In another fantastic performance from Oliver Rowland, he takes victory for the second time in four races to win the Tokyo E-Prix, for Nissan at their home event.

Rowland shone throughout qualifying and the E-Prix and took pole position after beating Dan Ticktum in the duels final but used to Attack Mode brilliantly once again to extend his championship lead once again.

The British driver took the chequered flag despite pressure on the final lap after a late Safety Car. Rowland finished first ahead of reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein, who finished second for Porsche. In doing so, he moves up to second in the Drivers' Championship.

A wholesome E-Prix and a memorable one for Dan Ticktum, who picked up his first Formula E podium in the Japanese capital, after a stellar performance throughout the day and getting to the knockout duels final. He took third place.

Rowland now leads the championship by 77 points over Wehrlein with over half of the season completed.

There was drama before the race even started as Mitch Evans failed to make the start as his car was unable to be repaired in time for the start of the race. This was after the Jaguar driver found the wall with a whack at turn 17.

This meant just 21 drivers were to take to the grid for the start of the Tokyo E-Prix, which was the second Tokyo E-Prix in as many days with this being a double-round weekend at the Japanese capital.

The 32-lap Tokyo E-Prix got underway with the five lights going out. A great start for Oliver Rowland who managed to hold off the challenges from Dan Ticktum and Pascal Wehrlein, in the first few corners, to lead in Tokyo.

Rowland was keeping things in control within the first few laps of the race and the championship leader had made positive work of his pace.

The first driver to take one of two mandatory visits to Attack Mode was Jake Hughes and it was going to be interesting to see where the Maserati driver would end up when his first lot of Attack Mode runs out.

Nyck De Vries was running the risk with a bit of front wing damage after a collision in the midpack between he and Sam Bird of NEOM McLaren. There was no black & orange flag either for the Mahindra.

De Vries, Sebastian Buemi, Maximilian Gunther and Zane Maloeny were among the next group of drivers to take their first Attack Modes of the E-Prix and now it was going to be interesting to see how they would make their way through the field.

Many drivers were using the first third of the race to take their first set of Attack Mode. Dan Ticktum, Taylor Barnard and Pascal Wehrlein had all taken their first Attack Modes.

The Attack Mode was seriously showing the benefits from having it when Ticktum, Wehrlein and Barnard all made light work of overtaking Rowland with the Nissan driver dropping down to fourth after starting from pole position.

After a good qualifying, Lucas Di Grassi was looking to make use of his first Attack Mode and was doing well as he took seventh from the Nissan of Norman Nato.

Lap 12 of 32 saw a Full Course Yellow be brought out by Race Director Marek Hanaczewski due to De Vries' front wing becoming detached from the Mahindra. The Full Course Yellow was brought out so the marshals could retrieve the debris safely.

During the Full Course Yellow, the Porsche of Antonio Felix Da Costa retired from the race with a mechanical problem. The driver second in the standings was set to lose more ground to championship Rowland if it was to stay as it was with him only in fourth.

There was a time penalty handed out to Norman Nato for speeding under the Full Course Yellow and that was to be added to his race time at the end of the E-Prix.

Lap 17 and it was the championship leader Oliver Rowland, who took to the Atttack Mode for the first time in the race and would undertake two minutes of the mandatory eight. Rejoining the pack from taking the Attack Mode, Rowland came out in sixth behind Nick Cassidy.

Rowland was soon making progress and it took him one lap to take fifth from Cassidy but that was all he could make count with his two minutes of Attack Mode and was stuck behind the Mahindra of Edoardo Mortara.

The Andretti duo visited Attack Mode at the same time. For Nico Muller, he was the first to take on his second Attack Mode but for Jake Dennis it was his first and with the first Attack Mode he climbed up to fourth place - ahead of Mortara and Rowland.

Mueller started a trend for second Attack Mode helpings at this stage of the race. Lap 22 saw Rowland, and Cassidy take their second Attack Modes and this was going to be big for the championship lead.

Rowland had no option to get on with it as the others had second Attack Mode helpings still to go for. He was progressing quickly and got ahead of Mortara and Jake Dennis within the first lap of having Attack Mode.

Then, on the following lap, the leading three which consisted of Wehrlein, Ticktum and Barnard all took their second Attack Modes. Crucially though they all had less Attack Mode than what Rowland still had remaining. 

To add to this positive outlook for Rowland, he also managed to jump ahead of Ticktum and Barnard to end up in second place - only behind the reigning Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein.

He had to make it count with 40 seconds of Attack Mode remaining when Wehrlein's had expired and he did just that with a glorious move out of turn 15. A huge pass for him, for Nissan on home turf and also for both championships.

Then it descended into absolute chaos with Mortara closing up and getting in on the act with and looking to try and catch the top four off guard. Catching Ticktum off guard was Barnard though and he went through to take third place.

