Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) secured a second consecutive win in front of the passionate Portland fans and a third in-a-row, after managing the race to perfection amid a fast, frenetic encounter. It was a huge race for the championship, as Drivers’ standings leader Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) failed to score any points in both events in the US while Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein are now tied on points as we head into the London finale.
Robin Frijns made it back-to-back podiums, a nice way to mark his 100th Formula E race, and the Dutchman was joined by Mitch Evans on the podium. There were several big moments for drivers, including Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) who lost his front wing in dramatic fashion in the early stages of the race. He continued on to finish fourth and keep his championship hopes alive.
For NEOM McLaren and Mahindra Racing, it was a race to forget as both drivers from other teams were forced to retire as a result of mistakes, punctures and contact on-track.
Polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne picked up points in fifth, with ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller getting great points for the team by finishing in sixth. Norman Nato managed seventh for Andretti, with Maximilian Guenther for Maserati MSG Racing in eighth, Sebastien Buemi in Envision making ninth despite a penalty and Jake Dennis rounding out the top 10.
Standings leader’s strife
Cassidy’s nightmare Portland weekend did not get any better in race two on Sunday. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver topped the standings heading to the States and does stay there but an unforced error, which saw him spin out of the lead on the penultimate lap in Round 13 and contact in Round 14 saw him pointless.
That’s allowed Evans to draw to within 12 points of his teammate, level with Wehrlein in the Drivers’ table. Da Costa himself is just 33 back, with 58 still to play for at the double-header finale in London.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s weekend has opened the door for TAG Heuer Porsche, who now sit just 33 points back in the Teams’ running. Porsche lead Jaguar 407 to 388 points in the Manufacturers’ Trophy.
How quickly things can change in Formula E.
Rounds 15 & 16 follow on 20 and 21 July at London’s ExCeL centre in the historic Docklands district.
As it happened...
Da Costa started well, beating polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne to lead by the first corner. Behind him, two championship contenders in Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein got close on the opening lap, both fighting for every point available to help their chances. Sam Bird got himself up into third, with his NEOM McLaren teammate Jake Hughes into fifth. From there, Hughes went full send and got himself at the front of the pack by lap two, ready for redemption after his disastrous end to Round 13.
Throughout all of this Nick Cassidy had dropped back to 14th, perhaps playing a similar game to yesterday for an energy saving masterclass.
Mahindra Racing’s Nyck De Vries looked promising up ahead and found himself fighting up in second, hunting a first podium of the year for the team. Another man flying up the grid was Sebastien Buemi, who shot up from 17th and at one point led the race, until he was given a drive-through penalty for a technical infraction.
There was drama for Wehrlein on Lap 6, when he picked up severe front wing damage when he made contact with Edoardo Mortara which dropped him into 13th. It looked like it was inevitable he would have to pit as he had so much damage and was limping, but it manage to dislodge itself on the run down to Turn 10. However, this front wing then hit Bird in his McLaren, which completely ruined his race and caused him to launch out onto the grass.
On Lap 8, then-leader Hughes went in too deep into Turn 1 as he tried to filter his way back into the pack. His engineer was over the radio instructing the Brit to keep an eye on apex speeds – his energy usage obviously of concern in the early stages. NEOM McLaren’s dramatic Round 14 didn’t get any better with Hughes next to lose his front wing in a tangle with Fenestraz’s Nissan on Lap 12.
Wehrlein’s recovery continued apace, and by Lap 13 he’d clambered as high as fifth, with standings leader Cassidy languishing down the order. From there, Cassidy’s race took a real turn as the Kiwi got caught in contact as the pack squeezed through Turn 1, with a quartet of reigning champion Dennis, Nyck de Vries, Nissan’s rookie stand-in Caio Collet and Cassidy himself forced into the pits for repairs.
The pace was far hotter than Saturday’s race and the action on-track more frenetic, too. Contact between da Costa and Mortara saw the latter come off worst and take to the Turn 11 grass with a puncture, while the Porsche continued with a missing front wing. That didn’t stop da Costa taking P1 with his teammate in tow on Lap 17 – the Porsches now well placed to work together and hold all-important track position with eight laps to run, while also looking par on energy usage to those around them.
A reprieve for Cassidy in the form of a Safety Car came on Lap 19 as Race Director Scot Elkins decided to take some time to clear debris from the circuit as the encounter headed towards its climax. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver held around five percent usable energy in-hand over the leaders but he had it all to do to make up ground from 17th as it stood.
Robin Frijns led the pack away after the Safety Car came in, but Da Costa had two percent extra and soon was past him and in the lead. Evans took his final ATTACK MODE, and was on a move to get back to the front. His front wing was wobbling all over the place, and with concerns over tyre pressure, it didn’t stop him from passing Wehrlein for fourth. Next up was Robin Frijns, who he managed to swoop by for second and then all eyes were on leader da Costa.
Frijns had better energy and got back past Evans, ready to be on the podium for his 100th race. In the final stages, he tried his best to pass his former teammate but he was no match for da Costa who was on another level. As they slipstreamed down the final straight, it was DAC who managed to make it three wins in a row!
Frijns was forced to settle for second, with Evans claiming third place. Wehrlein managed to cling on to fourth despite his front wing missing for the majority of the race, with Vergne in fifth at his team’s home race.