It is safe to say that Round 7 of the Formula E Season 10 had everything: drama, overtakes, last lap chaos and so much more! Here is the highlights:
Key Moments from Formula E Season 10 Round 7:
Hughes lead the pack away.
Frijns went into the gravel and called out the safety car on lap 7. At this point, Mueller was leading ahead of Wehrlein and Cassidy.
Da Costa started to fall down the grid on lap 11 due to a tyre smoking and his front wing going under the wheel.
Nato lost his front wing as well.
Hughes fell down a few places.
Bird had a little spin.
Rowland was leading on the final lap but he ran out of energy.
Wehrlein wins ahead of Dennis and Cassidy gets the final place of the podium by 0.05s!
Guenther finished P9 but he received a 5 second time penalty so dropped down to P12.
Formula E Season 10 Round 7 Misano E-Prix Results
Position
Driver
Team
Points
1
Pascal Wehrlein(Fastest Lap)
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
26
2nd
Jake Dennis
Andretti Formula E
18
3rd
Nick Cassidy
Jaguar TCS Racing
15
4th
Nico Mueller
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
12
5th
Sacha Fenestraz
Nissan Formula E Team
10
6th
Sergio Sette Camara
ERT Formula E Team
8
7th
Jean-Eric Vergne
DS Penske
6
8th
Jake Hughes(Pole)
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
7
9th
Jehan Daruvala
Maserati MSG Racing
2
10th
Sam Bird
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
1
11th
Lucas Di Grassi
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
0
12th
Maximilian Guenther
Maserati MSG Racing
0
13th
Edoardo Mortara
Mahindra Racing
0
14th
Dan Ticktum
ERT Racing
0
15th
Nyck De Vries
Mahindra Racing
0
16th
Norman Nato
Andretti Formula E
0
17th
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
0
DNF
Mitch Evans
Jaguar TCS Racing
0
DNF
Robin Frijns
Envision Racing
0
DNF
Stoffel Vandoorne
DS Penske
0
DNF
Sebastian Buemi
DS Penske
0
DNF
Robin Frijns
Envision Racing
0
Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 7
Position
Driver
Team
Points
1.
Pascal Wehrlein
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
89
2.
Jake Dennis
Andretti Formula E
89
3.
Oliver Rowland
Nissan Formula E Team
80
4.
Nick Cassidy
Jaguar TCS Racing
76
5.
Maximilian Guenther
Maserati MSG Racing
63
6.
Jean-Eric Vergne
DS Penske
53
7.
Mitch Evans
Jaguar TCS Racing
52
8.
Sam Bird
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
38
9.
Jake Hughes
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
25
10.
Norman Nato
Andretti Formula E
23
11.
Stoffel Vandoorne
DS Penske
22
12.
Robin Frijns
Envision Racing
21
13.
Sebastian Buemi
Envision Racing
20
14.
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
20
15.
Sacha Fenestraz
Nissan Formula E Team
20
16.
Nico Mueller
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
18
17.
Dan Ticktum
ERT Formula E Team
12
18.
Sergio Sette Camara
ERT Formula E Team
11
19.
Jehan Daruvala
Maserati MSG Racing
2
20.
Lucas Di Grassi
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
1
21.
Edoardo Mortara
Mahindra Racing
0
22.
Nyck De Vries
Mahindra Racing
0
Jehan Daruvala, Maserati MSG Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, locks up ahead of Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24
Most Impressive Race
The most impressive drive for me is Jehn Daruvala. Coming into this race, he was P21 in the standings and started P21 on the grid, just ahead of Da Costa. To make his way up to P10 on the road (P9 after a few penalties) is impressive. Yes, he has been beaten by his race winning teammate this year so far but getting your first points in a new championship and new series is always a high.
Antonio Felix Da Costa managed to to make up positions in Milano after a disappointing qualifying to take the victory for Formula E’s first visit to Milano! However, disaster struck for the 2020 champion when he was disqualified just to add to the chaos of this race. Rowland inherited the win BUT Porsche have announced an intention to appeal.
Key Moments Of The Race
Mitch Evans lead the field away from pole ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne in P2 and Pascal Wehrlein in P3.