However, TIcktum was going to fight back as Wehrlein was fighting Rowland for the lead. In addition, Jake Dennis was fighting Mortara for fifth. It was fascinating racing around the streets of Tokyo.

For Barnard, disaster was soon to strike as he got tapped in the rear by Mortara and got sent off into the barriers and was out of the race on the spot which was such a shame as the Brit was having another great race.

Mortara received a five-second time penalty after the Safety Car was deployed, while Barnard's stranded NEOM McLaren was retrieved by the marshals.

There was to be a final lap of racing though as the Safety Car would enter the pit lane at the end of the penultimate lap and there was to be no added laps of racing deemed the Race Director Hanaczewski. 

The restart did not see a change at the front though and following two pole positions at Tokyo across the weekend, a second place finish in round eight and now he was to add a victory to his name.

He took victory for the fourth time in the 2024/25 season in Miami and the second time in four races. Rowland has now finished in the top two in each of his last four E-Prix and taken pole position for three of those.

Rowland held off a persistent Pascal Wehrlein, who despite moving up to second in the standings above teammate Antonio Felix Da Costa, lost more ground on Rowland in the championship and had to settle for second place in the E-Prix.

In third place for a maiden podium was Dan Ticktum of Cupra Kiro. Ticktum had shown great form of late and the British driver held on to take a third place finish after starting second on the grid. It was a truly epic round nine for him.

Jake Dennis finished fourth for Andretti while a great drive from Lucas Di Grassi of Lola Yamaha ABT, saw complete the top five in fifth place. Jean-Eric Vergne took sixth for DS Penske ahead of seventh place Nick Cassidy.

Sam Bird, Sebastian Buemi and Maximilian Gunther completed the points scoring positions and the top 10.

Formula E would return in two weeks for another double round of action at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. These rounds will be round 10 and round 11 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Another three points in the Drivers' championship for Oliver Rowland, as he takes his third successive pole position in Formula E and his third in a row at the Tokyo E-Prix circuit.

Rowland beat Dan Ticktum in all-British final after a heartbreaking whack into the wall for Ticktum, which damaged his car and caused him to slow. This handed pole to Rowland on a plate but he was not in need of a second invitation.

It was commanding victories for both Rowland and Ticktum in their respective knockout duels semi final, with Rowland beating multiple-champion Jean-Eric Vergne and Ticktum beating the reigning Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein.

Rowland is in the championship lead and with the three points for pole position has extended his championship lead to 63 points, with a further chance of extending this afternoon should he win the E-Prix.

Qualifying got underway for round nine of the 2024/25 season with the green light on at the of the pit lane. 12 minutes began in a hunt for the top four drivers, who would progress to the 1v1 duels.

The first half of the session in Group A saw the early lap times being set with Jean-Eric Vergne provisionally leading the way for DS Penske ahead of Lucas Di Grassi and the two Nissan drivers.

However, time was being found on circuit and despite improvements from Mitch Evans, Di Grassi went back to the top of the times with both Nissan drivers joining him back in the provisional top three. Norman Nato had gone second quickest ahead of Oliver Rowland in third.

Evans had slipped to fourth provisionally but his session was concluded following a nasty accident of his, after he clips the wall at turn 17 before heading straight into the barriers. He loses a tyre after making contact with the wall and is a passenger as his car heads into the barriers - narrowly avoiding a marshal who was stook nearby.

The red flag was unsurprisingly brought out to suspend the session as the drivers headed back to the pit lane ready to go again, as there were three minutes remaining in Group A.

Due to he being the cause of the red flag, as with the Formula E regulations, his best lap time was deleted and he dropped from fourth to 11th. This provisionally promoted the Mahindra of Nyck De Vries into the critical top four positions.

After the red flag delay, the session was once again back underway for the final three minutes of qualifying in Group A with drivers desperate to improve to book their places in the 1v1 knockout duels.

Soon enough the chequered flag was out with the drivers completing their final laps to try and book themselves a place in the quarter final places. Lucas Di Grassi with a last-gasp lap went to the top of the pile for Lola Yamaha ABT, who had progressed to the knockout at their home event.

Di Grassi was joined by the Nissan duo of Norman Nato and Oiver Rowland as well as DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne in progressing through to the next round. Shock eliminations included Taylor Barnard and round eight race winner Stoffel Vandoorne.

Following a frantic end to the Group A session, it was time for Group B where the other 11 drivers were in a fight to try and qualify in the top four to book themselves a place at the knockout duels final.

The cars had headed out onto the circuit, which in those cars was Pascal Wehrlein who topped the day's earlier Free Practice 3 session.

Robin Frijns of Envision Racing, who due to a significant mechanical part change on his car, was taking a 20-second grid penalty, had gone quickest earlier on. That was the first lap time set for him and the others though so there was time still remaining in the session for things to change.

