In the second race in Jakarta, it’s Max Günther with his first ever win in Formula E, followed by Dennis and Evans.
Photo credit: Formula E Media Bank / Andrew Ferraro
It’s race time again in Jakarta! Round 11 will be slightly longer than yesterday’s E-Prix with 38 laps, making energy saving all the more important. Gunther will start on pole again, followed by Dennis, Evans and Mortara, with the championship leader Nick Cassidy a bit further back as he didn’t reach the Duels stage.
There were issues for Sette Camara, who was wheeled off to the pits, and for Sam Bird as well, making for an overall awful weekend for the British driver. They tried to start the race from the pits, but in the end they both had to simply retire the car before the race start.
At the start Gunther keeps the lead while Evans almost passes Dennis before having to back off. Mortara had a slow start and ended up falling backwards to P6, with Fenestraz up to P4.
Photocredits: Maserati MSG Racing
On Lap 5 we have the first drivers going for the Attack Mode, which include race leader Gunther, who leaves Dennis in the lead, Frijns, fell backwards due to first lap contact, and Ticktum. The Andretti driver followed him on the next lap, leaving Evans in the lead for the time of a single lap as well, returning on the grid between Dennis and Gunther.
Last round winner Pascal Wehrlein almost lost the car while attempting to make a move on Mortara, but is able to simply slot back.
David Beckmann, who is replacing Andre Lotterer for the weekend, was hit by Mahindra driver Lucas DiGrassi, damaging his car and forcing him to retire.
Gunther returned to P2, but on Turn 1 of Lap 9 Evans retook his P2 at the same time in which Mortara made a move on Vandoorne for P4. The lap after Gunther takes back his position from the Kiwi driver, who tries to strike back but is unsuccessful.
Buemi was squeezed between the wall and the McLaren of Jake Hughes. On Lap 14 Porsche and Vandoorne go into attack mode, as Vergne drops in the running order after running over Buemi’s debris on track. Not the best way to celebrate his team’s 100th race in the championship.
Immediately after race leader Jake Dennis goes for his second attack mode, leaving Gunther in the lead, but the Maserati driver copies his strategy once again, as Evans returns to lead the race.
On Lap 18 championship contenders Wehrlein and Cassidy have significantly improved their starting position as they’re running in P6 and 7 respectively. Dennis tries to make a move on the outside for P2 on Gunther, but it’s unsuccessful.
Lap 20 sees Cassidy stop on track after making contact with Wehrlein trying to take his position a bit too late, breaking his front wing and issuing a short yellow flag. He returns to pits to get it fixed.
Many drivers go for the attack mode immediately afterwards, as Vandoorne overtakes Wehrlein for P5
Buemi and Rast make contact while the McLaren tried to take P10, but the Envision driver manages to hold on the poits scoring position.
Race leader Gunther has developed a 2.8s gap over Dennis, with the British driver 3.7s from Evans. Mortara went from P6 to P9 due to running long at Turn 1.
On Lap 31 Wehrlein drops to P8 to take up his final attack mode. He immediately returns ahead of his teammate Da Costa, but doesn’t manage to complete the move on Nato.
The two Nissan overtake Vandoorne, allowing Wehrlein to do the same. The two teammates fight it out to see who would gain the rights to P4, with Fenestraz prevailing in the end.
Race leader cruises safely as Dennis tries to close the gap, reducing it to 2.1s by Lap 34 as his 12s to Evans allow him to feel safe in his podium.
Vandoorne drops further to P10, behind Mortara and Ticktum. Hughes ends the race in the pits.
Gunther wins the race. 66 years after its last Formula 1 win, legendarily taken by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 at Nurburgring, Maserati returns to win becoming the first Italian team to win in the history of Formula E. Dennis remains stuck in P2, which leaves him as runner up in the championship standings as well due to Wehrlein’s P6, but only at a point gap.
Mitch Evans manages to hold on to the final podium position in spite of having significantly less energy compared to the other drivers around him as he successful avoided the Nissan drivers’attempts to pass. Wehrlein in P6 is followed by his teammate Antonio Felix Da Costra despite his broken front wing, Mortara, Vandoorne and Buemi, who have managed to push back a heated Ticktum out of the points, who had made up more than 10 positions during the race starting from P19
