More Delays for Formula E
The race began much later than planned as the race control moved the start further multiple times. The weather influenced the whole weekend – a pity for the fans in the stands, but perhaps a new element of excitement for the fans behind the screens. Insted of standing start, the conditions called for multiple laps behind a safety car. At last, the skies were already starting to clear. After seven long laps behind the safety car, the field finally went for a rolling start.
About half of the drivers opted to activate their first Attack Mode immediately after the restart, including the top three. Di Grassi, who delayed his activation by one lap, lost a few positions, dropping down to P6. The Porsche duo executed a strategic swap, allowing Wehrlein — who had the longer Attack Mode duration — to chase down race leader Cassidy.
Costly Mistakes
On lap 11, de Vries was caught out by the slippery conditions and went off into the gravel. He managed to rejoin the race, though he left some debris behind. Dennis suffered a similar off-track moment but was able to recover with less impact. Wehrlein also slid off track briefly, losing a few seconds to the leader in the process.
Dennis repeated his earlier error, running wide again into Turn 7. Meanwhile, Backmann spun out on the circuit — though it had little effect as he was already running last.
At the halfway point of the race, Cassidy remained comfortably in P1, with both Porsche drivers — Wehrlein and da Costa — attempting to close the gap. However, Cassidy maintained a lead of over five seconds.
Günther was shown the black and orange flag and forced to pit after race control deemed him to be driving in unsafe conditions.
Yellow Flag and blocked Pit Entry
A yellow flag came out with eight laps to go when Günther stopped his car at the side of the track, blocking the pit lane entry. With just six laps remaining, Cassidy opted to take his second Attack Mode (worth six minutes), retaining his lead.
Shortly after activating his second Attack Mode, Maloney went off track, allowing de Vries to reclaim P10. Maloney’s chances of scoring points diminished briefly, but he made a strong comeback by overtaking de Vries on lap 25 to reclaim the final point-scoring position.
Cassidy set the fastest lap as race control extended the event by three additional laps. Bird was the next to falter, spinning multiple times before regaining control of the car. He dropped from close proximity to teammate Barnard down into P15. Speaking of Barnard, the birthday boy moved up to P10 just in time for the final lap.
Jaguar’s First Win
Cassidy clinched a dominant win for Jaguar, crossing the finish line a massive seven seconds ahead of the Porsche teammates da Costa and Wehrlein. Despite tricky conditions, only Günther failed to finish, a testament to the field’s control and adaptability on the wet Shanghai track.
With a tricky season so far for the team, Jaguar could finally celebrate their first win of 2025.