Misano ePrix Archives

Wehrlein takes victory in Misano to reclaim championship lead as Rowland runs out of energy

April 14, 2024

Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) took victory in Misano and reclaimed the championship lead after Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) ran out of energy on the final lap.

Rowland and Wehrlein broke the peloton in the second half of the race before, despite an energy deficit, Rowland upped the pace again on the penultimate lap to gain an advantage and victory looked his for the taking.

However, the Nissan driver miscalculated his resources and ran out of energy on the final lap, meaning Wehrlein inherited the win. “Yesterday could have been better, but I’m very happy with the race today,” Wehrlein said post-race. “Quite chaotic again in the beginning until mid-race.

“At the end, I wasn’t quite sure if I should stay in the lead or let Ollie [Rowland] through. The pace he did seemed a bit weird and too fast to try to defend, so I didn’t defend him hard. I was a bit surprised about his energy, hearing [he was down on energy] and wasn’t sure if the team had the correct information or not. But in the end, it proved to be the right thing to do. It was a lot of managing in the end, the energy, the battery, the tyres … just everything.

“It goes quickly from zero to hero or the other way round, we know that in Formula E. I think we had the pace this weekend to win both races. Unfortunately, yesterday with this kind of race, I was a bit of a victim with my front wing and then being at the back. But today was a big redemption for us. Let’s see the checks now, but I’m pretty sure it will be okay.”

After a quiet and clean start, the race quickly turned into the expected peloton-style on the wide and flowing Misano track with the order constantly changing throughout the first half of proceedings.

With 10 laps to go, Rowland claimed the lead and pulled the pin. Wehrlein was the only driver able to go with him and a gap opened behind them to Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E) in third. Dennis himself had some breathing space to Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra Formula E Team) and Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) following in fourth and fifth.

Wehrlein took P1 on Lap 18 and the pace slowed down again, resulting in the gaps closing and a group of five forming at the front. Rowland responded immediately to reclaim the lead and increase the pace again, despite a significant energy deficit to the other front runners.

Once more, only Wehrlein was able to go with him and the decision looked set to go down between the duo. Rowland opted for a risky tactic given his energy deficit and upped the pace again on the penultimate lap, creating a 1.5 seconds gap at the front.

However, late drama struck on the final lap when Rowland rolled out, evidentially having miscalculated his resources and run out of energy. Wehrlein inherited the position and took his second win of the season.

Behind, Dennis defended what was now runner-up spot furiously and brought second over the line. “It came together in the race,” the Andretti driver said.

“Ninth to second is a pretty good day in the office, but it was a struggle. As soon as the pace picked up at the front, I got dropped immediately and fell back into the clutches of both Nicks [Cassidy and Mueller]. It was just survival mode for me today. This weekend has been a real struggle, but to come out with two second places is a good salvage of points.

“[Pascal and I finishing one-two for the fifth time] shows how good the Porsche powertrain is, full credit to these guys for bringing such an efficient powertrain to give us the opportunity to do this. We both scored a lot of points and are sitting pretty towards the top end of the championship.

“Overall, a lot of work to do before Monaco to sort our qualifying pace out and then we can really start this championship.”

The decision for third went right down to the wire with Cassidy overtaking Mueller through the final corner to secure the remaining podium spot. “I think we’ve got to be happy in some ways,” the Kiwi said. “It’s been a rough few races, so it’s nice to be back on the podium.

“[Taking third through the last corner] is kind of a cheery on the cake. Well done to [the Abt Cupra Formula E Team] as well, they’re doing a great job. It’s so cool to see Nico [Mueller] and the Abt guys doing well and to have such a close finish.”

Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan Formula E Team) was fifth from Sergio Sette-Camara (ERT Formula E Team) and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) in seventh. Pole sitter Jake Hughes (Neom McLaren Formula E Team) took the chequered flag in eighth with the Maserati MSG Racing duo of Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala completing the top 10.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: NICK CASSIDY

It’s been disaster after disaster in recent races for Cassidy, not necessarily through faults of his own, and bouncing back with a podium finish is excellent redemption for the Porsche driver.

To do it in style with a last-corner overtake is an added bonus for the Kiwi whose championship challenge is back on track, now trailing standings leader Wehrlein by 13 points.

An honourable mention also goes to Mueller who was punching above the weight of his customer Mahindra in the fight for the podium.

WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST

1/26: HUGHES DEFENDS LEAD FROM POLE – It’s tight, but Hughes hangs on to P1 going into Turn 1. Wehrlein is second and Vergne third.

13/26: HALFWAY THROUGH – At the halfway stage of the race, things are much as expected with a peloton and no one blinking yet.

15/26: ROWLAND IN THE LEAD – Rowland has taken over at the front of the field and looks to be maybe testing the waters a little bit with an increased pace.