This was a peneton style race from the early stages with Mitch Evans, Nick Cassidy, Jean-Eric Vergne and Oliver Rowland.
Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara were both near the back of the grid at the start.
Edoardo Mortara had to stop the car very early..
6.5 seconds seperated the entire field at one point.
Multiple collisions, including Wehrlein receiving front wing damage.
Cassidy and Vergne collided, Cassidy pitted with Vergne receiving a 5 second time penalty.
Guenther went over the sausage kerbs and did a wheelie at one point.
Nato went over the Gravel
Multiple DNFs
Da Costa crossed the line first and was the provisional winner before being disqualified so Rowland wins, Dennis P2, Guenther P3.
Formula E Season 10 Round 6 Misano E-Prix Results
Position
Driver
Team
Points
1st
Oliver Rowland(FL)
Nissan Formula E Team
26
2nd
Jake Dennis
Andretti Formula E
18
3rd
Maximilian Guenther
Maserati MSG Racing
15
4th
Dan Ticktum
ERT Racing
12
5th
Mitch Evans(Pole)
Jaguar TCS Racing
13
6th
Jean-Eric Verge Pole
DS Penske
18
7th
Norman Nato
Andretti Formula E
6
8th
Stoffel Vandoorne
DS Penske
4
9th
Sacha Fenestraz
Nissan Formula E Team
2
10th
Lucas Di Grassi
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
1
11th
Nico Mueller
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
0
12th
Sebastian Buemi
Envision Racing
0
13th
Jake Hughes
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
0
14th
Nyck De Veries
Mahindra Racing
0
15th
Sergio Sette Camara
ERT Formula E Team
0
16th
Pascal Wehrlein
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
0
17th
Robin Frijns
Envision Racing
0
DNF
Jehan Daruvala
Maserati MSG Racing
0
DNF
Sam Bird
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
0
DNF
Nick Cassidy
Jaguar TCS Racing
0
DNF
Edoardo Mortara
Mahindra Racing
0
DSQ
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
0
Formula E Season 10 Championship After Round 6
Position
Driver
Team
Points
1.
Oliver Rowland
Nissan Formula E Team
80
2.
Jake Dennis
Andretti Formula E
71
3.
Maximilian Guenther
Maserati MSG Racing
63
4.
Pascal Wehrlein
Andretti Formula E
63
5.
Nick Cassidy
Jaguar TCS Racing
61
6.
Mitch Evans
Jaguar TCS Racing
52
7.
Jean-Eric Vergne
DS Penske
47
8.
Sam Bird
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
37
9.
Norman Nato
Andretti Formula E
23
10.
Stoffel Vandoorne
DS Penske
22
11.
Robin Frijns
Envision Racing
21
12.
Sebastian Buemi
Envision Racing
20
13.
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
20
14.
Jake Hughes
Neom McLaren Formula E Team
18
15.
Dan Ticktum
ERT Formula E Team
12
16.
Sacha Fenestraz
Nissan Formula E Team
10
17.
Nico Mueller
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
6
18.
Sergio Sette Camara
ERT Formula E Team
3
19.
Lucas DiGrassi
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
1
20.
Edoardo Mortara
Mahindra Racing
0
21.
Nyck De Vries
Mahindra Racing
0
22.
Jehan Daruvala
Maserati MSG Racing
0
Dan Ticktum, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, e-4ORCE 04, Nyck de Vries, Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M9Electro, and Sergio Sette Camara, ERT Formula E Team, ERT X24, chase the pack at the start Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Most Impressive Race
My driver of the race has to be Antonio Felix Da Costa. Despite him losing his win due to outside circumstances, he still made incredible progress and took the victory for 5 hours. He also managed to handle the energy perfectly.
Driver who needs to improve the most after this round
I think Vandoorne was a bit lackluster throughout the day. From qualifying out of position in comparison to his teammate to finishing P10 on the road (P9 after Da Costa’s DSQ), it was very underwhelming. While his teammate did finish a few places ahead of him due to receiving a 5 second penalty for causing a collision with Cassidy, qualifying was ulitimately Vandoorne’s downfall for this particular race.
