Tag Heuer Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa has said his team suffered a “kick in the butt” at the Jeddah E-Prix, and has warned its rivals that they are catching-up quickly as Formula E enters a mid-season break.

The Portuguese suffered a tough weekend at the city’s inaugural E-Prix, finishing ninth in Race 1, and then retiring in Race 2 after an early collision with Maximilian Guenther.

Having entered the weekend first in the championship, da Costa now sits in third behind leader Oliver Rowland and Taylor Barnard, 29 points adrift of the Nissan driver.

The Nissan powertrain – which also powers Barnard’s NEOM McLaren team – looked strong over both races, proving the Japanese marque’s progress and the works team’s credentials as a title favourite.

After the race, in which he retired after a first-lap collision with Maximilian Guenther, da Costa told media including Motorsport Week that the weekend was one that showed the German giants must not rest on its laurels.

“I think the biggest takeaway from this weekend is that our competitors are waking up and getting close, so I think that’s also good for us,” he said.

“It’s a kick in the butt in the good sense of the expression, and we’re definitely going to work even harder, I’m not worried about that.”

Seemingly da Costa views Rowland as his – and the Porsche team’s – main championship challenger, the Brit having already equalled his Season 10 win tally, and said the break between Jeddah and the Miami E-Prix – scheduled for April 12 – will provide the team an ample opportunity to reset itself and work hard towards maintaining its reputation as the fastest overall package on the grid this season.

“We have some time between now and Miami, so I think that’s good for us, but as you’ve seen, the others are not sleeping either, so everybody’s going to improve, we just have to make sure we keep on improving as well.

“I’m sure we have a strong enough package to give Nissan and Oliver a run for their money.”

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The debut for Formula E in Jeddah provided a debut for Pit Boost, the emergence of a new UK star and the complete flipping on its head of the title race. Motorsport Week was in Saudi Arabia for all the news and gossip.

Ticktum’s ‘tantrum’ triggers the misinformed

The longer MW’s Formula E Editor has been around the paddock, one lesson that he has learned has been that Dan Ticktum is not quite the character that non-endemic watchers of Formula E believe he is.

Ticktum’s younger days in the F1 feeder series, and one or two radio outbursts, has unfortunately rendered him with labels like “bad boy,” and his expletive-laden rant to his engineers during Race 1 in Jeddah enabled such a conversation to rear its head again.

Being told that his car needed a system reset on top of his battery recharge in the Pit Boost portion of the race, Ticktum was understandably irked by the situation, particularly given he is now racing a car that is, by far, the quickest he’s ever driven in FE.

Several F-Bombs that dropped in the conversation has now made it onto social media, with many non-hardcore FE fans quickly putting the young Brit down, but what was also broadcast, which did not fit the narrative, was that he gave a “disclaimer” saying he was not angry at his team, but at the circumstances which presented themselves to him.

It is not a journalist’s position to be partisan to any driver whatsoever, but it is worth making that point that, every time Motorsport Week has spoken to Ticktum, he has been courteous, friendly and always willing to give answers to questions.

Prior to Race 1, Ticktum told MW that whilst “there’s more pressure” given the Cupra Kiro team now have to perform with its new investors, the lack of financial stress is “one less thing to worry about,” and that he has confidence in himself “to deliver the best in all situations.”

Chomping at the bit, Ticktum conveyed frustration that he now has a two-month gap from Jeddah to Miami in April, saying he’d like there to be 15 race weekends a season.

Female representation in Jeddah provides ‘further opportunities’ for a full-time Formula E seat

Jamie Chadwick once again filled the cockpit of the Jaguar in the rookie test prior to the weekend’s action, having done so in the all-female test in Madrid in November.

She was joined by Tatiana Calderon, who had run with Maserati in Spain, but this time represented the Lola-Yamaha-ABT outfit, revealed to Motorsport Week that she had received the offer from Lola’s Chairman Till Bechtolsheimer after Mexico, with the pair then racing together in the Daytona 24 Hours.

The Colombian was buoyant about the chances of a full-time female driver in Formula E very soon, saying: “I would wish nothing but that really and I think that kind of opportunity really creates further opportunities so I’m really grateful that they did that because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that so I think sometimes you have to force or to encourage people to take chances in female drivers and I’m glad that it’s Jamie and me this time, but who knows in the future so hopefully we’ll see another woman full time here very soon.”

Barnard continues to surprise everyone, including himself!

The continued strength of the Nissan powertrain is being enabled, to the max, by NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard. After making into the semi-finals of qualifying ahead of Race 1, Barnard took a second third-place of the season.