18/26: WEHRLEIN TAKES LEAD – Wehrlein takes over in the lead. He has two per cent more energy left compared to Rowland.

21/26: ROWLAND RECLAIMS LEAD – ROWLAND RECLAIMS LEAD – Interesting tactic from Rowland who reclaims the lead and ups the pace again. He has two per cent less energy than his opponents though.

24/26: ROWLAND PULLS THE PIN – Rowland puts some breathing space between himself and Wehrlein.

26/26: ROWLAND ROLLS OUT – Rowland slows down on track, apparently having run out of energy.

26/26: WEHRLEIN WINS IN MISANO – Incredibly, Wehrlein takes the win, having inherited the lead from Rowland who evidentially miscalculated his energy. Dennis defends second while Cassidy takes the final podium position off Mueller through the final turn.

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Formula E – Misano E-Prix LIVE

April 13, 2024

NEW LOCATION PROMISES PLENTY OF OVERTAKES

The Misano World Circuit Marco Somincelli, or Misano Circuit Sic 58, will be familiar to many motorsport fans with the track being a regular on the MotoGP and WorldSBK calendars, as well hosting endurance and sportscar racing, DTM, and many more. It is, however, set for its Formula E debut today.

It’s a rapid, flowing track with plenty of overtaking opportunities and room for manoeuvres over the course of 3.38km. ‘I raced in Misano back in 2019, and I think it’s a circuit that will provide lots of overtaking which is always good for us because of the efficiency of the powertrain,’ said reigning world champion Jake Dennis ahead of the weekend.

Formula E – Misano E-Prix LIVE

April 13, 2024

JAGUAR KEEN TO BOUNCE BACK

Jaguar TCS Racing come to Misano on the back of their worst-scoring weekend so far this season last time out in Tokyo. While driver Nick Cassidy currently still sits second in the championship standings, trailing Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein by two points, the Kiwi admitted that his side needs to step things up: ‘I don’t feel like we’re super efficient right now – we’ve got to improve,’ Cassidy said. ‘That’s going to be key [in Misano].

‘[Nissan and Porsche] have made huge jumps and I think they’re stronger than us right now, so we’ve got to improve. I’m not sure we can do that before Misano but we’ll do our best.’

While Cassidy has some work left to do from eighth on the grid, it’s been so far, so good on the other side of the garage with Mitch Evans bagging pole position. ‘Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that when I woke up this morning,’ Evans said. ‘Normally, these tracks don’t really tend to suit our package as much, but I think the guys and girls at Jaguar have done an incredible job to put it together. It’s a good car for this type of track! We just kept calm, and the car was really consistent throughout qualifying which I wasn’t really experiencing through practice. I was able to kind of build into it and build my confidence. So, full credit to everyone on the team.

‘It’s probably not the track you want to be at pole at, but I’ll take it! I’ll take the points and then we’re obviously focused for the race; it’s going to be a wild one. Let’s see, at the end of the day of how how kind it is to me. But so far, yeah, it’s been a good day.’

Da Costa wins first-ever Misano E-Prix after stirring drive, Rowland and Dennis on podium

April 13, 2024

Antonio Felix Da Costa (TAG Heuer Porche Formula E Team) became the first-ever Misano E-Prix winner after a thrilling duel with Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team).

A frantic race saw the drivers bunched up for the majority of proceedings and it wasn’t until Lap 25 that Rowland pulled the pin and broke away from the field. Da Costa was the only driver able to go with him and claimed the lead one lap later. With an energy advantage, he held Rowland at bay from there and took the chequered flag to make it six winners from six races so far this season.

“What a mess, that was crazy! I had a lot of fun,” Da Costa said after the race. “It’s more like being smart, being aware where everybody is. At times we were four or five cars side-by-side, people coming from every direction.

“I got hit a few times, but luckily nothing too big to my car. At the end I was really struggling to turn to the right, but we held on. I think the strategy in terms of energy was perfect, we went at the right time – it was good, that was a proper DAC attack!

“There’s ups and downs in life and nobody’s perfect, and we’ve got to be a team when times are bad. I think today will be good for [morale]. I’m here for the long haul and hopefully this is the first of many wins this season.”

Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) held the lead from pole position at lights out, but already on Lap 1 the positions were chopping and changing. This continued as the wide track at Misano allowed the drivers to go side by side and the field stayed bunched up with the order changing through every corner.

With the field so close together, the race was almost inevitably marked by collisions. Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) and Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing), who went into the race as championship one and two, came out worst of it with front wing damage forcing them to pit stops. Sam Bird (Neom McLaren Formula E Team) too saw his race effectively ended by a puncture caused by debris on the track.

