Formula E: Wehrlein wins race 1 in Jakarta

Factory Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein scored his first Formula E victory in over four months in the Jakarta E-Prix.

Wehrlein held off customer Avalanche Andretti Porsche driver Jake Dennis by just 0.477s.

Wehrlein had headed the way in the Drivers’ World Championship since Round 3, after a strong start to the season saw him fire to an early advantage. Since his last win in Diriyah, however, he’d failed to make the podium while Nick Cassidy hit a rich run of form – eventually overcoming the German in the standings with his win in Monaco.

Porsche’s Wehrlein started third and traded places for the lead with polesitter Maximilian Guenther over the opening third of the E-Prix, having first made his way by his compatriot on Lap 4. From Lap 12 and the second ATTACK MODE activations, Wehrlein was able to manage things comfortably – making it look as easy as it can do in Formula E in the most trying conditions on a hot humid Jakarta afternoon where temperatures touched the mid-30s celsius.

Dennis started second and finished second, with not quite enough in his Avalanche Andretti to overpower the factory Porsche 99X Electric of Wehrlein out-front. His charge wasn’t helped by a late race push from Guenther, who hassled the Brit for second, allowing Wehrlein some breathing room.

Guenther couldn’t ultimately find a way by, though, and was the best of the Stellantis, DS-powered runners – with the DS PENSKE pair of standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne coming home fourth and fifth and Guenther’s Maserati MSG Racing teammate Edoardo Mortara sixth.

Standings leader Cassidy tried his best to outdo defensive maestro Vergne mid-way through the race but made a lucky escape as he made a move from a long way back on an unsighted Vergne on Lap 20 and narrowly avoided damage to both front corners of his car. After that scare, and with Wehrlein’s win, he’d be relieved to wind up seventh with good points.

Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS PENSKE) wound up eighth but way back – some 15 seconds in fact – from the lead seven. Robin Frijns doubled down on an impressive qualifying performance for ABT CUPRA’s first points and ninth. Jake Hughes rounded out the top 10 for NEOM McLaren while the two Jaguar TCS Racing cars came to blows again, as they did in Hyderabad – Sam Bird sending Mitch Evans spinning out of eighth and crucial points late on.

All that left Cassidy with just a two-point advantage at the top of the standings from Wehrlein, while TAG Heuer Porsche leapfrogged back beyond Envision Racing at the top of the Teams’ running.

Jakarta Race 1 Results