Speaking to Motorsport Week after the race, Barnard said he did “absolutely not” foresee his season starting this way. He added that he envisaged qualifying for Race 2 “a little bit more irrelevant,” however this did not stop him from becoming Formula E’s youngest-ever pole-sitter. His aim was to “control it from the front,” and he gave it a good go, losing-out only to winner and new title leader Oliver Rowland.

Leaving Jeddah also second in the championship, Barnard said he was “super happy,” adding that whilst he intends to add to his records and become the youngest-ever FE race-winner soon, he said he “can’t complain,” adding, saying “the main focus is to just score big points.”

Cassidy happy to get points ‘on the board’ amid fractious weekend

It’s been a shame to see such a talent as Nick Cassidy cut an unhappy figure so far in Season 11. No points up until Race 2 in Jeddah, the Kiwi put on a typical peloton display, making his way through the pack in a comparatively-uncompetitive Jaguar to take fifth place.

“We needed that,” he told us. “It’s a bit of momentum for the guys,” he added, saying the goal is to “keep working,” and improve the underwhelming package the British team has shown so far.

“We’re aware that to fight at all we need car performance and we need to improve. Ultimately, if you have performance, you’ll score big points.”

Cassidy went into a similar break last season first in the championship, and whilst the situation is different, we asked him if he felt confident in being able to turn things around, he said, with a grin: “We’ll see.”

Hughes sees further improvement in Stellantis package

Jake Hughes saw a double-points tally for him over the weekend, taking third in Race 2 to make it an FE first in an all-British podium.

Acknowledging the Stellantis powertrain took quadruple points finishes – through his Maserati team and DS Penske – in both Mexico and Race 1 in Jeddah, Hughes said it would have likely been a similar story had Friday’s winner Max Guenther not suffered his Lap 1 shunt.

“I think we’re further ahead than we expected,” Hughes told MW. “To have these points on the board is massively encouraging.

“It’s a big boost that we’re getting a podium already and fighting for wins and pole positions.

“For myself, I’m over the moon. It’s always challenging changing team, it’s a lot to take on to extract the most out of the package, so to be performing like this already is encouraging.”

Hughes, who was partnered by Barnard at McLaren for two weekends in Season 10, nearly came into contact with the youngster towards the end of Race 2, being forced off the track in an attempt to take second. Hughes was initially angry, but laughed it off afterwards.

“I wasn’t enamoured at the time, but I get it. I’d do something similar if I’m honest.”

Speaking on the British domination of race two, with Jake Dennis’ fourth-place making it a British 1-2-3-4, Hughes said: “I don’t know how we [the UK] keep churning it out to be honest! I don’t know what we have in the water, but we have everything we need.

“Infrastructure, a lot of the teams are based there, a lot of tracks, and the British motorsport scene, with kids starting in karting, is doing a lot of things right.”

Guenther foresees strategic differences in future Pit Boost races

Maximilian Guenther has said that the new Pit Boost regulation may provide different strategic problems for teams, depending on the different styles of track that will see the mandatory recharges take place.

Guenther became the first winner of a Pit Boost-influenced race in Jeddah, taking victory in Race 1, in which recharging made its debut.

Speaking to media including Motorsport Week, the German said that whilst he does not foresee any huge differences to Pit Boost, the influence of it on certain tracks will prove to make it harder to drivers to regain their pre-stop positions.

“I think it’ll be pretty much the same wherever we go. Obviously, every race has a different dynamic and style, and track position is more important than others,” he said. 

“Looking at Monaco [the next round with Pit Boost], I do believe dropping from the lead to P9 and to come back again would not be possible, just because overtaking is more difficult on a track like Monaco, those are the things you have to manoeuvre on a strategy side.”

READ MORE – Oliver Rowland: Nissan team ‘gelling’ after Jeddah Formula E success

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Oliver Rowland has said his Nissan Formula E Team are “gelling in a good way,” after the Brit cemented his title credentials with a commanding victory in Race 2 of the Jeddah E-Prix.

Starting from second, Rowland played a team strategy perfectly, using his Attack Modes well to overcome the challenge of NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard to claim his second win of the season.

Rowland told Motorsport Week that, whilst his team and himself are now being labelled as one of the title favourites, you can’t be complacent.

“I don’t think you can expect it in this game,” he said. “Look, I’m always very clear with what I want to achieve each weekend. I have set out goals in my mind, which I focus on.

“I’m getting more and more experience with my team. We know what the car needs, we know what I need. We’re gelling in a good way, so I’m really happy.”

‘He’s very much like me’ – Rowland proud of protege Barnard

The race result had to significant additional points of interest with the first all-British podium in FE history, with Jake Hughes claiming third, and Jake Dennis finishing fourth to make it a UK quartet, as well as Barnard being a product of Rowland’s karting team initiative.

