Formula E went racing under the lights for its first double-header weekend in Jeddah, held at the sweeping Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. Edoardo Mortara came to life and delivered a massive result for Mahindra, securing the team’s first pole since Berlin 2024 — a milestone for the Indian outfit.
Having shown impressive pace throughout qualifying, Mortara entered the race and was poised to convert his pole into victory. After a tight contest with Maximilian Günther, he ultimately emerged at the head of the grid. Pascal Wehrlein secured third, followed by Norman Nato, setting the stage for a closely fought contest.
Further down the grid, the stewards handed Lucas di Grassi a three-place grid penalty after he failed to follow the race director’s instructions during Free Practice 2, denting his prospects before the lights had even gone out. Championship contenders Jake Dennis, Nick Cassidy, and Oliver Rowland endured difficult qualifying sessions and started at the back of the grid.
The race also introduced PIT BOOST for the first time in Season 12, while officials trimmed Attack Mode to a single six-minute activation, opening the door to bold strategy calls and unpredictable twists across 31 laps.
Lights Almost Out
When the green flag appeared, nobody moved. Several drivers lined up out of position in their grid boxes, which prevented a clean launch and forced race control to delay the start. Nyck de Vries then compounded the disruption when he reported that he could not engage drive in his Mahindra. A technical issue sidelined him on the spot, and marshals wheeled his car off the grid and into the pit lane, handing the team an early setback.
Mortara lit up his rear tyres into Turn 1 and briefly lost traction as the pack swarmed past him. Günther reacted instantly and took the lead, with Nato and his teammate Barnard tucking in behind. From pole position, Mortara dropped to seventh in a matter of seconds.
An Early Safety Car
Zane Maloney brought out the yellow flags at Turn 7 before the opening lap had even settled. Race control deployed a Full Course Yellow on Lap 3 after Maloney tangled with Pepe Martí, who had been chasing Jean-Éric Vergne — a racing incident, but one that shuffled the order. Martí limped back to the pits as the Safety Car gathered the field up once more.
Meanwhile, Oliver Rowland and Nick Cassidy continued to circulate outside the top ten, with their recovery drives only just getting under way. As the green flag returned on Lap 4, Jake Dennis wasted no time carving through the pack, gaining three places on the opening lap to move from ninth to sixth.
Heated Battle for the Lead
At the front, Günther began to stretch his legs, building a small but important gap to Nato. Pascal Wehrlein muscled past Barnard for third and set his sights on Nato ahead. Behind them, Zane Maloney was officially out of the race following his earlier clash, while Pepe Martí rejoined in 18th and promptly set the fastest lap — a small consolation.
Race control noted an incident between Nick Cassidy and Martí but chose not to take immediate action. By Lap 7, none of the frontrunners had activated Attack Mode, and the top five managed their energy almost identically, each hovering around 85%. Nato then seized the lead and began to build a small but useful gap. On Lap 12, the stewards showed Günther the black-and-white flag for moving under braking, issuing a formal warning as the pressure intensified at the front.
Predicted PIT BOOST windows centred around Lap 16, and crews up and down the pit lane prepared for the first wave of stops. Wehrlein and Günther ran wheel-to-wheel at one stage, coming perilously close to contact before Wehrlein secured second place. The two DS Penske cars ran in line in third and fourth, keeping themselves firmly in the fight.
The Start of PIT BOOST and Attack Mode
Günther was the first to take Attack Mode on Lap 15. Envision’s Joel Eriksson and Nissan’s Oliver Rowland were among the first to dive in for PIT BOOST, while DS Penske opted to split strategies — Barnard pitting as Günther stayed out. Dan Ticktum and Jean-Éric Vergne soon followed into the pits.
Joel Eriksson activated Attack Mode on pit exit, while Rowland’s attempt to pass Ticktum ended in frustration. The Nissan ran side-by-side with the Cupra Kiro but couldn’t make it stick, costing valuable time and compounding what was becoming a bruising weekend for the reigning champion. Dennis, da Costa, and Ticktum all deployed Attack Mode as Günther surged back into the lead, using the extra power to retake Wehrlein.
The Porsche driver responded by diving into the pits for PIT BOOST, which briefly lifted Mortara up the order, with Nato and Nico Müller close behind and Mitch Evans firmly in the mix. Günther then peeled into the pits on Lap 20 for his PIT BOOST stop, setting off the final round of strategic gambles. The stewards handed Eriksson a drive-through penalty, shaking up the midfield battle even further. By Lap 21, every driver had completed their PIT BOOST stop, and the field began firing off Attack Mode activations.
Late-Race Tension
By Lap 24, the tension was palpable. Dan Ticktum erupted over the radio, concerned about his vulnerability in fifth place and lamenting tyre temperatures he claimed were “hotter than the sun’s core”.
Barnard and Nato ran side-by-side into Turn 4, Barnard bravely holding the inside line to fend off the Frenchman. Moments later, Dennis and da Costa went wheel-to-wheel through Turn 13 in a fierce scrap that ultimately left the two Jaguars running third and fourth. On the other side, Mortara, with Attack Mode still in hand, surged past Nato for fourth and then climbed into second, closing in on Wehrlein with just minutes of extra power remaining.
The battle for the podium intensified as the laps ticked down. With three laps to go, Cassidy broke into the points in tenth place — though it was not enough to hold onto his championship lead. The New Zealander continued pushing, climbed up to seventh by Lap 28 and in the hopes of an unlikely podium.
Buemi delivered one of the drives of the night, climbing from 18th to seventh after a decisive move on Vergne. On the penultimate lap, Wehrlein led with Mortara inching closer, though the gap remained just out of reach. The final lap began with 2.5 seconds separating Wehrlein and Mortara. Vergne voiced his frustrations over team radio, but at the front there was no stopping the Porsche driver.
A Special Win for Wehrlein
On his 100th Formula E start, Pascal Wehrlein commanded the race to the chequered flag, claiming his ninth career victory in emphatic fashion. Mortara secured second place — a landmark result for Mahindra— while Evans completed the podium.
Müller followed in fourth, ahead of da Costa, Cassidy, Buemi, Vergne, Dennis, and Barnard to round out the Top 10.