This year’s running of International Motor Sports Association’s (IMSA) Twelve Hours of Sebring sees 58 cars entered into the race, Lamborghini making it’s GTP debut, and race title sponsor Mobil 1 celebrating its 50th anniversary with gold liveries, making it an unmissable event for motorsport and automotive enthusiasts.
Race breakdown
Lamborghini IMSA GTP debut
Mobil 1 50th anniversary
Two all-female lineups
Qualifying
5 min read
Race breakdown
The 17-turn 3.74 mile circuit of Sebring International Raceway is one of the toughest and unforgiving race tracks on the planet, with bumpy and narrow straights, treacherous corners, and very little run-off, making winning the 12-hour race a truly honourable feat.
This Saturday’s 72ndrunning of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring marks the second race of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship, with all four classes, Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) competing.
2023 Twelve Hours of Sebring (USA), 15th to 18th March 2023. BMW M Motorsport, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Twelve Hours of Sebring, BMW M Team RLL, #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, Philipp Eng (AUT), Augusto Farfus (BRA), Marco Wittmann (GER), #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), GTP class (Photo courtesy of BMW Group Press Club)
Cadillac look set to continue their hot streak at Sebring, having won four of the last five Sebring 12 Hour races, including the last three, and sweeping the front row during qualifying Friday afternoon.
The race begins 9.40am ET/1:40pm UK time, with international coverage starting from 9am ET/1pm UK time via IMSA TV/IMSA Radio/IMSA YouTube.
This means that the race begins on a Floridian Saturday morning, and will end under the pitch black of night, following a glorious sunset in the final turn just after 7:30pm local time.
Lamborghini IMSA GTP debut
The Lamborghini SC63, with IMSA President John Doonan calling it the “Verde Mantis”, is making its IMSA GTP debut this Saturday, the fifth GTP manufacturer to compete in the series
With a Ligier chassis, an all-new 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine, and with a bright green and Italian flag striped livery, it will surely turn heads this weekend.
Operated by the Iron Lynx team who will have the one car effort in IMSA’s GTP class with is Italian factory driver Andrea Caldarelli, Matteo Cairoli and ex-Formula 1 and full-time IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean piloting the No. 63 raging bull.
American Debut for Lamborghini Squadra Corse Iron Lynx at Sebring International Raceway (Photo courtesy of Lamborghini media center)
A single car entry has also been entered into the WEC season, already having raced in the WEC season opener at Qatar.
This is the first time Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse program has entered the top class of IMSA racing since entering the championship in 2016 with it’s Huracan GT3 GTD class car.
Emmanuel Esnault, the team’s racing director, said following its WEC at Qatar: “We will be competing in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, one of the world’s toughest races. We need to extract the maximum benefits from what we are learning during race weekends to develop the car and further improve our trackside operations to provide our drivers with the best possible opportunities.”
The team qualified eighth for Saturday’s race.
Mobil 1 50th anniversary
Motor oil company and title sponsor of the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Mobil 1, is celebrating its 50th anniversary since its inception, with several cars sporting special 50th anniversary gold liveries including the two Corvette Racing GTD Pro cars and No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GTD Pro car.
Two all-female lineups, will race in Saturday’s Sebring Twelve Hours, an IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship first.
Katherine Legge will join Sheena Monk and Tati Calderon in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class, while Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting will co-drive the No. 83 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2.
#66: Gradient Racing, Acura NSX GT3, GTD: Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge, Tati Calderon, Stevan McAleer, racing the #62: Risi Competizione, Ferrari 296 GT3, GTD PRO: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado in the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona (Photo courtesy of Honda Racing News Room)
Katherine Legge said: “Our program and Iron Dames are done in a serious and professional way. We are professional sports teams that just happen to be female. It’s showcasing female power. It’s not done as anything else. We’ve picked the best drivers we can pick. It’s a showcase rather than a publicity stunt.”
The same Iron Dames trio made history last year when they the GTE Am class in the WEC’s 8 Hours of Bahrain race, the first time an-all female lineup earned a class win in WEC history.
Qualifying
GTP
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series. R ended qualifying right where they led off last year when they won the 2023 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring by qualifying on pole Friday afternoon with Pipo Derani by doing a 1.48.152 lap.
