Despite starting the Dariya ePrix from ninth on the grid, Pascal Wehrlein worked his way up the field to win the second round of the Formula E season on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
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The Porsche team driver had moved from sixth to second place two weeks ago in Mexico. This time, the German made sure not to be disappointed by overtaking Sam Bird (Jaguar) on the 30th of the 39 laps of the race. Wehrlein dove on the inside at Turn 16 to take control of the race.
Having also overtaken his compatriot, the Briton Jake Dennis (Andretti), winner at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, remained in Wehrlein’s rear-view mirrors until the very end. He crossed the finish line only half a second ahead of his pursuer. Bird completed the podium.
Having taken pole earlier in the day, Sebastien Buemi (Envision) had to settle for fourth place. He and his teammate Nick Cassidy picked up valuable points, with the New Zealander finishing sixth.
In the general classification, Dennis (44) holds a single point lead over Wehrlein (43), having achieved the fastest lap in Mexico.
The drivers of the electric series will meet on Saturday for the second round of the Dariya ePrix, still on the street circuit of Riyadh. The TVA Sports channel will broadcast the whole thing at noon.