Halfway through the race, there was still no separating the field with no one inclined to make a break. However, Da Costa started to look in a prime position with an energy advantage of two or three per cent over his opponents.

Going into the final couple of laps, Da Costa, Rowland and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) had managed to stay at the sharp end of the pack for a prolonged time. Finally, Rowland made a break on Lap 25 and put around half a second between himself and the field.

Da Costa swiftly reeled the Nissan back in and overtook for the lead on Lap 26. While Rowland stayed in the slipstream to search for an opportunity to reclaim the position, Da Costa was in control and became the first ever Formula E winner in Misano.

Rowland meanwhile bagged his fourth successive rostrum finish. “Amazing, I think we had a mega start to the year,” he said. “We felt like [the podiums] were … not fortunate, but we maximised everything and coming here it was going to be a little bit more tricky on a high efficiency track.

“But I’m pleasantly surprised – the car was mega, the energy management was good, and we had one of the best paces out there, so I’m really confident and really happy.

“I had to adapt because I had wanted to save quite a lot of energy, but then people got quite hungry in the beginning and I was down in 12th or 13th. And then I realised being 12th or 13th was not good because people were being rather optimistic.

“So I decided to come back up towards the front, sit around fifth or sixth and then when I got the information that the energy was good, I decided to go into the top three and I think me, [Jean-Eric Vergne], and Antonio [Felix Da Costa] worked quite well, blocking the track a bit as a three which was quite tactical. And then Antonio [Felix da Costa] didn’t want to go, so I went and for me second was a good result today.”

Behind, Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E) was challenging Vergne for third. While the defending champion couldn’t make it stick on track, he benefited from a five-seconds penalty for Vergne, awarded for causing a collision with Cassidy, and inherited the final podium spot.

“We’ve always got very efficient power trains, so P1 and P3 for Porsche is a special day for us,” Dennis said. “From my side, I was confident going into the race, but it’s been a real struggle for me this weekend. We’ve been one of the slowest cars all weekend over one lap. And then the boys gave me a good car for the race, a good strategy, and good awareness from myself and we’ve got the podium. Overall, really happy.

“Probably a bit of the same again tomorrow: start towards the back and then come through, but overall very happy and on a day like today to get a podium when you’re not feeling good in the car, those are the times to score big.

“I didn’t plan to leave [deploying attack mode] so late, but just the way everything was working out I had to and the race was getting faster and faster and that allowed me to not lose too many positions after taking it. I felt like I could have a couple of moves on [Jean-Eric Vergne], but I suffered with some brake issues on the last two laps, so I had to consolidate and knowing he had the five-second penalty, it was a P3.”

Maximilian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing) continued a great run of performances in fourth at his team’s home event while Dan Ticktum (ERT Formula E Team) recorded a season’s best finish in fifth. Pole sitter Evans was sixth from Vergne post-penalty in seventh.

Norman Nato (Andretti Formula E) concluded the race in eighth ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) and Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan Formula E) who rounded out the top 10.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: OLIVER ROWLAND

Four podiums on the bounce and now the championship lead, Rowland is certainly the driver on form.

While it once again wasn’t quite enough for victory in the race, Rowland wins the bigger picture with an error-free drive while his direct championship opponents missed out in the frantic action.

One can’t help feeling that a win is coming for the Nissan driver, but, more importantly, the world championship is firmly going in his favour.

WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST

1/28: EVANS HOLDS FIRM FROM POLE – Evans hangs on to the lead at lights out and there are no incidents down the order.

5/28: DISASTER FOR CASSIDY – With the field so bunched up, here’s the first inevitable collision with Cassidy coming out the worst of contact with Vergne. His front wing is damaged and he is forced to a pit stop.

6/28: PIT STOP FOR WEHRLEIN – The championship leader is next to be hit by a collision, also with Vergne, and suffer front wing damage. He drops down the order and heads to the pits.

14/28: WAITING STAGE AT THE HALFWAY POINT – We are halfway through the race now and it feels like we’re still waiting for things to kick off properly. The field is running in a bulk and no one looks inclined to try make a break.

19/28: ADVANTAGE DA COSTA – Looking at energy management, Da Costa is still looking in the best position. He is currently running third and has deployed all of his attack modes.

25/28: ROWLAND PULLS THE PIN – For the first time this race, there is a bit of a gap at the front with Rowland having pulled around six tenths on the field.

26/28: DA COSTA TAKES LEAD – Da Costa hunts Rowland and pulls off an overtake. No one looks able to challenge the duo at the moment.

28/28: DA COSTA WINS IN MISANO – Da Costa manages to hold Rowland at distance and brings the win over the line. Rowland secures his fourth successive podium in second with Dennis completing the top three.