Derani is going for his fifth Twelve Hours of Sebring victory, this time teaming up with Jack Aitken and current IndyCar driver Tom Blomqvist.
Joining the No. 31 Whelen on the front row is the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series. R car after accomplished sportscar driver Sebastian Bourdais laid down a lap time of a 01:48.299.
Sebastian Bourdais qualifying the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series. R (Photo courtesy of Chip Ganassi Racing)
The qualifying session came down to who could get their car in optimum performance range after the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 car brought out the red flag after the car snapped in the exit of turn one as Mathieu Jaminet took too much kerb, smacking the right hand side wall with the front of the car.
With less than four minutes to go as the session went back green, it was about who could get their GTP car operating at it’s most optimum.
It looked like at first that the pole would go to the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura Arx-06 car being driven by Ricky Taylor when he laid down a lap time of 1.48.038, only to have it taken off them and be disqualified for working on the car under the red flag.
LMP2
The fan-favourite No. 99 AO Racing Oreca 07 Gibson car, known as “Spike the Dragon”, secured class pole, driven by PJ Hyett, with a lap time of 1.52.142.
Hyett said: “Let’s just say this is probably top three moments of my life happening right now. When I met my wife, birth of my children and I just got pole at Sebring in a P2. I don’t know what the hell’s happening, it’s wonderful!”
GTD Pro/GTD
GTD Pro qualifying saw Jack Hawksworth, piloting the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 car, locked down pole with a class-record lap of 1.58.714, sporting the Mobil 1 50th anniversary gold and black paint scheme.
The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 car also looked set to continue in the same fashion as Cadillac Racing by winning the GTD pole and second overall in GTD Friday afternoon with Phillip Ellis, following on from their 2024 Daytona 24 Hours class victory.
It was not to be however as the team was disqualified due to running unapproved sensors during the session, handing GTD pole to the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 team, with Antonio Fuoco qualifying the car second overall in GTD with a lap time of 1:59.014, so will start alongside the No. 14 Lexus.
The race begins Saturday 9.40am ET/1:40pm UK time, with international coverage starting from 9am ET/1pm UK time via IMSA TV/IMSA Radio/IMSA YouTube.
Featured Image: The Lamborghini SC63 GTP at Sebring (Photo courtesy of Lamborghini Media Center)
Pascal Wehrlein secured the victory after starting on pole position for the first round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to kickstart his championship challenge earlier on.
The electric series, in its tenth year got off to an explosive start, with the opening taking place in Mexico, a venue that has been used since the series infancy. Before the action even started, there was already some pre-race drama as Sergio Sette Camara’s ERT was withdrawn from competition due to a technical issue. And the drama didn’t stop there. Stoffel Vandoorne, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy all received a one place grid penalty due to not following red flag procedures in FP1.
After the drama, Formula E went green for the first time this year. It was a clean start for everyone through the first few corners with Dennis making his way up the grid after his disaster in qualifying. Di Grassi was the first victim in Mexico. Due to a brake issue, he hit the barrier and stopped on track, he managed to limp back to the pits and retire from the race.
Lucas di Grassi, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, M9Electro Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Da Costa and Mueller had an incident a few laps later which resulted in the Porsche driver retiring from the race as he ended up in the wall after an ambitious move on the Abt driver. The incident was investigated after the race and Da Costa received a three place grid penalty for the next race. Everyone seemed to settle into the race, until more drama reared up, but this time from the steward’s room. Race control stated that three drivers were under investigation: the Andretti pair of Jake Dennis and Norman Nato and more critically, race leader Pascal Wehrlein. There was no further investigation for Nato but Wehrlein and Dennis were investigated after the race but both also received no further investigation from the stewards.
Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
The returning Envision Racing driver of Robin Frijns crashed at turn thirteen, just at the exit of the stadium arena. This resulted in a full course yellow and the safety car made it’s first appearance this season. Frijns managed to walk away on his own accord. It then emerged that Frijns had an issue with his car before the race so this could have been a factor in his crash. Before the race was declared green again, man of the drivers had attack mode remaining, including Buemi who was currently sitting in P2. Behind him, Guenther, Evans, Hughes, Dennis, Bird, Fenestraz, De Vries and Daruvala all had one attack mode remaining . The Season 7 champion Nyck De Vries had fallen down the pack at this point and was holding up Ticktum, Daruvala and Mueller, whilst current champion Dennis had a relatively quiet race.