Rowland said that he noticed the talent of the 20-year-old – who became FE’s youngest-ever pole-sitter this weekend – and isn’t surprised to see him sharing a podium with him now.

“I saw his talent when he was 11, 12. He needed help because he had no backing or funding and managed to find him a really good seat so he could show even more of his talent. 

“And to be here at such a young age, youngest pole sitter, youngest podium, I think I have a good eye for that sort of stuff!

“But he deserves it. He’s very much like me. He came from a background that couldn’t afford to even do basic karting, so it’s nice to see him up here.”

Rowland added that he is proud of what the British youth system for young budding racing drivers has been able to do in terms of producing such a breadth of talented drivers.

“Britain is generally spoilt for drivers. You look in Formula 1, you look in Formula E, WEC, wherever, we have such a good grassroots karting that we really teach the kids very well and they’re able to perform.”

Rowland joked: “If we can put Britain on the map, from a selfish perspective, I don’t really care about the others, apart from him [Barnard] a little bit!”

READ MORE – Jeddah E-Prix: Oliver Rowland leads home British Formula E quartet

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Oliver Rowland extended his Formula E World Championship lead with a commanding Race 2 victory, leading home a chain of four British drivers in Jeddah.

The Nissan man utilised his strong package to perfection, overhauling the challenge of NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard, who took second after a fraught final few laps, fending off the challenge of Maserati MSG Racing’s Jake Hughes.

Jake Dennis was the fourth of the British quartet to come home, overtaking Jean-Eric Vergne’s DS Penske in the final few corners, who dropped to seventh.

Nick Cassidy made good of a bad weekend with fifth place, with the second Maserati of Stoffel Vandoorne storming through to finish sixth, having started at the back.

Pascal Wehrlein was eighth, with Dan Ticktum scoring points for the second time this season with ninth, as Edoardo Mortara took the final points position in 10th place.

For Rowland, the pre-season chatter of a potential world title challenge was now looking to be well-placed.

How the race unfolded

At lights out, Barnard covered-off Rowland as Hughes took Rowland for second, and into Turn 4, chaos ensued.

On the entrance, Guenther showed too much enthusiasm and punted Antonio Felix da Costa sideways, sending both men to the back of the field.

Into Lap 2, Hughes looked keen to take Barnard’s lead, as the second McLaren of Sam Bird was now sitting in fourth, with de Vries fifth and Ticktum up three places to sixth.

Robin Frijns was another big mover in the pack, now in ninth, one place ahead of David Beckmann, as Guenther pitted, his race over. Da Costa was also out, his title lead that he took into the weekend firmly out of his grasp.

Barnard continued to lead, heading up a British 1-2-3-4, with Vergne in fifth, who then displaced Bird for fourth.

Lucas di Grassi was the first to take Attack Mode, and worked this way up to 10th, as Evans, Wehrlein and Cassidy all struggled to make headway.

Vergne was now third, touching Rowland as he muscled through for the position, as Ticktum took Bird on the outside of Turn 2 for fifth.

Di Grassi was now fourth with a minute of Attack Mode remaining, taking the fastest lap so far as he took third, and then quickly grabbed second, with Barnard holding off the veteran’s challenge.

Wehrlein was now in Attack Mode, and quickly gained three places and sat in 11th. Beckmann was now also in Attack Mode, as Wehrlein went up to 10th.

With di Grassi’s Attack Mode over, he slid down to fourth with Ticktum snapping at his heels, but the Kiro was to lose position to Wehrlein, who moved up into fourth ahead of di Grassi.

Rowland now led, with Barnard tucking in behind Vergne and Wehrlein. Frijns’ progress was continuing, now in seventh, as Cassidy set the fastest lap in Attack Mode, now up to 11th.

The Kiwi was now in eighth on Lap 9, and then seventh as three tenths was the gap between Rowland and Vergne at the front.

Evans and Frijns were now in Attack Mode, the Envision’s quick start condemning him to between two to three percent of energy less than those around him.

He was however up to third, and onto the start of Lap 12, breezed by Rowland and Barnard on the entry to Turn 1, opening up a nearly a second’s gap by the end of the lap.

Evans, with Attack Mode now over, took third from Barnard, as Frijns now had around a four percent deficit on the other leading drivers, as Hughes now moved-up to third using his first Attack.

Di Grassi continued to hold a points-scoring position with ninth, as Rowland took his first Attack Mode on Lap 14, handing second to Hughes, but as the Maserati’s extra power ran out, Rowland took both the Maserati and Frijns for the lead.

Barnard was now in fifth place, yet to take an Attack, but did so on Lap 15 along with Vergne. He quickly demoted Evans to fifth, and then moved-up to second as Vergne followed into third, as Ticktum now took his first lot of extra power.

