Following a crash in qualifying, Sebastien Buemi — who was due to start P11 — missed the second race of the weekend as his survival cell was too damaged for him to take part.
Off the line, Frijns got the better launch on the dirty side of the track and took the lead from Rowland into turn 18. Jake Hughes managed to pass Jehan Daruvala for P5.
It was another good first lap for Sam Bird as the moved up two spots, passing Wehrlein and Günther. Evans and Dennis stayed in P13 and P14.
Unfortunately for Dan Ticktum, a broken front wing immediately ruined his evening following contact at the start.
As he did on Friday, Nick Cassidy waited for his rivals to start going into attack mode before taking his first one. The New Zealander managed to pull the gap out over Frijns to retain the lead as he took his first attack mode.
Cassidy led Frijns, Rowland, Vandoorne, Hughes, Daruvala, Fenestraz, Vergne, Sette Camara and Bird a quarter of the way into the race.
Towards the end of lap 9, McLaren’s Sam Bird managed to clear Sette Camara for P9 as he continued to move through the field. The Brazilian continued to fall away as Wehrlein, Günther, Evans and Dennis all dispatched of him very quickly.
After jumping Vergne and Daruvala through the attack mode sequence, Bird tried his best to make a big lunge on Fenestraz for P6 into turn 18. However, the Nissan driver firmly held him off and Wehrlein sneaked through into T19. The Brit’s day was soon over after his suspension was broken as he hit the wall moments later.
In a very rare pass at turn 1, Pascal Wehrlein used attack mode to make a move on Vergne for P7.
Sadly for Jehan Daruvala, he fell away as the race reached its closing stages. He was instructed to let teammate Günther through, and a big lock-up into turn 18 saw him completely drop out of the points. The Indian driver saw his race end on lap 27 as he reported a brake issue after stopping in the run-off at turn 18.
With 6 laps to go, Cassidy led a large train from Frijns, Rowland, Hughes, Vandoorne, Fenestraz, Wehrlein, Vergne, Günther and Dennis.
It was a perfect drive from Cassidy as he managed his energy perfectly and pulled a gap on Frijns in the last couple of laps to take a sixth career win in Formula E and the championship lead. Frijns and Rowland completed strong Saturday’s to join the Kiwi on the podium.
NEOM McLaren secured P4 for the second straight day, this time with the impressive Jake Hughes. Vandoorne, Fenestraz, Wehrlein, Vergne, Günther and Dennis completed the points scorers. Mitch Evans could only manage P11 as new teammate Cassidy took a statement victory.
Diriyah E-Prix | Nick Cassidy masterfully controls second race to take win and Formula E championship lead