The highlight in the latter stages was certainly the battle between Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans. They were having a fight of their own, as the Jaguar driver had to hold off the constant attacks from the two time world champion. It was first blood to Evans as he managed to pull a consistent gap of five tenths as energy conservation began to bite. Ticktum also struggled, falling back dramatically due to his overspending of energy earlier on in the race. Two additional laps were added to the end of the race due to the safety car earlier for the Frijns shunt. However, these did not stop Wehrlein as he held onto the lead and claimed victory in the Mexico City E-Prix for the second time. Envision Racing’s Sebastian Buemi finished P2, with championship contender Nick Cassidy taking the final podium. Maximilian Guenther finished P4 with Mitch Evans just holding off Jean-Eric Vergne for P5, Jake Hughes took P7 ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne in P8, current world champion Jake Dennis had to settle for P9 whilst Norman Nato rounded out the top ten.
Formula E returns in a few weeks with a double header in Diriyah!
Antonio Felix DaCosta brought home the victory for Porsche after a day to remember for the inaugeral Cape Town ePrix.
Qualifying:
Qualifying in Group A saw Sacha Fenestraz, Nick Cassidy, Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Eric Vergne advance into the duels.
Group B saw Rene Rast, Mitch Evans, Sebastian Buemi and Max Guenther advance to the duels after the Maserati of Eduardo Mortara crashed into the wall, no yellow flags being brought out and then the Jaguar of Mitch Evans colliding with the same wall and hitting Mortara. This led to a clean up and Evans being ruled out of the race.
Absent from qualifying, however, were both the ABT Cupra and Mahindra cars. This is due to the fact that there were safety concerns with the suspensions of the cars and the teams withdrew them from the race. This brought the amount of cars on the grid down to 16.
Within the Duel Quarter Finals, Wehrlein took on Cassidy and Cassidy was able to beat the championship leader by 0.152seconds. Next up saw the rookie of Fenestraz take on the two time champion of Vergne. The rookie beat the champion to progress further in the duels. Buemi took on Evans in the next duel and Buemi was ahead by a few thousands of a second but overcooked it and hut the barrier which cost him a shot at moving further. Evans then progressed. The final quarter final saw Maximilian Guenther take on Rene Rast with Guenther claiming victory.
The Duel Semi Finals saw Fenestraz take on Cassidy for a shot at the final and Fenestraz managed to beat the Envision driver to earn his first shot at pole and a guaranteed spot on the front row. Guenther took on Evans and while Evans was ahead as Guenther crossed the line, Evans made a mistake which saw Guenther through to the final.
With both Fenestraz and Guenther through to the final,this guaranteed Formula E a new pole sitter. It was very close around the lap but Fenestraz managed to pull a gap of over 4 tenths by the time they reached the line and managed to get his first pole position in Formula E. Along with this, the lap by Fenestraz was the fastest lap ever in the history of Formula E.
Race:
The start of the race saw Fenestraz keeping the lead and Cassidy challenging Guenther on the first lap for P2. It was a clean lap 1 until the championship leader Pascal Wehrlein hit the back of Sebastian Buemi. This led to the championship leader retiring from the race and a safety car being deployed on lap 2. Just as the safety car was came out, Guenther overtook Fenestraz for the lead of the race. Eduardo Mortara also had to retire from the race.
The safety car went into the pits on lap 5. By lap 8, Vandoorne, Dennis, Lotterer, Buemi and Sette Camara had all used one of their attack mode. Vergne was close on the tail of Rene Rast. Fenestraz and Evans both took attack mode on lap 10. Guenther took his attack mode 1 lap later and managed to stay ahead of Fenestraz. Cassidy lead the race but he still had to take both of his attack mode. Evans, meanwhile, receieved a drive through penalty for an overuse of power.
