The first race of the weekend in Jeddah did not disappoint. With the introduction of Pit Boost combined with Attack Mode, Formula E definitely found the combo to spice things up.
Jeddah is the first weekend of the six double-headers of the season. This first race introduced the Pit Boost and kept the Attack Mode as well. This combination made those 31 laps look like a performance.
The show begins at the start. Even though Maximilian Günther manages to keep the lead, Sam Bird spins right after the first corner. Mitch Evans slightly misjudged the brakes and made contact with Pascal Wehrlein, creating a puncture for the German driver. Evans decides not to pit despite a front-wing damage. On the other hand, Wehrlein had to pit on the first lap, ruining his race. A couple of drivers take the escape road because with all the chaos, Nico Müller ended up on top of Da Costa’s car. The Swiss driver damaged his car with that move, and therefore retired the car. The nightmare weekend continues for the Lola Yamaha ABT team, as both cars have a stop and go penalty. Norman Nato also receives a drive-through penalty for a technical infraction. He served it on lap 12.
A surprising guest
The surprise of this race is Oliver Rowland. He has great pace and even catches up with Maximilian Günther at a second per lap. Mitch Evans finally pits on lap 6 but rejoins at the back of the field. He also receives a five second penalty for the collision with Wehrlein, ending his chances of a great result. A quick safety car is deployed on lap 7 because of some debris in turn 13. After an interesting battle, Nyck de Vries passes Taylor Barnard for p3. A bit of contact between Da Costa and Barnard causes both of them to lose positions. On lap 11, Oliver Rowland finally passes Maximilian Günther for first place.
The first demonstration of Attack Mode comes from Jake Dennis, but it is not at a great window. The Pit Boost opens on lap 14, so seven drivers decide to do their first 4 minutes of Attack Mode. Hughes, Barnard and Da Costa are the first three drivers to pit for the Pit Boost. The great loser of this Pit Boost lottery is Maximilian Günther, as he loses two positions after his stop. On the other hand, Jean-Eric Vergne is the winner of the Pit Boost stop. He gains a couple of positions, coming out between Barnard and Da Costa.
Thanks to Attack Mode, Maximilian Günther gains four places and is back in the top 4. Edo Mortara is the driver that gains the most positions, with eight on his tally. Oliver Rowland fails to keep his gap in front, with a hungry Maximilian Günther reducing it to 0.8 seconds, when he had four seconds. After being stuck behind Hugues for a couple of laps, Barnard finally manages to pass on lap 25. He also overtakes de Vries just before the end of his Attack Mode.
The game is on
The battle for first place is really intense as Günther attempts to attack Rowland twice on the outside, with a bit of contact between the two of them. However, like Vergne, Rowland is under investigation for a pit lane infringement. Ultimately, Barnard and de Vries join the fight, making it a four-driver fight for the win ! Maximilian Günther passes Rowland at the last chicane, taking his first win with DS Penske. The German driver declares he believed he could win until the very last moment : “I believed until the end. Honestly, I got a perfect exit out of the second to last chicane, so I lined it up and after it was just about if he had the cost or not on his energy”.
With beautiful overtakes, Taylor Barnard earns the fan vote for Driver of the Day. Lucas di Grassi has been disqualified after using over the maximum amount of energy allowed during the race. Nico Müller also received a three place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race, and one penalty point for causing a collision with Da Costa.