Mercedes EQ Take 1-2 at Formula E Season Opener in Diriyah

In an unpredictable first race of the season in Diriyah, we can well and truly say that Formula E is back! Round 1 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship saw Stoffel Vandoorne make a key mistake when activating attack mode, causing Nyck De Vries to overtake and finish P1; the same result he achieved last year in the first race. Jake Dennis took P3, with teammate Oliver Askew making an impressive debut, finishing P9 after starting P17.

Debuts were also made by former F2 driver Dan Ticktum and former F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi, with Rowland making the move to Mahindra and Günther taking his place at Nissan. Oliver Askew also made his debut, becoming the first American Formula E driver.

This weekend saw the introduction of the new qualifying format which sees the cars split into 2 groups. The top 4 qualifying times from each group then go through to the duel stage, where the top qualifier from Group A goes against the top qualifier from Group B and so on. This knocks drivers out until the final 2 go head to head for pole position, winning 3 championship points if they finish on top.

As the lights went green in Diriyah, De Vries made his way up to P2 after getting a much better start than Dennis. Both Mercedes EQ’s were pitted against each other in qualifying, meaning one of them would be forced to start in P3. Both Envision Virgin cars seemed to drop down the order into Turn 1, as da Costa was forced to retire when he got squeezed 4 wide, which broke his rear left suspension.

With 37 minutes still left on the clock, De Vries and Dennis both activated their first attack mode giving them a 30kw (or 13% increase of power). Lotterer was starting to close in on third placed Dennis after activating his attack mode around a minute before.

A huge shakeup in the midfield saw 7 cars vying for track position, as Oliver Rowland made contact with Robin Frijns, as the Envision Virgin spun him, sending him into the barriers at Turn 16 and causing a safety car. Rowland had hit Frijns only two turns earlier, but it was the Dutchman who later received a 5 second drive through penalty for causing the collision.

A new addition to this season, for every 1 minute spent behind the safety car (an all new Porsche Taycan; the most powerful safety car in motorsport), 45 seconds will be added to the race time at the end.

The safety car came in on Lap 12, but caused huge gaps between the drivers, from Dennis backwards. Formula E is all about using energy wisely and preserving as much as possible, so an explanation for this is perhaps the drivers were going so slow to save energy, creating a big gap, or there was a late call for the safety car to come in.

25 minutes to go and Vandoorne was called to take his second attack mode, but in doing so, missed the sensors, causing him to lose out both on the lead of the race and some extra power. Lotterer took advantage of Dennis taking his second attack mode by moving up into third.

Three attempts later, and Dennis managed to take back P3 with 9 minutes left, although the Tag Heuer Porsche driver certainly didn’t make it easy for him.

Race leader De Vries and Vandoorne in P2 were both given Fanboost, with Evans and Giovinazzi also taking the extra power. Fanboost is given to 4 drivers per race, with the fans voting as to who gets the extra boost of power in the race.

4 minutes left to go, and Lotterer, Bird, Di Grassi and Cassidy were all closed up to one another, fighting for last minute overtakes. Bird made his way past Lotterer into P4, as 5 minutes were added onto the time to compensate for those minutes lost behind the safety car. Lotterer was then passed by Di Grassi and Cassidy too, and he eventually finished the E-Prix in P13.

Mitch Evans used his Fanboost to attempt an overtake on Jean-Éric Vergne, and with Vergne going wide, he nearly took P8 but the DS Techeetah recovered well and Evans couldn’t get past. Mortara also nearly found the wall, as he had done in qualifying, but managed to avoid the barrier.

Nyck De Vries crossed the line in P1, closely followed by his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne to create Mercedes EQ’s dream start to the season. Jake Dennis took P3, in what will surely provide hope to the Avalanche Andretti team, with Avalanche taking the place of BMW this season. Nick Cassidy also took the fastest lap of the race.

Antonio Giovinazzi finished in P20, in what is perhaps a bit of a disappointing start for him. However, we have to remember that Formula 1 is a whole world away from Formula E; more street circuits, all-electric and much closer racing, all whilst driving for a lower midfield team in the DRAGON/PENSKE.

Rokit Venturi have certainly made a strong start to their season, with both cars finishing P5 and P6. Previous team principal Susie Wolff has made the step up to CEO of the Monegasque outfit, with Jérôme d'Ambrosio taking her place.

Mercedes EQ will definitely be hoping to upkeep this form, with both a Constructors’ and Drivers’ title to defend.

With a double-header in Diriyah, there’s always going to be some drama to start the season off right. With Round 2 happening the following day, the drivers are sure to fight it out wheel to wheel on track.