E-Prix Sao Paulo, Race: | FP

First joy for McLaren

The party can officially begin McLaren also in Formula E, with the historic Woking team which, in the Land of Samba, conquered the first victory in its history also in the 100% electric single-seater category at the end of theSao Paulo E-Prix. A success made even more emblematic by the great maneuver of Sam Bird at the penultimate corner of the last lap, with the Englishman protagonist of a splendid attack on the outside Mitch Evans, who thus had to settle for 2nd place. Great finale also for the third step of the podium, surprisingly achieved by Oliver Rowlandalso capable of overtaking both Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis on the last lap and at the exit of the last corner.

Race report

A sensational finale that reflects the spectacle of the 34 laps seen in Sao Paulo, with the fight for victory which could also have included the Maserati of Maximilian Günther. Third in qualifying, the German replaced the gearbox and inverter after the test, dropping to last position and subsequently serving a 10-second penalty. Nobody, in these conditions, would have ever imagined the conclusion of the race in the points for the Trident driver, more precisely in ninth position. The start, which saw Wehrlein in the lead, saw the Porsche driver firmly maintain the lead ahead of Vandoorne, who remained second despite the threat from Evans, who did well to overtake Vergne. On the Brazilian street circuit, the battles in the top and mid-pack areas started from the 3rd lap, with the activation of the first attack mode. Some overtakings were successful, while others degenerated into contact with debris scattered on the track, the reason for the entry of the first Safety Car on lap 7. At the restart, with the two Porsches of Da Costa and Wehrlein in front of everyone, the command of the race then passed to Bird, who overtook the two German single-seaters which immediately entered attack mode. In the meantime, Dennis' great comeback from 11th place took shape, capable of even climbing back to first position before activating attack mode. The first twist then occurred on lap 16, with theimpact against barriers of the leader of the world championship ranking Nick Cassidy, out of control after losing the front wing in one of the numerous contacts that occurred on the track. The intervention of second Safety Car he froze all the attack modes and the top-5, with Bird in first position ahead of Evans, Wehrlein, Dennis and Da Costa. Positions remained intact until lap 28, when Evans passed Bird at the same time as Dennis managed to get back into the podium area. As a result of the double Safety Car, the Race Direction he added 3 laps to the 31 expected. The incredible happened right there 34th and final round, with Bird, having closed the gap to his rival, overtaking Evans with a beautiful overtaking move on the outside just before the penultimate corner, taking the lead and allowing McLaren to win its first E-Prix. Rowland's maneuver was also beautiful, as he took advantage of the battle between Wehrlein and Dennis at the last corner, overtaking both, thus obtaining the podium in the sprint.