Porsche power won the opening race of Formula E’s Season 12 as Andretti driver Jake Dennis prevailed in a thrilling São Paulo E-Prix.
Having inherited pole position from
He got the jump on the rest of the field in the ensuing one-lap shootout to take his Porsche 99X Electric to victory - the team's first since Season 10.
Wehrlein narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth, having been in contention for the whole 30-lap race before a late safety car scuppered his chances of victory.
Team-mate
Drugovich, driving for Andretti, was fifth on his debut before being demoted to 12th, while a difficult day for Cupra Kiro meant both drivers’ races were ended prematurely.
Story of the race
Wehrlein took his third consecutive pole position at this track, but was handed a three-place grid drop for wheelspinning in the pit lane during the session.
This meant the Season 10 champion lined up fourth, but will still take the three points for pole, with Müller starting 11th.
Wehrlein got a great start, and was up to second on the first lap before taking the lead from Dennis on lap two.
As the first Attack Modes began, he lost out to those taking their first boost early, and was running seventh when he opted for his first activation on lap 12.
Wehrlein quickly made up places and blasted into the lead three laps later as Müller began his first attack phase.
It was then Müller’s turn to lead the race, coming through on lap 18 ahead of Dennis and Wehrlein as a very close battle continued at the front.
The first yellow flag came soon after, neutralising the action at two-thirds race distance.
Once the action restarted, Wehrlein and Müller took their second Attack Modes, but it proved an unfortunately-timed move as the safety car was deployed for another incident. This left the pair in fourth and sixth places respectively.
Action resumed on lap 26, but soon after another incident prompted the Full Course Yellow, in turn leading to Pepe Martí’s huge crash - from which the driver thankfully emerged unscathed.
With just two laps remaining, the field headed back out behind the safety car, and there was one final lap of racing before the end.
Despite both drivers’ best attempts, they were unable to make further progress, and finished in fourth and sixth.
Customer racing
Jake Dennis scored a fantastic victory for Andretti, with the Season 9 champion taking his first win since Diriyah in Season 10.
He inherited the first place grid slot for Andretti after Wehrlein’s penalty, while new team-mate Felipe Drugovich started 17th after he clipped the barrier during group qualifying, prematurely ending his session.
Dennis led initially, but dropped back to run fifth in the opening stages, as Drugovich ran just outside the top 10.
Dennis took his first Attack Mode on lap 13, boosting him back up to second, before returning to the lead of the race on lap 19 ahead of Wehrlein.
Behind, Drugovich had made good progress to run in sixth place.
When the first safety car was deployed, the two Andretti drivers were the only ones inside the top 10 to not be running in Attack Mode - a crucial advantage.
Upon the restart, Dennis and Drugovich both took their second Attack Modes, powering Dennis back into the lead.
The pair were in a great position for the final lap shootout, and quick reactions from Dennis saw him jump the pack on the restart and clinch victory. Drugovich, in his maiden race for the team, was fifth.
Unfortunately, despite a fantastic debut performance, Drugovich was handed a post-race penalty for overtaking under Full Course Yellow. This demoted him to 12th position after the five seconds were applied to his race time.
Dan Ticktum started alongside Dennis on the front row for Cupra Kiro, with his new team-mate Pepe Martí in 14th.
Sadly, Ticktum’s race was ended at Turn 1 after suffering a rear-left puncture when he was hit by Nyck de Vries. He stopped for a new tyre and went back out, but eventually retired several laps later.
Martí ran inside the top 10 for much of the race, but as the Full Course Yellow was activated on lap 28, his car made contact with the rear of another car and was thrown into the air, rolling repeatedly.
Miraculously, the driver was unharmed, though he was unable to restart the race due to the damage suffered to the car.
Coming next
After a thrilling season opener, Formula E will take a break over the festive period before returning in Mexico City on January 10.
Round 2 will take place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which Formula E has been coming to since 2016.
Famed for hosting Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix, this fan favourite is sure to deliver even more exciting racing.
The Porsche Formula E Team took a 1-2 at this race last season, with Wehrlein scoring victory, and will be fighting for more success in 2026.
