Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein wins Saturday’s rain-soaked Formula E thriller in Shanghai ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis
Due to the threat of heavy rain, the start in Shanghai was moved up by three hours at the last minute. Pole-setter Pascal Wehrlein confidently held the lead when the lights went out, while the field behind him bunched up extremely tightly.
The tightly packed field forced the drivers into risky duels in double file at times. To avoid the chaos in the midfield, Jake Dennis briefly took the lead on lap five following a team order, before Wehrlein countered and reclaimed first place.
At the halfway point of the race, despite the first raindrops and numerous battles for position, the field remained tightly bunched and, surprisingly, accident-free. After 15 laps, the first drivers pulled into the pits for the mandatory pit stop to activate the “Pit Boost,” the required charging stop.
Immediately after the charging stops, the rain on the track intensified noticeably. A safety car phase on lap 20 hit drivers like Edoardo Mortara and Nick Cassidy hard, as their Attack Modes—which they had just activated—fizzled out behind the safety car.
After the restart on lap 23, Pascal Wehrlein skillfully defended the lead. In wet conditions, Attack Mode became a decisive advantage, as activating it, according to the regulations, enabled the cars’ all-wheel drive.
Drivers without all-wheel drive, including third-place Edoardo Mortara, were now under heavy pressure. Mortara defended himself valiantly for lap after lap, but ultimately had to concede defeat to the charging Jake Dennis in the battle for the podium.
Thanks to the battles behind them, the two leaders were able to pull away decisively. Wehrlein demonstrated his class in the rain, pulling ahead by over two seconds and securing an unchallenged victory ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa.
Behind the top three, Felipe Drugovich, Nyck de Vries, Jean-Eric Vergne, Joel Eriksson, Mitch Evans, Maximilian Günther, and Edoardo Mortara rounded out the top 10, while Nico Müller narrowly missed the points in eleventh place.
Pascal Wehrlein’s tenth career victory has drastically tightened the title race. Championship leader Mitch Evans’ lead has shrunk to just three points after his eighth-place finish. In the team standings, Jaguar TCS Racing continues to lead with 242 points, ahead of Porsche with 218 points.