Rowland now had a lead of around 1.5 seconds, but Barnard dispatched Frijns and closed down the Nissan, taking the lead into the first corner on Lap 17, as Ticktum dispatched Frijns for fifth.

Cassidy was now in his second Attack Mode, moving-up to sixth ahead of his team-mate, as Barnard opened-up a lead of one second on Rowland, with Vergne a further half-a-second behind in third.

Cassidy was now fifth, with Dennis quietly moving his way up the field in ninth. Barnard seemed to keep his powder dry in the hectic environment, allowing Rowland to take the lead back.

Cassidy now had third, as Rowland possessed a two percent advantage on Barnard’s McLaren, with six minutes of Attack Mode still left.

Cassidy was hounding Barnard for second, as Rowland led by half-a-second. Dennis, now in his second Attack, moved-up to fifth and then fourth, and then second into Lap 24.

Into Turn 13, Dennis took Rowland for the lead, as Barnard took second from Rowland who opted for his final Attack, as did di Grassi, moving his Lola up to sixth place, with Barnard now taking his final Attack.

Evans, suffering damage, was out of the race, his promising fightback over.

Vergne was now third on his final Attack Mode, with Ticktum and Hughes doing the same in sixth and seventh, as Rowland took Dennis for the lead, with three minutes of Attack left.

Dennis looked vulnerable to a manoeuvre from Vergne, as Barnard took both of the to grab second, now less than two seconds behind Rowland, but the Nissan having an extra 40 seconds’ worth of Attack Mode still in usage.

Hughes was now fourth, with more Attack left than anyone in-front of him, as Ticktum took Dennis for fifth place.

Race Control confirmed there would be no more added laps, with two to go.

Rule Britannia as Rowland takes charge

The front three of Rowland, Barnard and Vernge used all their Attack Mode, with Hughes still with a minutes’ worth left as Rowland led by 1.7 seconds.

Barnard threw his McLaren into the penultimate chicane in pursuit, as Hughes looked to pounce. Into Turn 1, the Maserati made his move, but was forced onto the run-off, but Barnard still looked ragged, as Rowland was now two seconds up the road.

Into the final lap, and Rowland was now over three seconds clear, the Nissan looking strong in all areas, as Hughes was swarming all over Barnard, the McLaren backing-up the pack as Rowland continued to open the advantage further.

Rowland took victory comfortably, with Barnard second, Hughes third and Dennis fourth after a phenomenal final lap from the Andretti, with Cassidy snatching fifth. Vandoorne finished sixth in a superb drive from last place.

Rowland, who had already cemented a championship lead with second in Race 1, now has two wins in the bag, the first driver to do so in Season 11, firmly cementing his credentials as a World Championship favourite.

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Taylor Barnard became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula E history with a barnstorming display in Jeddah, obliterating all opposition with consummate style.

The 20-year-old defeated Oliver Rowland in the final duel by nearly half-a-second, to give NEOM McLaren its first pole since Shanghai last season.

Stoffel Vandoorne thought he headed-up an all-Maserati MSG Racing second row, but was disqualified and relegated to the back of the grid for a technical infringement, meaning Jake Hughes lines-up third with Antonio Felix da Costa fourth.

Edoardo Mortara will line-up fifth, with Race 1 winner Maximilian Guenther sixth and Sam Bird seventh.

Nyck de Vries was eighth, with Dan Ticktum ninth, and Norman Nato 10th.

For Barnard, it was further confirmation that Formula E has one of the UK’s hottest properties in motor racing on its hands.

How qualifying unfolded

GROUP A

The first group would see Rowland, Wehrlein, Guenther and both Jaguars in the mix, with Vandoorne looking strong, further underlining the Maserati’s progress over the weekend.

Evans was sat in fourth, nearly four tenths adrift of Vandoorne, with Guenther and Rowland keeping tabs between.

With seconds to go, Werhrlein got himself into the top four, knocking Evans out, and when the Kiwi tried to better his time, he failed, eliminating him.

Bird sneaked into fourth, with Wehrlein’s 100 percent front row record for this season ended. Rowland went second,, but Guenther third and Vandoorne unchallenged.

After the contentious switching-off of his team radio, Cassidy’s day continued to look as grey as the clouds overhead, ninth with Evans eighth.

GROUP B

Attention will have been focused on Taylor Barnard after his brilliant display in qualifying on Friday, and he set the early benchmark with a 1:17.587, five tenths ahead of Robin Frijns in second.

Da Costa went quickest, nearly four tenths ahead of the McLaren, with di Grassi also breaking into the 1:17.000s, with Mortara getting in on the act, a tenth off the Porsche.

