Generally speaking, DS Penske cars love new circuits. With the exception of Tokyo last March, tracks still untouched by electric single-seater racing have often smiled on the Franco-American team. This weekend could have produced even more points, but it's important to underline the good pace set by the two DS E-TENSE FE23s throughout the weekend.
The dominance of Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne in practice, followed by JEV's outstanding performance right through to the final qualifying session, against Mich Evans' Jaguar, will be remembered from the first day. In the race, the Frenchman was also at the forefront, crossing the finish line in third place, at the wheel of a single-seater damaged by numerous contacts. One of these resulted in a five-second penalty, dropping him back to sixth place. But Vandoorne's eighth-place finish, after starting 18th, was also reassuring in terms of the car's level of performance.
And so, on Sunday morning, the story of the previous day was repeated. This time, however, there were two DS Penske cars in the quarter-finals instead of one. Vergne was once again second on the grid, and Vandoorne was in sixth place. For this second race of the weekend, the configuration is slightly different, with 26 laps to cover compared with 28 the day before.
This means that the energy strategy is shifted, but the tactics remain the same: the advantage does not necessarily go to the leader, who uses more energy than the others, but to the one who can stay at the front and attack at the right moment.
Vergne in the top 10
As on the previous day, there was plenty of overtaking, and positions - both at the front and in the pack - changed dramatically. Robin Frijns' (Envision Racing) run-off also reshuffled the pack, as the safety car neutralised the race for a few laps. As the final laps approached, Vergne was in a "waiting" position, in the second half of the top 10. Vandoorne, a victim of touching, was forced to back off.
Despite the intervention of the safety car, race management would not add any further laps. After a final lap marked by Oliver Rowland's Nissan running out of energy in the lead, Pascal Wehrlein's Porsche crossed the finish line in first place. Vergne finished seventh, once again scoring important points for his team.
"Both our cars performed at a high level this weekend," comments Eugenio Franzetti, Director of DS Performance, which develops the DS Penske cars. "JEV was always fast and was among the front runners from free practice through to qualifying, consistently on both days.
"Stoffel was also fast, more unlucky in qualifying on Saturday and better placed on the grid on Sunday, which is a source of additional satisfaction. We're all obviously frustrated by JEV's penalty on Saturday and his seventh place on Sunday, because we knew that the podium was within our grasp.
"But we're delighted with the points we've picked up, and what we've shown here in Misano is reassuring for what's to come, especially Monaco, which is a bit of a home race for us, where we've got a little surprise in store for our fans."
The next round of the Formula E World Championship takes place on Saturday 27 April in the Principality of Monaco.