Cassidy and Guenther took attack mode on lap 13 but Cassidy managed to keep the lead while Guenther came out in 3rd place.
Formule E’s Nick Cassidy leading the Cape Town E Prix. Image Credit to Formula E.
Vergne took attack mode on lap 16 which saw Antonio Felix Da Costa take P4 as lap 17 arrived. Fenestraz was keeping on the back of Cassidy. Lap 19, the driver who was P2 in the championship, Jake Dennis received a drive through penalty for not respecting mimumum tyre pressure. Dennis’ teammate Andre Lotterer was also under investigation for a safety car infringement.
On lap 21, the driver who started P2 Max Guenther crashed into the wall and had to pull over to retiring from the race. Lap 22 saw a full course yellow which was right after Fenestraz and Cassidy took their second attack mode. This led for the majoirty their attack modes to be wasted. Cassidy maintained first but Fenestraz dropped down to P4.
As lap 23 occured, Lottrer was given a 5 second time penalty for a safety car procedure. Cassidy lead the race from Da Costa in P2 and Vergne in P3 but Da Costa had another attack mode to take. On the next lap, he took a risk going to the lead which paid off and he took first from Cassidy. Vergne then took P2 form Cassidy. Lap 26, Da Costa tried to take attack mode but he missed one of the sections where he must enter in order to obtain it. Vergne managed to keep near Da Costa so when Da Costa did take it, Vergne would take the lead of the race.
The final 4 laps of the race saw Da Costa racing after Vergne. On lap 30, Fenestraz managed to overtake Cassidy for third place. However, there was 2 added laps due to the laps while under the safety car.
On the second last lap, Da Costa went for a move that not seen before and mnaaged to take the lead of the race from Vergne. Fenestraz hit the wall on the last lap. Da Costa took the victory ahead of Vergne and Cassidy in P2 and P3. Rene Rast finished P4 and Buemi in P5. Ticktum, Vandoorne and Nato finished in P6, P7 and P8 with Lotterer and Hughes finishing off the top 10.
Qualifying for the first race in the Gen 3 era of Formula E in Saudi Arabia got off to a less-than-ideal start for Maserati as Maximilian Guenther crashed early on in the Group A session. He was uninjured after the collision with the barrier.
Ticktum and Rowland went head to head in the first quarter final with Ticktum taking the victory.
Di Grassi and Hughes went head to head for the second quarter final and Hughes taking the victory in that one.
It was Evans against Buemi in the third quarter final and Buemi took the victory.
Rast and Bird went head to head for the final quarter final with Rast losing out to Bird by 2 tenths.
In the first semi final, Hughes took victory over Ticktum which saw Hughes go through to the final.
The second semi final saw Buemi take victory over Bird by less than a tenth.
The final saw an epic battle from Buemi and Hughes. Buemi just took pole over Hughes.
Sebastian Buemi with his Pole Trophy in ahead of the Diriyah E-Prix. Credit: Formula E
Race
Before the race began, it was announced that Sergio Sette Camara would have a 3 place penalty for impeding Pascal Wehrlein in qualifying.
Maximilian Guenther’s crash in qualifying resulted in him not starting the race.
The 39 lap event started with contact between Rowland and Da Costa which resulted in them both pitting early on. This led to the safety car being brought out for less than a lap. Evans hit Rene Rast on lap 1 turn 1 as well. It was a calm safety car restart but then Sam Bird got Jake Hughes who started in P2. However, Bird was not done yet. He then started to hunt Buemi down and he eventually got him.
Fast track to Lap 7 where Bird took the lead over from Buemi after his hunt. Onto lap 11, Evans tried to get past Rast but locked up and lost a few places as a result. Lap 15 saw Muller pit and eventually retire from the EPrix.
Lap 25 saw an epic battle between Pascal Wehrlein and Sam Bird. Wehrlein had more energy and an extra attack more compared to Bird. He managed to stay with him but going into turn 18, he locked up and lost the place he gained for a few seconds. Further down, Cassidy was trying to get past the Andretti of Jake Dennis but instead, Dennis and Cassidy got the McLaren of Jake Hughes when Hughes had to get his attack mode.