De Vries was next, pushing Barnard to fourth and in danger, but then went into the 1:16.000s to go back on top, as Vergne crept into the top four.

Nato was next to get into contention, with Jake Hughes looking like he would try and leave it late, as he was rooted to the bottom of the pack.

And on cue, Hughes went second, half-a-tenth off Barnard. Now just over a second covering all 11, Mortara went into third place.

Both Envisions were out of contention, as all drivers failed to improve as the chequered flag fell, meaning Barnard, Hughes, Mortara and da Costa would all qualify into the duels.

QUARTER-FINALS

The first quarter-final put together first and second from Race 1 – Guenther and Rowland.

In sector one, Rowland was already a tenth up, and two tenths by the second sector. Guenther crossed the line with a 1:15.402, but Rowland would emerge fastest, nearly three tenths ahead.

The second duel paired Bird with Vandoorne, the Maserati was a tenth up early on, and that advantaged stuck into the second sector, and went through with a 1:15.335, just under a tenth quicker than the McLaren.

Quarter-final number three was Mortara against Hughes, carrying Maserati’s hopes of a double appearance in the semis. The Brit had a tenth-and-a-half edge in sector one, but lost ground in second two. By the merest advantage, Hughes went through, 0.008 faster.

The fourth quarter-final put the mesmeric Barnard against the old hand da Costa. The Porsche was marginally ahead in sector one, with Barnard then ahead by a tenth in the second. In the final sector, the McLaren sailed ahead, Barnard securing a second straight semi-final appearance with a 1:14.840, two tenths ahead of da Costa.

It was by far Porsche’s worst qualifying of the campaign, with three British drivers making-up the four now vying for pole position.

SEMI-FINALS

The first semi-final placed Vandoorne against Rowland, with Vandoorne just 0.016 ahead in the first sector. The gap came down to 0.004 in the second, but Rowland went nearly two tenths ahead on the final sector, taking a final spot with a 1:15.071.

The second semi-final was Hughes against Barnard, and the youngster was already nearly four tenths ahead in sector one, but Hughes halved the gap in the second, but went back up to four tenths in the third, and across the line, Barnard set a 1:15.029, 0.431.

FINAL

The final placed together a Formula E veteran in Rowland against rookie in Barnard, who had been a member of Rowland’s go-karting academy as a boy.

Rowland was a fraction up in the first sector, but by sector two, Barnard was two tenths up, and across the line, he would take pole by 1:14.804, four tenths ahead of Rowland. A wonderful performance by Barnard confirms his credentials as a future star, setting a second record in Formula E of youngest-ever pole-sitter alongside youngest-ever points-scorer.

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Maximilian Guenther has topped the timesheets in FP3 for today’s second race of the Formula E Jeddah E-Prix weekend.

Coming off the back of winning last night’s first race, the DS Penske man finished the morning’s running quickest with a time of 1:15.044, closely followed by NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard. who once again impressed in Race 1 with a second podium finish of the campaign.

Oliver Rowland, second last night, was third, with the Tag Heuer Porsches of Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein fourth and fifth respectively.

Mitch Evans, who endured a torrid race after suffering damage early-on, was in sixth place, with Sam Bird seventh and Norman Nato eighth.

Dan Ticktum, who suffered an agonising technical issue in Race 1 after qualifying in the top 10, was ninth, with Nyck de Vries 10th.

Rain fell in the minutes after the first race, and has continued throughout the morning, but the session was not affected by the elements.

However, the forecasts are changing with a potential storm coming in the afternoon, with many teams predicting different outcomes.

READ MORE – Jeddah E-Prix: Maximilian Guenther steals victory from Oliver Rowland in Saudi thriller

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Maximilian Guenther said that the DS Penske car “ticked all the boxes” in his stunning victory in the first race of the Formula E Jeddah double-header.

The German stole victory from Nissan’s Oliver Rowland at the final corner on the final lap to deliver a hat-trick, having taken pole position and the fastest lap

The Franco-American outfit has been underwhelming for much of its time since its amalgamated entry in Season 9, but the team delivered a consistently strong package to enable Guenther to power to his first victory in FE since Tokyo last year.

Guenther, speaking to Motorsport Week, said: “Honestly I enjoyed this race so much, the track is amazing, the pit stop [Pit Boost] is amazing for the show, for us in terms of strategy.

“It really brings a great element to our races, it shows our progress in terms of technology, and I think we ticked all the boxes today, so that was really cool.”

“And I think this is really what we have seen today in the race in particular, that yes you need to have great pace, sure, but there are so many elements to it, there is efficiency, there is strategy, there is communication, how you place yourself in the pack, a lot of things, and I just think as a team we are working extremely hard.”

