• The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship faced a challenging opening race on the streets of Tokyo due to extremely tricky weather conditions
• Jean-Eric Vergne finished eighth, earning four points for the championship
• It was a less successful outing for Maximilian Günther, who was forced to retire due to a battery issue
The 2.5-kilometre circuit at Tokyo Big Sight featured soaking wet conditions at the start of the Tokyo E-Prix’s first race on Saturday. Earlier in the day, bad weather had led to the outright cancellation of qualifying, meaning that the grid was determined based on times from the second free practice session.
Starting from eighth and ninth places on the grid respectively, Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Günther got to grips with the track behind the safety car, before a standing start was held a few laps later. Both DS E-TENSE FE25 cars were running in the top 10 until Günther came to a halt at the side of the track due to a battery problem.
A red flag neutralised the action, and after a lengthy delay, the eighth race of the season was restarted. Showing consistent pace, JEV managed his Pit Boost and final Attack Mode well to move into 10th place.
With just two laps to go, Jean-Eric Vergne pulled off a brilliant overtaking move on a competitor, allowing him to finish in ninth place. Ultimately, after a penalty was awarded to a competitor, JEV finished eight.
On Sunday, the Tokyo E-Prix will host its second race: one that DS Automobiles hopes will be a bit less eventful.
Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance Director:
“Heavy rain disrupted the day to the point where qualifying had to be completely cancelled. The FP2 times consequently determined the starting grid. As expected, the weather made for a race that was as lively as it was unpredictable, with a red flag and two standing starts: circumstances that made life difficult for all the drivers. We’re obviously disappointed for Max, who had a battery issue – a component that is standard across all the cars. As for JEV, he fought as hard as always and brought home four more points. Tomorrow is another day and another race. We’ll have to seize every opportunity.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018 and 2019 Formula E champion:
“That was a tough day! The weather meant that qualifying was cancelled, which is a shame because the car was performing well in the rain. I started and finished eighth. And that obviously means not enough points. Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow in the second race.”
Maximilian Günther:
“It’s especially disappointing because this was a race that could have given us plenty of opportunities. I felt happy in the car and we had good pace. Unfortunately, we then experienced a battery issue that ended our race early. But that’s racing! We’ll take the positives from today, and tomorrow is a brand new day. Now we’ll be focussing hard on Race 2.”
Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:
- 129 races
- 4 championship titles
- 17 victories
- 52 podiums
- 25 pole positions
PRESS CONTACTS
DS Performance : Nathalie Dumas +33 (0) 6 60 26 10 37 –nathalie.dumas@external.stellantis.com
DS Automobiles : Benjamin Maigre + 33 (0) 6 75 58 80 41 – benjamin.maigre@dsautomobiles.com