Enter the final stages of the race and Wehrlein was still on Sam Bird’s tail. Onto lap 30 and turn 18, Wehrlein gets past Bird and maintains it. Buemi had to get his last attack mode which put Dennis up into 3rd place after starting 11th.
Lap 33 comes around and Dennis was on a charge. Dennis takes Bird on lap 34 just as Wehrlein gets his second attack mode. Wehrlein came out just ahead of Dennis but it saw a battle to the end which saw Wehrlein take his second victory in Formula E.
Further down the field, Maserati’s last remaining car of Eduardo Mortara had to retire on lap 33. He joined Muller as the second retirement of the race. Muller’s teammate Kevin Van Der Linde only managed P16 on his debut for the injured Robin Frijns. Da Costa and Rowland also managed to make it to the end of the race but finishing in the bottom 2 positions due to their collisions on lap 1. Despite obtaining P4 in qualifying, Dan Ticktum dropped down to P14 by the end of the race with his teammate Sergio Sette Camara behind him in 15th.
Di Grassi, Nato and Vandoorne finished off the non points scorers with Evans Lotterer, Hughes, Vergne and Cassidy making up from P10 top 6 respectfully. Rene Rast for McLaren managed P5 with the fastest lap and Buemi finishing P4 to round off the non podium positions.
Wehrlein took the win ahead of Dennis in P2 and Bird in P3.
As expected, Toyota hold the lead of the LMP1 field at midnight. Mike Conway kept the #7 TS050 in front at the start, leading from pole position during the first two hours before handing over to Kamui Kobayashi.
The two Toyotas briefly traded places later in the evening as a series of safety car periods brought the cars nose-to-tail. Kazuki Nakajima, taking over the #8 Toyota from Fernando Alonso, passed José María López in the #7 to take the lead. Lopez retook the lead shortly after only to surrender it with a trip through the gravel, but by hour 9 the two cars had swapped once again and the #7—with Conway back the wheel—resumed the lead.
Third place was long held by the #3 Rebellion which, in the hands of Gustavo Menezes, moved up from fourth on the grid and held off advances by Vitaly Petrov in the #11 SMP. However this came to an end later in the evening, when Thomas Laurent put the #3 in the wall and dropped two laps behind the two SMPs, with Egor Orudzhev’s #17 now the Russian team’s lead car.
There was trouble throughout the first ten hours for the remaining privateers. Bruno Senna picked up a puncture for the #1 Rebellion in the first hour and dropped to last in class, while the #4 ByKolles made eight difficult pitstops in the by hour 3. Later in the afternoon the #10 DragonSpeed entered the garage and has remained there since.
Joao Filipe, Adrenal Media / FIA WEC Media
LMP2:
Signatech Alpine took an early lead as Nicholas Lapierre moved the #36 up from third to first off the line. But impressive pace from Jean-Éric Vergne and Dutch rookie Job van Uitert in the #26 G-Drive soon put the #36 under pressure, and Van Uitert took the class lead during his second stint.
The remaining class podium position changed hands several times during the first ten hours of the race. Initially Matthieu Vaxiviere held third in the #28 TDS Racing, but a strong opening stint from Giedo van der Garde took the position for the #29 Racing Team Nederland.
However, at hour 3 Nyck de Vries picked up a puncture during his stint in the #29. Anthony Davidson’s #31 DragonSpeed was briefly promoted to third, but was dropped down to fourth by the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing.
Joao Filipe, Adrenal Media / FIA WEC Media
GTE:
Corvette took first blood in the Pro class with Antonio Garcia moving the #63 up from third to first. But over the course of the afternoon the Porsches hauled in the Corvette and the #92 took the lead with Kevin Estre at the wheel.
In the Am class, Matteo Cairoli in the #88 Dempsey-Proton Porsche converted pole into an early lead. But this was lost when he handed over to Satoshi Hoshino, who spun the #88 on the Mulsanne Straight and handed the lead to Giancarlo Fisichella in the #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari.
Hoshino would be involved in another, much heavier incident later in the evening as he collided with Marcel Fassler’s #64 Corvette, making the first official retirement of the race.
