TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein reignited his title ambitions by securing his third victory of the season in the opening race of the 2023 Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix double-header in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The win puts Wehrlein just two points behind Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) at the top of the drivers’ standings in what is proving to be a fiercely competitive title race alongside Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis – who sits in third place after securing his third podium on the bounce in Jakarta.
The German had looked like the man to beat after winning three podiums in the first three races of Season 9 – including two victories – and taking lead in the drivers’ standings.
But a series of underwhelming performances and bad luck – notably when he collided with Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi in the Cape Town E-Prix to force an early retirement – allowed Cassidy to take championship lead.
Speaking after the race, Wehrlein admitted the team had been suffering recently but were confident their fortunes had been turned around after victory in the Indonesian capital.
“It feels awesome, obviously”, he said. “A very good race, qualifying was much better than in previous races. Thanks a lot to the team – the car was awesome today, I was leading almost the whole race. It was not so easy on energy for me, I knew that the guys behind had a little bit more, and also driving in the slipstream helps. But I think we defended well and are happy to be back on top. The team definitely deserves it and now we are looking forward to tomorrow.
“The last couple of races we were not where we wanted to be, hadn’t scored the points we wanted, and qualifying was an issue for us. Today with P3 we qualified in the best position so far this season. A big turnaround for us in the last couple of weeks, and like I said thanks a lot to the team for all their hard work. Still a long way to go.”
Wehrlein led home Dennis, who reacted strongly after the race claiming the Porsche driver made a “ridiculous” manoeuvre forcing Dennis to take evasive action.
Maserati MSG Racing driver Maximilian Günther stayed in the leading pack throughout the race, finishing third. He started in Julius Bär Pole Position, the first Maserati pole in single-seater motorsport since 1958.
In the first race of the double-header in Jakarta, Wehrlein started third and traded places for the lead with polesitter Günther 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 activation, Wehrlein was able to manage things comfortably in the most trying conditions on a hot and humid afternoon where temperatures reached the mid-30s Celsius.
Dennis started second and finished second, with not quite enough in his Avalanche Andretti to overpower Wehrlein’s factory Porsche 99X Electric. His push for the front was compromised by a late-race push from Günther, who pressured the Brit for second, allowing Wehrlein some breathing room.
Ultimately, Günther could not find a way through. The DS PENSKE teammates Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Éric Vergne came home fourth and fifth respectively with Günther’s Maserati MSG Racing teammate Edoardo Mortara sixth.
Standings leader Cassidy tried his best to outdo defensive maestro Vergne mid-way through the race. He had a lucky escape as he made a move from a long way back on an unsighted Vergne on Lap 20, narrowly avoiding damage to both front corners of his car, finishing seventh.
Season 6 champion António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) finished eighth, some 15 seconds behind Cassidy. Robin Frijns doubled-down on an impressive qualifying performance by securing ABT CUPRA Formula E Team’s first points of the season with a ninth place finish.
Jake Hughes rounded out the top 10 for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, earning him the ABB Driver of Progress Award for making up the most places in the race after starting back in 20th on the grid.
However, it was another frustrating outing for Jaguar TCS Racing as their cars came to blows again, as they did in Hyderabad, with Sam Bird sending Mitch Evans spinning out of eighth position and crucial points late on in the race.
Cassidy leads on 128pts in the standings while TAG Heuer Porsche leapfrogged Envision Racing at the top of the Teams’ running with a nine point advantage on 198pts.
::Watch the second race of the 2023 Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix double-header on Sunday 4 June live on Eurosport 2 from 08:30 BST.