Guenther acknowledged that, given the Pit Boost will not feature in Race 2, but has the same amount of laps, the likelihood of a peloton-style race will rear its head again.

“Obviously we always want to do well in quali and that’s going to be our goal for tomorrow, but yeah sure, less importance [to get pole].”

Is the Phil Charles Factor now bearing fruit?

Guenther was coy on whether this result signals what now might be a more permanent upturn in fortunes for DS Penske, which has struggled to make a significant impact since the two brands merged in Season 9, having been two different outfits in Formula E beforehand.

The addition of technical whizz Phil Charles, who signed from Jaguar TCS Racing a year ago, was already seen as a coup, and many might now be wondering if the influence of the man who calls Guenther ‘The Professor’ is now starting to bear fruit.

One of the key improvements DS showed in Season 10 was over one lap, with Jean-Eric Vergne making it into the duels on several occasions, but its race pace was left wanting, the best result being two second-places for Vergne in Riyadh and Berlin.

Despite Charles’ reputation and the benefit DS is no doubt receiving with the use of his services, Guenther was quick to praise the whole team for his, and the Oxfordshire-based squad’s day.

“I think it’s an indication really of great execution actually, because in these kind of races there are so many elements that you have to get right, and if you just do a great job putting all these pieces of the puzzle together, you can make the difference.

“And I think this is really what we have seen today in the race in particular, that yes you need to have great pace, sure, but there are so many elements to it, there is efficiency, there is strategy, there is communication, how you place yourself in the pack, a lot of things, and I just think as a team we are working extremely hard.”

Regardless of the fortunes the team has in Race 2, and in the single-race weekend in Miami in April, the team has reason to now be quietly confident that, in a Pit Boost situation, it has the tools necessary to fight for victory.

READ MORE – Jeddah E-Prix: Maximilian Guenther steals victory from Oliver Rowland in Saudi thriller

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Maximilian Guenther converted his Pole Position into victory at the first-ever Jeddah E-Prix, stealing glory from Oliver Rowland on the final lap in Formula E’s first race featuring Pit Boost.

The German, at one stage, seemed to fall behind as cars recharged their power units for the first time in the all-electric championship, but good timing with Attack Mode helped him eat into Rowland’s four-second advantage to take the win on the final chicane.

Taylor Barnard took his second podium of the season with third, followed by Nyck de Vries, Jake Hughes and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Edoardo Morara was seventh, Sam Bird eighth in a fine recovery drive from a first-lap spin, with Antonio Felix da Costa in ninth and Stoffel Vandoorne in 10th.

How the race unfolded

At lights out, Guenther led into Turn 1, with everyone seemingly escaping through except Bird, who was pitched round and relegated to the back of the field.

At Turn 6, Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans touched, the German receiving a left rear puncture, and as Evans lost momentum, clouted the back of de Vries, damaging the left front of his car. Wehrlein pitted, Evans opted to stay out, with smoke pouring from afflicted area as the bodywork kissed the tyre.

Nico Mueller also received damage to his front in a separate tussle, the Andretti launching over the top of da Costa’s Porsche, the Portuguese’s car seemingly, and miraculously, not damaged to a large extent except for a portion of the back coming away. Mueller was forced to retire.

Now six laps in, Guenther was leading by nearly two seconds from Rowland, with Barnard third and de Vries in fourth.

Rowland was chipping away at Guenther’s lead, as Evans finally pitted, now at the back of the field.

One benefactor of the early chaos was Vergne, now up to sixth spot with Dan Ticktum now seventh. Hughes was looking strong in fifth.

The offending piece of da Costa’s car was lying in the track, causing race control to make the decision to bring out the Safety Car on Lap 8, with Guenther still ahead.

The Safety Car peeled in at the end of the lap with Guenther resuming the lead with everyone following without much attempt to overtake yet, but Bird was on the move, taking 16th from Robin Frijns’ Envision.

Da Costa was now seventh, still unhindered by his now-streamlined Porsche, as de Vries nudged the back of Barnard’s McLaren as the Mahindra man looked to make headway, and did so at the end of the lap.

Hughes quickly overtook the McLaren as well as he slowed through tapping de Vries. Hughes then tried to take de Vries, but the Maserati was forced to quickly concede any hope of taking third for the moment.

Lap 11, and Norman Nato was given a drive-through penalty for a technical infraction, as Rowland took the lead at the start of Lap 12.

Jake Dennis was the first to take Attack Mode, opting for four minutes. He then took Ticktum for eighth, and then da Costa for seventh on Lap 14.

Discontented with that, Dennis took Vergne, as the first-ever Pit Boost in Formula E began.

