Wehrlein extends Formula E championship lead at Monaco E-Prix

Driving the #94 TAG Heuer Porsche 99X Electric, Wehrlein took his third pole position of the season so far after a stellar performance throughout the qualifying session to line-up at the head of the grid for the 31-lap encounter. Wehrlein’s group qualifying efforts saw him make the duel section for the seventh time in eight races, by far the most successful record in the 11-team series. António Félix da Costa, in the #13 TAG Heuer Porsche 99X Electric, ended the race in seventh position after a brilliant recovery drive, having been delayed by another competitor’s incident at the tight Fairmont chicane. Earlier in the day he had enjoyed a strong qualifying group session, making it through to the quarter-finals and a seventh-place start, his best of the campaign so far. The combined points haul of 19 points means that the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has elevated itself from third to second position in the teams’ standings. The result ensures that Wehrlein extends his ABB FIA Formula E world championship points lead to eight points over rival Nick Cassidy, and becomes the first driver this season to cross the 100 point mark as he leaves Monaco on 102.

Story of the race

Wehrlein made an excellent start off the grid and led the first two laps of the race comfortably from a chasing pack that comprised of the two Jaguar TCS Racing cars, driven by Kiwi duo Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. The team elected to take a first early hit of attack mode, with Pascal peeling off at Casino Square to cross the transponder loops and get the extra 50kW hit of power. That shuffled the #94 car down to fourth position behind the two Jaguars and Stoffel Vandoorne’s DS Penske, as they elected to take their first hit slightly later. Vandoorne’s teammate Jean-Eric Vergne then managed to squeeze passed Wehrlein into fourth place, before a second attack mode was taken after the first of two safety cars in the race, which was originally set to 29 laps but was extended by a further two due to the race neutralisations. Wehrlein engaged in an energetic battle with Maximilian Guenther’s Maserati MSG entry, and then fought valiantly with Oliver Rowland’s Nissan, eventually crossing the finishing line in fifth place. The result ensured that Wehrlein has scored points in seven of the first eight rounds this season, a record that sees him as the most consistent on the 22-car grid.

For da Costa, it was a race that dipped and weaved, with a solid start from seventh on the grid where he started to put together a solid race strategy foundation. This was thrown in to uncertainty through no fault of his own when he was caught up in an accident between Sebastien Buemi’s Envision Jaguar and the ERT entry of Sergio Sette Camara at the Fairmont Hairpin. The resulting delay saw him lose seven positions, but he then went on a heroic charge through the midfield, picking off several rivals to haul himself up in to the points places as the race entered the final 12 laps. The Portuguese racer made one of the overtakes of the race to pass Oliver Rowland’s Nissan, but then lost out to his rival after the second safety car was brought back in and the race went green on lap 24. Da Costa never gave up though and pressured Rowland all the way to the finish line, ending the race just 0.5s from the rear of his rival. The result meant that da Costa scored his third points score from the last four races.

Andretti take final Monaco point

Porsche’s customer supported team Andretti Formula E finished the Monaco E-Prix with a best result of 10th place for Norman Nato at what is essentially his home race, as he was born and raised in nearby Cannes. Nato’s team-mate, and prior to Monaco, Wehrlein’s closest championship points rival – Jake Dennis – took the chequered flag in 20th position after a tough race. It was as one that saw him having to pit for a new front nose assembly after contact on the notoriously tough Monegasque streets. Dennis remains in a good position though in the standings, as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship reaches its midway point, sitting third on 89 points - with two Porsche-powered drivers in the top three overall. The next round of the 2023-24 FIA ABB Formula E World Championship takes place at Porsche’s home race at the Tempelhof Airport circuit in Berlin over the weekend of May 11-12, with another double-header round.