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Di Grassi and de Vries share ABB Engineered to Outrun honours in Shanghai

FEATURE 10 Jul 2026 4 Mins

Lola Yamaha ABT’s first ever victory in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Shanghai came as a result of a drive worthy of winning the ABB Engineered to Outrun Award too.

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Lucas di Grassi’s incredible rise from 19th on the grid to victory, his first in four years, in the second of the two Shanghai races will stand as one of the most memorable and significant of his storied Formula E career.

He led the race for less than a single lap - but it was the one that mattered most, as a brave gamble, some good fortune and fine execution combined for di Grassi to steal the lead and the victory on the final tour.

Di Grassi: "It's a good end to this chapter with this win."

For much of the race, di Grassi played a waiting game. The bulk of his competitive overtakes en route to winning came in the final phase of the E-Prix as he and Lola Yamaha ABT opted for a dry set-up, gambling that the track conditions would improve. He and race engineer Markus Michelberger got this right, it just took a while to pay off, after some laps behind the safety car before a full standing start with a shortened actual race distance.

As di Grassi’s race hinged on the track drying up, being patient early on was critical. He remained at the back of the pack until past the halfway stage, building up a handy energy advantage of around 4% to the majority of the field. This, combined with waiting longer than anyone ahead of him to utilise both ATTACK MODE activations, was all about setting up a late charge - which would be from 15th, as he slowly began to make progress on the drying track already.

Di Grassi’s first hit of extra power and four-wheel-drive was very efficient. It helped launch him from outside the top 10 to the middle of the podium battle – he was up to third as a virtual safety car was triggered by teammate Zane Maloney suffering a suspension failure. In the moment, this may have been frustrating for di Grassi as well as his team. But as fortune went against one Lola Yamaha ABT driver, it smiled favorably on the other…That VSC was critical for di Grassi’s charge turning into an all-but-certain podium finish to an outright shot at victory.

He had just split Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Eric Vergne to run third when the VSC began, with all three using ATTACK MODE - and while those had around three minutes remaining to Di Grassi’s 40 seconds or so, this was their final usage. So di Grassi still had four minutes in reserve. More importantly, Joel Eriksson, who was some four seconds clear in the lead, had just activated his final ATTACK MODE when the VSC was called. This neutralised his and everyone else’s final period with that power boost.

The VSC period was handled quickly, and though di Grassi’s energy advantage had been mostly mitigated by this point, there was still just enough time left for him to use his critical final ATTACK MODE - something no other leader had remaining - without incurring a penalty. He activated it with just under three laps to go, and used the power to pull clear of Wehrlein and join a mighty final two-lap scrap with Eriksson and Vergne. di Grassi slipped by Eriksson on the penultimate lap, then used his power advantage to sweep past Vergne on the outside into the first corner for the final time.

Top-five surge for De Vries and Mahindra

Though overshadowed by di Grassi’s unlikely win in Round 13, the opening Engineered to Outrun victory of the Shanghai weekend was an impressive performance in its own right.

Nyck de Vries gained 11 places to turn 16th on the grid into a strong fifth in the longer PIT BOOST Saturday race for Mahindra. He and race engineer Tom Bayles have not had to rely on big progress from a lower grid slot too often this season, but their last two starts from around this part of the grid had yielded points finishes – so they were clearly not to be discounted.

RESULTS: The 2026 Shanghai E-Prix, Round 12

With the first Shanghai race including the mandatory charging pitstop, and rain in the air, there were a few different ways to play this race. De Vries opted to bide his time and save energy while deep in the pack in the first half of the race, earning an advantage of around 3.5% in battery state of charge compared to what other drivers typically had by the time the PIT BOOST stops began at mid-distance.

As others started to come into the pits from the end of lap 15, De Vries stayed out longest. This gave him a clearer track which he used to good effect in combination with his extra energy - attacking more with a clear increase in battery usage of around 1% a lap and some 20km/h higher top speeds before diving into the pits.

Unleashing that extra performance meant De Vries leapt up the order from 15th before the pitstops began to eighth when he rejoined, and with around 3% more battery as reward for recharging later. This gave him a slight edge against the others who had also saved ATTACK MODE for the final few laps.

As it took place on a wet track, because rain had come after the pitstops, the advantage was somewhat negated – but he still picked off a few more positions including a neat double move on Vergne and Mahindra Racing teammate Edoardo Mortara to earn a deserved top-five finish.