Le Mans 24 – Iconic. Photo credit Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC
Toyota have never won the 24 hours of Le Mans which is one of the world’s most demanding races. They are massive favourites this year and they have got the best chance through various reasons!
Toyota are the only team in the leading LMP1 Hybrid class, as Porsche withdrew from the series last year. They have no realistic competition and you could say the LMP1 rule book gives them an advantage that places Toyota in firm control.
The number seven car will be piloted by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López. Photo credit, Toyota WEC
The handicaps that the privateer LMP1 teams are as follows. They are not allowed to lap faster than the hybrid class, and if the privateers do, they will get a drive through penalty. The others involves the pit stops, in that a hybrid car can go a lap longer of 11 laps on fuel, whilst the privateer cars can only go 10 laps. Finally the hybrids also have a minimum pit stop time of 5 seconds which shorter than the other class. Toyota therefore will spend much less time in the pits than any other team. So realistically reliability is the only thing that would prevent them.
Toyota have come so close in recent years and it was reliability that stopped them. The team came closest in 2016, it was leading for 23hrs 55mins until a failure happened on the penultimate lap. Porsche overtook them for victory, it was heartbreaking for the Japanese team. To add insult to injury the car took them over 11 minutes to finish the last lap which meant they were not even classified. In the race you have to complete the last lap in under 6 minutes by regulation 10.5 to be classed.
Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Le Mans rookie Fernando Alonso pilot the number eight car. Photo credit, Toyota WEC
In their #8 challenger, they have Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso, who is driving for them as well McLaren in Formula 1. Alonso has taken to endurance racing like a duck to water as it was his car that took victory in the first round of the World Endurance Series in Spa, Belgium. It was his first win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix in F1.
To have without a doubt the fastest car on the grid, rules restricting the limited opposition they have and an increased calibre of drivers is it just a matter of the #7 or #8 taking victory?
It would be embarrassing for the manufacturer to lose this year, they would become a laughing stock. If they fail to win I also see the end of the LMP1 Hybrid category. To have one team in that field is also just ridiculous.
We’ll find out! Follow @PitCrew_Online as we’ll have commentary throughout, and get the kettle on for the early hours.
Here is the lowdown on the newest motorsport driver to attempt the thrills and spills of Formula 1.
Dean Tremi/Red Bull Content Pool
Brendon Hartley
Age: 27
Nationality: New Zealand
Current Drive: Porsche WEC Driver
Notable Achievements:
2007: EuroCup Formula Renault 2.0 Champion
2015: FIA World Endurance Champion
2017: Le Mans 24 Hours Winner
History:
Brendon Hartley is an out-and-out racer, whether we say open wheeled racers or prototypes. Hartley’s F1 debut by all means has come to a shock to the New Zealander, after he was dropped by the Red Bull Junior driver program in 2010. The reason he was dropped was after poor results compared to his team mate in Formula Renault 3.5. His team mate at the time was Daniel Ricciardo.
Andrew Ferraro/GP2 Media Service
Hartley fluttered in and out with GP2 between 2010 and ’12, but without anything set in stone it was difficult for him to gain a rhythm in the series. Without a full-time drive in 2012 he moved towards LMP2 in his Le Mans 24 Hours debut. In 2012 and ’13 he continued to have his foot still in the door at Formula 1, performing some shakedown tests for the pre-dominant Mercedes team.
From 2014 onwards, he then dedicated his full time to the World Endurance Champion when he signed with the up-and-coming Porsche LMP1 team. He won the 2015 Drivers’ Championship, coming on leaps and bounds in that category of motorsport.
The Kiwi is in good form: he won the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours and, including that event, has won the last four races, ironically his most recent win being at the Circuit of the Americas. In endurance racing he hasn’t finished off the podium since Le Mans last year.
Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
Chance at 2018?
Daniil Kvyat has now been demoted twice but has been given a reprieve with Carlos Sainz moving to Renault in-season and Pierre Gasly attempting to win the Super Formula Championship in Japan.
If Brendon Hartley impresses could he replace Kvyat when Gasly returns? The World Endurance Championship and Formula 1 do not clash for the remainder of the year. Brendon Hartley on the 2018 Formula 1 grid—something I wouldn’t have thought would even be in discussion few months ago.
