FE | DS Penske among the protagonists of the weekend in Portland

Track conditions on Sunday morning were slightly different to those of the previous day. After the first race, it rained. Thus, in the early hours of the day, the temperature dropped to just 16°C.

The free practice session called for caution, but the grip was relatively good. The two DS E-TENSE FE23s remained on the sidelines during the first half of the session, but stepped up their game towards the end of free practice. A yellow flag at Turn 11, signaling an abnormally slippery surface, prompted the entire grid to adopt a more cautious approach, postponing the challenge to qualifying.

At 9.40, the first group took to the track for qualifying. Jean-Éric Vergne immediately made a good impression and qualified for the quarter-finals by recording the second fastest time in his group, just 12 thousandths behind Robin Frijns’ Envision. Then, Stoffel Vandoorne demonstrated the excellent performance of his DS E-TENSE FE23, finishing fifth in his group, one tenth of a second behind Pascal Wehrlein’s Porsche. JEV drove a great lap against Nick Cassidy’s Jaguar, which allowed him to advance to the semi-finals.

The French driver then faced Robin Frijns, whom he beat to reach the final. This time it was Antonio Felix Da Costa, the winner of the previous day, who was fighting for pole. At the end of the final, JEV took his 17th pole position in Formula E, making him the record holder in the electric category. “I believed in it until the last corner, I really gave it my all on that lap. Now we will have to drive a smart race to get as many points as possible for the team,” said JEV, fresh from his electric single-seater prepared by DS Performance.

The art of managing energy

The race was scheduled for one lap less than the previous day. And with 26 laps instead of 27, the energy strategy, aided by the data collected the day before, turned out to be very different. The race in fact started with a faster pace and a heated battle in the pack. While JEV managed to maintain its position in the leading group, the other DS Penske, driven by Stoffel Vandoorne, slipped just outside the top 10.

On this type of very fast circuit, overtaking is very frequent and the energetic nature of the track means that positions change continuously. In just four laps from the start of the race, there were four changes of leader at the top. The secret to trying to win is to stay in the top 3, but saving energy energy to take the lead at the right time. It is also possible to attempt a breakaway, but with the risk of finding yourself without weapons available due to a lack of battery or the intervention of a safety car.

That’s exactly what happened with less than 10 laps to go, when the safety car came out to clear debris from the track. The race was then extended by one lap, which threw the leaders’ energy strategies into disarray. The finale highlighted the performances of the Porsches and Jaguars, as well as JEV’s DS Penske, which crossed the line in fifth.

As always since the start of the season, DS Automobiles remains the only manufacturer capable of overshadowing the German and British teams. The next Formula E races will take place on 20 and 21 July in London (England).