Pit Boost sees winners and losers as first recharging takes place

Hughes and Barnard were the first to pit for recharge, followed by da Costa. Dennis, was now fourth, with Ticktum and Mortara next to pit.

Both Envisions of Frijns and Sebastien Buemi, now on Attack Mode, moved-up into the top 10, with Vergne, Vandoorne and Cassidy also electing to take their first Attack.

Nato then pitted, followed by de Vries, as the first three to pit all took their first Attack of the race. Guenther was next, as de Vries exited the pits ahead of Barnard, but the McLaren stubbornly muscled through straightaway to maintain 14th.

Rowland, Dennis, Cassidy, Buemi and Bird all pitted, handing Vergne the lead and Vandoorne second. Frijns was third with David Beckmann fourth and Wehrlein fifth.

The top four bar Beckmann then pitted, handing the German the lead with Wehrlein second and Zane Maloney third. Rowland was now already back up to fourth, with Hughes and Barnard behind, the Nissan man the net leader.

Wehrlein pitted, and with everyone else doing so, the original order was mostly back in place, but Guenther the biggest loser, now down in seventh, but in Attack Mode, he was quickly ahead of da Costa for sixth and in pursuit of his team-mate Vergne.

Rowland was now almost four seconds ahead, with de Vries eating away at the lead from second place. Guenther was now third, looking like he could find a way back into the battle.

De Vries’ progress stunted with Rowland still maintaining a lead just under the four second mark, and with seven laps the go, the top nine all still had four minutes of Attack Mode remaining.

Ticktum, so promising with his qualifying showing, also lost out big in Pit boost, now 19th and behind his team-mate, battling the Lolas of Lucas di Grassi and Maloney.

De Vries and Guenther took their remaining Attacks, followed by Mortara in seventh.

Barnard was now ahead of Hughes for fourth as Dennis took his final Attack, followed by Rowland, losing around a second, but still three seconds ahead of second-place man Guenther.

Everyone in the top nine bar da Costa had taken their final Attacks, but he would at the end of Lap 27 with just three to go.

Guenther ‘the professor’ makes it all count

Guenther was now scything into Rowland’s lead, his advantage now down to just a second, with de Vries a further second behind in third.

Rowland may have felt inclined to twitch inside the Nissan, with the stewards noting a possibly pit lane infringement, along with Vergne.

Race control would declare no further laps, leaving the total to 31, and with two-and-a-half now left.

Mortara was now putting Barnard under pressure, the Mahindra swarming over the McLaren, as Guenther brought the gap down to just four tenths with two laps to go.

Guenther looked around the outside into Turn 6, and onto the approach of the final lap, Rowland led by just three tenths, with Barnard and Mortara also closing.

Barnard began to pull away from Mortara, the first three now looking like they could all win. Guenther tried the same manoeuvre again but Rowland resisted, but the Nissan possessed only 0.4 percent left, as Guenther had a whole percent.

Guenther, using his extra fraction of power, breezed past Rowland on the outside of the final chicane to snatch the lead and victory, taking his first win since Tokyo last year, and converting his Pole Position into victory in stellar style, becoming not only the first man to win a Pit Boost E-Prix, but the first-ever Jeddah instalment.

Barnard claimed third, with Mortara also losing out, as team-mate de Vries finished fourth, with Hughes finishing fifth.

A genuine contender from the moment he lapped quickly in qualifying, Guenther perhaps showed that the Phil Charles factor at DS Penske is starting to show.

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DS Penske’s Maximilian Guenther took his first Formula E pole position in two seasons for this evening’s Jeddah E-Prix, ahead of Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein.

In an all-German final, Guenther expertly navigated the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, especially adapted for Formula E, the continuation of good one-lap pace from the DS package from last season prevailed against the hot favourites Porsche, but Wehrlein can still boast a 100 percent front row success rate in Season 11 so far.

Oliver Rowland was third, followed by Taylor Barnard, who produced a stunning performance to make it through to the duels.

Mitch Evans was fifth for Jaguar TCS Racing, with Nyck de Vries sixth.

Jake Hughes was seventh, with Dan Ticktum a brilliant eighth. Nick Cassidy was ninth, and the top 10 rounded-up by Jean-Eric Vergne, who was unable to match the speed of his team-mate Guenther.

How qualifying happened

GROUP A

Both Jaguars of Nick Cassidy and Evans as well as the McLaren pair of Sam Bird and Barnard were just some of those in Group A, with the Norwich youngster setting the early pace with a 1:18.200, four tenths faster than Bird.

Evans quickly jumped into third, before Cassidy went just under two tenths quicker than Barnard to go top, with da Costa placing himself in the crucial top four.

