Costa prevailed on the shortened Formula 1 course (3.051 instead of 5.451 kilometers) and celebrated his third victory of the season. However, his triumph in Sao Paulo is still being heard by the International Court of Appeal following a disqualification.
Joy at Porsche on one side, anger on the other in the garage, because Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) suffered a serious setback in the fight for the world championship. The former DTM champion and Formula 1 driver suffered a puncture on the left rear tire on the 10th lap and had to make an unplanned pit stop.
Bad setback for title contender Wehrlein
This threw Wehrlein, who had started the race from 13th place, back to the end of the field. “Bird gave me a puncture,” radioed the Porsche star, referring to McLaren driver Sam Bird. Wehrlein missed the points for the second time this season, coming in 20th.
Wehrlein, who was on the podium in Saturday’s race, remains second overall in the World Championship table, but lost valuable points to title rival Nick Cassidy (Jaguar). The New Zealander finished fourth and leads with 167 points, Wehrlein remains on 142 points. Behind him are Mitch Evans (132) and Oliver Rowland (131) in third and fourth positions.
Jake Hughes on the podium after pole
Behind race winner Felix da Costa, who took the lead halfway through the race and held on to it until the finish, Jake Hughes (McLaren) finished second. The Briton started the race from pole position after an incredible qualifying shootout and was 0.001 seconds ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne. Hughes lost the lead to Vandoorne (sixth place) on the first lap, but stayed in the leading group throughout.
Norman Nato (Nissan) completed the podium in third place. The Frenchman benefited from an early recovery from seventh place on the grid and was in the lead for a time. In the final phase of the largely unspectacular race, however, Nato was inferior to the Porsche of Felix da Costa with its better energy management.
Shanghai race shorter – pace significantly faster
On Sunday, the FIA specified a race distance of 28 laps, one lap less than in the Saturday race. This had a massive impact on the race pace: while in the first race the drivers practically crept around the course for long stretches and drove times in the 1:21 range, on Sunday things went much faster: by the 7th lap the best lap times were already in the 1:15 range.
Behind Felix da Costa, Hughes, Nato and Cassidy, Saturday’s winner Mitch Evans (Jaguar) finished fifth. Vandoorne and DS-Penske team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne followed in sixth and seventh positions. Maximilian Günther (Maserati-DS), Robin Frijns (Envision-Jaguar) and Oliver Rowland (Nissan) completed the top 10.
Formula E calendar: four races left
After the race premiere in Shanghai, there are still four races in two double-headers to go before the end of the season. On June 29th/30th, Formula E will be visiting the permanent race track in Portland, USA. As in the previous year, the finale will take place on the spectacular semi-indoor course in London (July 20th/21st).