Wehrlein takes second Formula E win of the weekend in Diriyah ePrix

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28 January 2023 at 18:04

Last update 28 January 2023 at 18:22

GPblog.com

Pascal Wehrlein ended the doubleheader in Saudi Arabia with a double victory. After a win on Friday, the former Formula 1 driver also won the second ePrix of Diriyah, taking over the championship lead from Jake Dennis, who finished second.

All eyes were on polesitter Jake Hughes, who impressed in qualifying by securing pole position as a rookie for the third race of the season. It also marked the first pole for the NEOM McLaren team, which makes its debut in the Formula E championship this year.

Hughes loses lead at start

However, Mitch Evans, who was next to Hughes on the front row, was better off at the start and had the lead after the first corner. René Rast closed in on third, while Pascal Wehrlein settled with Sebastien Buemi and moved through to fourth. Jake Dennis, on the other hand, lost a place and fell back to P7.

Evans chose to activate his attack mode first. To do so, drivers have to take the corner wide at a certain point, losing time initially but having extra energy at their disposal in the minutes that follow. In total, drivers have four minutes of attack mode and they get to choose how many minutes of it they deploy at a time.

Attack mode timing crucial

After this, Hughes also activated his attack mode, but he lost two places. Rast went into the lead and managed to keep it after activating his own attack mode. Meanwhile, Wehrlein was closing in fast, with his full boost remaining. Friday's winner closed in on third place but quickly moved up to P2.

Using his first attack mode of the race, Wehrlein gave chase to Rast and he soon had the lead. Meanwhile, Dennis was also working hard to advance and not much later he outsmarted Rast, who had dropped back to third. Sam Bird was also fast approaching.

Safety car

Suddenly a yellow flag appeared: Nico Mueller was in the wall with his ABT. The safety car then came out, meaning Wehrlein lost his lead. On the restart, Wehrlein retained the lead, but Dennis went full attack and the final phase seemed to be a repeat of Friday's.

Wehrlein unthreatened

The last few laps, at least at the lead, were less exciting than a day earlier. Wehrlein maintained his lead effortlessly and drove away from Dennis, en route to his second win of the weekend. Rast finished third behind Dennis. For Wehrlein, it means he takes over the championship lead.