De Vries was the first to break into the 1:17.000s, with Barnard quickly leapfrogging the Mahindra to go back on top spot.

Mueller was now next to put in a good time, pushing Cassidy and da Costa into the danger zone, with both Envisions rooted to the foot of the order.

Guenther and Evans placed themselves back into the top four, with Cassidy now down in eighth.

De Vries continued to threaten the more likely, third with just under a minute to go. With the chequered flag about to fall, Cassidy took fourth, with Barnard cementing his first place with a faster time, with Guenther going second.

Da Costa could not do enough on his final run, finishing seventh and out. De Vries and Evans edged-out Cassidy.

GROUP B

The Nissans of Rowland and Nato were placed in the second group, with Wehrlein, Dennis and Vergne amongst them.

Vandoorne was the early pace-setter, before being jumped by Ticktum and Wehrlein. Rowland got off to a slow start, but then jumped into top spot with five minutes left.

The Belgian then went back into the top four, with Nato and Hughes going back in, followed very quickly by Ticktum, who went back into first.

Wehrlein then went on top, with Vergne getting in on the act, jumping into third, with Rowland and Nato on the edge of elimination.

With everyone on their last chance, Vandoorne would fail to get through, and would be joined by Nato. Dennis gave-up on his final run, taking too much kerb and sliding at the penultimate chicane.

Rowland jumped up, and went fastest right at the end with a 1:17.182, nearly three tenths quicker than Barnard’s time.

Hughes made it through at the last too, with Wehrlein third and Ticktum fourth.

QUARTER-FINALS

The first quarter-final would pit de Vries against Guenther, and in sector one, the German went two tenths up, and went a further ten up in the second. Half-a-second ahead in the third, Guenther went through with a 1:15.742, seven tenths quicker than the Dutchman.

Quarter-final number two would be Evans against Barnard, the latter going a tenth ahead in sector one, but Evans clawed-back, going ahead, setting a time of 1:15.574 but Barnard went through, just 0.014 faster than the Jaguar.

Wehrlein vs. Hughes would be the third quarter-final, and the German would be quicker in sector one but only just. He went a further two-tenths up in sector two and after a mistake by Hughes in his third sector, Wehrlein easily went into the semis with a 1:15.380, just under a whole second ahead.

The fourth duel played Ticktum against Rowland, with the Rowland a shade ahead in sector one. and then a tenth ahead in the second, and another tenth ahead in the third. Ticktum set a 1:15.754, but Rowland was eventually just under four tenths faster in the end.

SEMI-FINALS

Just like the Red Sea glistening in the Arabian sunshine by the circuit, this was new waters for Barnard, tantalisingly close to a pole position shootout, and would be up against Guenther in the first semi.

Barnard was slightly up in sector one, but Guenther edged ahead in sector two. Guenther went through with a 1:15.219, just under one tenth ahead, but regardless, a still valiant effort from the Brit.

The second semi-final put together two familiar Season 11 qualifying bedfellows in the form of Rowland and Wehrlein. The Nissan was a tenth up in sector one, and was still ahead in the second but Wehrlein clawed back some time, and went through with a 1:14.999 after a blistering final sector, making it an all-German affair in the final.

FINAL

Guenther looked smooth in sector one, but Wehrlein was a fraction quicker, and Guenther was untidy in sector two, but there was still only less than a tenth in it going into the end of the lap.

Wehrlein lost time in the final sector, and Guenther capitalised, snatching pole position by nearly three tenths with a 1:14.911, his first since Jakarta in Season 9.

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Tag Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa went fastest in FP2 ahead of qualifying for this evening’s first race of the Formula E Jeddah E-Prix double-header.

The Portuguese went quickest with a time of 1:15.470, one tenth ahead of DS Penske’s Maximilian Guenther in second.

Jake Hughes was a further tenth adrift in third, with Norman Nato continuing to look fast after second in FP2 with fourth-fastest, with a 1:15.711.

Oliver Rowland, who was fastest yesterday, was fifth, with Edouardo Mortara’s Mahindra in sixth, and Nico Mueller seventh.

Sam Bird was eighth for NEOM McLaren, with da Costa’s team-mate Pascal Wehrlein in ninth, with Cupra Kiro’s David Beckmann 10th.

The session was halted twice by red flags, the first early-on due to Robin Frijns’ Envision stopping out on track due to a technical glitch.

The second came with just a matter of seconds remaining, with former FE teammates Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries coming together at Turn 13, the Dutchman’s Mahindra spearing into the barrier as he tried to pass the Belgian’s Maserati.

READ MORE – Exclusive: Antonio Felix da Costa says ‘race smart’ and ‘measure risks’ key to Formula E success

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