Round 5 is about to take place in Tokyo, with Japan for the first time on the Formula E calendar. Will the outcome of this debuting E-Prix confirm the pre-race feelings that it’s hard to pass, allowing for Rowland to take the lead of the championship at his team’s home round, or will another driver find their way up to the top?
At the start Mortara tried to take the lead but settled for P2, as Dennis has moved up to P4 and tried to overtake Gunther in P3 as well but he was unsuccessful.
The two Porsche drivers, in pink for the day, are trying to get past Sette Camara in P5. At the back of the grid, Cassidy has gained only one position after the race start, in a not positive 100th start for Jaguar as his teammate Mitch Evans has exited the top 10 Ultimately Wehrlein got past the ERT driver on Lap 3.
On Lap 5 it’s Frijns and Da Costa’s turn to get past Sette Camara. It’s a tough wake up call for Neom MCLaren as after winning the last round in Sao Paulo, Sam Bird is in P21 and Hughes has hit the wall due to contact with Di Grassi.
The British driver is able to resume his race from the last spot without the need of a break. Da Costa finds a way past Frijns and assists his teammate in taking up his first activation mode.
By the time of Lap 10, which is almost a third of the whole 33 laps race distance, Rowland has over one second of gap on Mortara in P2 and takes advantage of it by taking up the attack mode while staying in P1. Mortara wasn’t as lucky as he lost a spot to Gunther.
On Lap 13 Rowland takes up his second and final attack mode of 6 minutes, leaving Gunther in the lead, with the Maserati driver yet to take up the extra power. He took up his first boost but conceded two spots to Rowland and Mortara.
Gunther was able to resume his starting P2 by Lap 15. In the meantime, at the back of the grid it’s a double pit stop for McLaren as Hughes changes his nose and Bird checks his steering wheel. Cassidy and Buemi are still struggling at the end of the pack, in P16 and P19 respectively.
Da Costa, who had gotten past his teammate Wehrlein, has also overtook Dennis and is now looking at the podium from the outside going in. The German driver is passed by Nato and Frijns on Lap 18, with the race now more in favour of his Portuguese colleague, with Wehrlein picking up front wing damage.
Evans, third in the standings, is seen with an almost destroyed car as he tried to make a move in the tight over Di Grassi but was unsuccessful. Mahindra’s De Vries is also forced to retire due to damage after contact on the same instance, with the ABT driver’s race ending as well.
The Safety car is issued on Lap 20 in order to remove debris from the track, with racing resuming three laps afterwards. Frijns in P7 is the first driver to take up an attack mode after the safety car.
On Lap 25 Gunther takes the lead over Rowland with a bold move that saw him late on the brakes, with the Maserati driver also taking up his final attack mode.
Mortara lost two spots while taking up his final power boost, as Da Costa is on the provisional podium after a very tough start of the season. Two extra laps were added to the total due to the time lost behind the safety car.
With time and DNFs, Cassidy has almost found his way into the points, now sitting in P11. Frijns loses his front wing after making contact with Nato’s Andretti, with the French driver losing parts of his wing as well.
Da Costa tried to get Rowland’s P2 but is unsuccessful as he has gone too wide at Turn 15, losing P3 to Dennis.
Nato was penalised with a 5 seconds time penalty for the earlier collision with Frijns. It was a very tight final lap, with the first two drivers incredibly close, but ultimately Gunther takes the first win of 2024 for Maserati as Rowland extends his podium streak with a P2.
Reigning champion Dennis has managed to hold on to P3, with the two Porsche drivers rounding up the top 5.
Cassidy ultimately found his way into the points, ending the race in P8, with Frijns in P9 in spite of his broken wing and Sette Camara in P10.
