The Porsche Formula E Team secured a brilliant double-podium finish in the Miami E-Prix, with Nico Müller finishing second ahead of Pascal Wehrlein.
There was a great start to the weekend when Müller secured his first pole position for the team, before going on to finish second in the championship’s first visit to Miami International Autodrome.
Wehrlein, who lined up 11th, put in a strong charge through the field to finish in third place.
This boosted him to second in the
Andretti driver Felipe Drugovich put in his best-ever qualifying performance to start second, but finished in 18th after a penalty, while team-mate Jake Dennis secured the final points-paying position in 10th.
Cupra Kiro rookie Pepe Martí crossed the line in ninth place, but team-mate Dan Ticktum was forced to retire after struggling with the dry tyre set-up in mixed conditions.
Story of the race
The race started behind the safety car due to rainy conditions, but got under way after a standing start on lap five.
Müller had a great start, holding off a challenge from Drugovich to maintain position out of Turn 2, while Wehrlein made up a place straight away.
Though Müller was passed early on, he was back in the lead on lap eight after taking advantage of a mistake from his rival at the final corner.
Behind, Wehrlein was up to seventh with the help of Attack Mode, taking four minutes early on to boost his position.
Müller lost the lead on lap nine, dropping to third soon after as Drugovich got ahead, but he took control again several laps later on the start-finish straight.
Staying in strong contention while Attack Mode strategies differed, Müller was always in podium contention and led again on lap 25.
Wehrlein climbed to fourth behind, after contact between Drugovich and Jaguar TCS driver António Félix da Costa in the battle for third dropped both drivers down the order.
Strong pace from Jaguar TCS driver Mitch Evans saw him make the move for the lead at the final corner on lap 27, but Müller stayed hot on his heels despite the threat of further rain.
Wehrlein applied strong pressure on Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries for third at Turn 1 on lap 31, and continued a close chase for the ensuing laps.
Two laps later, the Porsche driver took his final four minutes of Attack Mode, and got the better of de Vries at Turn 14 to secure third place.
Müller’s final burst of Attack Mode came on lap 34, but Evans did the same on the following lap, and despite Müller’s best efforts, he was unable to catch the leader and finished second ahead of Wehrlein.
Customer racing
After a brilliant qualifying, Drugovich lined up second for Andretti, with Dennis in 15th.
The Brazilian immediately challenged for the lead, and fought hard inside the top three during the early stages and first rounds of Attack Mode.
He had slipped to fourth by lap 26 when an unfortunate mistake at Turn 13 meant he made contact with da Costa, prompting him to dive straight into the pits for a new nose.
Drugovich was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, and he finished the race in 18th.
Dennis made steady progress throughout the race, avoiding incidents to secure 10th place and an all-important championship point.
Martí lined up 12th for Cupra Kiro and, like Dennis, was able to use well-timed Attack Modes to climb inside the top 10 to finish ninth.
Ticktum opted for a dry tyre pressure set-up in the mixed conditions, but was forced to pit on lap 24 as the gamble failed to pay off.
He went back out with wet pressures, but retired in the closing stages.
Coming next
March brings the first double-header event of the Formula E season, with the championship heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for an action-packed weekend.
Taking place on February 13 and 14, the championship will race on a modified version of the iconic Jeddah Corniche Circuit, used for Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
After a tough outing at the circuit last year - its debut on the calendar - both Porsche Formula E Team drivers will be hoping to bounce back on the team’s return.
