FE | Shanghai: Evans triumphs by overtaking Wehrlein on the last lap

The first ever race in Shanghai reserved exactly the type of ePrix that could be expected on the eve of the race, that is, an extremely strategic group race, which found the decisive overtaking during the last lap.

The one who came out on top was Mitch Evans, capable of overtaking Pascal Wehrlein thanks to an excellent maneuver on the outside of turn one during the last kilometers of the race. The New Zealander, like the German from Porsche, remained in the leading group for a long time, even taking the lead of the race in the classic exchange of positions to which Formula E has accustomed us in the Gen 3 era.

In a chaotic race for a long time, Evans managed the situation well, launching the attack at the right time, which guaranteed him his second victory of the season after his success in Monaco. However, for now the Jaguar driver remains under investigation for crossing the track to gain an advantage, something which will be addressed after the ePrix by the stewards.

Those who will follow the story with great attention will be Wehrlein and Porsche, second at the finish line less than eight tenths behind the ePrix winner, but which is under investigation for having gained an advantage off the track. At the end of the race the German admitted that perhaps something was missing from a strategy point of view, because the feeling is that after a race spent at the head of the group for a long time, the team told him to push perhaps too early, paying the price consequences in the last lap. For long stretches, in fact, Wehrlein was able to count on 1% less energy than Evans and this aspect emerged clearly in the last kilometres, when the Jaguar representative had the margin to take his second victory of the season.

The other Jaguar, that of Nick Cassidy, closes the podium, although there will undoubtedly be some discussion in the British team’s garage. Both during the race via numerous team radios and at the end of the ePrix during interviews, the New Zealander did not hide his disappointment with the team’s behavior. Retracing what we already saw in Berlin a few weeks ago, for a good part of the race Cassidy remained outside the points, trying to save energy while his rivals fought for the leading positions.

An attitude that led the Jaguar driver to be able to count on 2% more energy than his rivals in the final phase, an important advantage in Formula E if you are able to manage it, particularly in this type of race where the Battery management plays a key role. On multiple occasions Cassidy radioed the team for referrals, asking when and how to attack, but without receiving a concrete response.

Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

A bad mood, later highlighted in interviews, which should not be surprising, because Cassidy finished with 1% more energy than the rivals in front of him, not being able to fully exploit that advantage accumulated previously. Despite trying for a long time to overtake Wehrlein on the last lap, with Evans also trying to act as a stopper to give his teammate a chance, the German from Porsche defended himself well, snatching second place from the Jaguar under the checkered flag.

Good fourth place for Oliver Rowland with Nissan, which keeps him alive in an increasingly heated fight for the world championship. The Briton was the author of a long duel in the final laps with Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis, among other things managing to make the difference because initially it seemed that the two Porsches and the two Jaguars had accumulated a small margin of safety over the rest of the group. On the contrary, the Nissan driver was able to move up a few positions, reaching a fourth place finish.

For Andretti’s reigning world champion, who was one of the last to activate his second Attack Mode, sixth place is not an exciting result, as it further distances him from the top of the standings: Dennis is now at 44 points from Cassidy with five races left in the world championship.

Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Jean-Eric Vergne, who started from pole position, finished seventh, but like Da Costa, the Frenchman is also under investigation for having pushed an opponent off the track. A few laps from the end, the DS driver made himself heard via radio, remarking that he wanted to attempt an attack on the leading group, but in an ePrix like the Chinese one, energy management has a key role. Furthermore, the transalpine remained involved in the duels with Dennis and Da Costa, snatching a seventh place which brings another top ten, but which on the other hand probably doesn’t leave him entirely satisfied.

First points of the season for Nyck de Vries, who at times also took the lead of the race. On the part of the Dutchman there was good management of the last part of the race because, despite being in an energy crisis due to the well-known difficulties in terms of efficiency of the Mahindra Powertrain, he was able to exploit the situation to bring home an excellent eighth position ahead of Sebastien Buemi with Envision and Stoffel Vandoorne. The Swiss, however, is under investigation for contact with Mueller.

In reality, it was Max Gunther with the Maserati who finished ninth at the finish line, having made a good comeback at the end after saving energy, but the German was penalized ten seconds for causing a contact by slipping out of the top ten.

Lucas di Grassi finished just outside the points with the Abt Cupra ahead of Sacha Fenestraz in a race that saw only one retirement, that of Edoardo Mortara, who was not at fault in an accident that put him out of action.