Time for things to change included time for other drivers to make improvements to their lap times. One of the drivers was the Mahindra of Edoardo Moratara who went fastest with a 1:13.810. That was a time 0.082 quicker than Wehrlein.

Wehrlein was continuing to show that strong pace from Free Practice and in doing so he jumped to the top of the times by over a tenth. A great lap from the reigning world champion, who has a lap time of 1:13.671.

Mortara improved almost instantly after Wehrlein crossed the line but Wehrlein still had enough to remain at the top of the time sheets for the time being. His teammate Antonio Felix Da Costa and Andretti's Jake Dennis were the others in the provisionl top four with two minutes to go in the session.

Soon enough, the chequered flag was out which signified the end of Group B but the drivers still on flying laps had the opportunity to book their places in the knockout duels. In the very latter stages, which had played a part in some drivers' laps.

By the end of Group B, it was Wehrlein who ended the session fastest ahead o fEdoardo  Mortara, Dan Ticktum and Antonio Felix Da Costa. All four drivers met the other four in the 1v1 duels and it was set to be a highly competitive context.

Following a short pause on the action following a hectic Group Stage phase. The eight drivers remaining were matched up against another driver to compete over a one-timed lap in order to progress through to the semi final stage.

The four remaining drivers at the semi final stage were paired up and the winners of those two fixtures would form a final, which was also a one-timed lap 1v1 duel which would determine who would take pole position for the round nine 2024/25 Tokyo E-Prix.

Before the session reached that point, the quarter finals had to take place. The fixtures taking place were as follows:

• Quarter Final 1: Oliver Rowland vs Norman Nato
• Quarter Final 2: Jean-Eric Vergne vs Lucas Di Grassi
• Quarter Final 3: Dan Ticktum vs Edoardo Mortara
• Quarter Final 4: Antonio Felix Da Costa vs Pascal Wehrlein

First up in the quarter final stage was an all-Nissan affair with both Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato going up against one another to book themselves a place in the semi-final stage. Oliver Rowland was to complete his lap first.

Rowland landed a lap time first with a 1:12.375 and that guaranteed him a place in the first semi final after Norman Nato had made a big mistake on his lap.

However, the championship leader was through and was awaiting to see which one out of DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne and Lola Yamaha's Lucas Di Grassi would be joining him in the second quarter final duel.

It was to be Vergne who was to come across the line first and would lay down the benchmark lap time of 1:12.681. Despite having a decent margin at other parts of the lap and Di Grassi closing the gap, Vergne had enough in the lap to see him progress to the semi final.

Vergne was to be paired up against Oliver Rowland and the two drivers would be goingb against each other for a place in the final.

Up next in the quarter final stage was the Cupra Kiro of Dan Ticktum going up against the Mahindra Racing of Edoardo Mortara. This third quarter final would give one of the two drivers to take the first spot in the second semi final.

It was Ticktum who set the lap time first and it was a strong benchmark lap of a 1:12.173 and it was too strong of a lap to be beaten by the Mahindra of Mortara and the Cupra Kiro of Ticktum would be the first driver into the second semi final.

Ticktum was awaiting one of the two Porsche drivers Antonio Felix Da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein to meet him in the semi final stage. Both Porsche drivers would go against each other for a place in the final.

The lap time laid down by Da Costa but it was nowhere near good enough as he was beaten by six tenths of a second by Porsche teammate and reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein.

The semi final fixtures would be:

• Semi Final 1: Jean-Eric Vergne vs Oliver Rowland
• Semi Final 2: Pascal Wehrlein vs Dan Ticktum

First up in the two semi finals would be the one between championship leader Oliver Rowland and the DS Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne. It was Vergne who is setting the lap time first as he is the first one to exit the pit lane and to get down the road.

Vergne laid down a benchmark lap time of 1:12.602 but this was comfortably beaten by Rowland by six tenths of a second and the championship leader was in a position to take his third pole position in a row.

However, he would have to wait to take on one of Pascal Wehrlein and Dan Ticktum in the final. Both had shown great pace across the weekend at Tokyo.

It would be an all-British final as Dan Ticktum had beaten reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein by over a tenth with a great showing once again from the Cupra Kiro driver, who is in great form of late.

The final between the two British drivers Oliver Rowland and Ticktum was set to get underway with Rowland looking to take three Formula E pole positions in a row. Meanwhile, if Ticktum was to take pole this would be his very first in his Formula E career.

Ticktum was the driver who was to complete his lap first as he departed the pit before Rowland in what was set to be a really close battle between the two Brits.

A disaster for Ticktum on a lap that was going so well for the Cupra Kiro driver and on the delta tower he was up on the championship leader but a whack into the wall saw him go slow and come to a stop after crossing the line.

This handed the pole position on a platter for Oliver Rowland, who would pick up his third pole position in a row in the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. In taking pole position once again, he has picked up three world championship points, which has extended his gap to 63 overall.

After another brilliant session from Rowland he would start Sunday's later E-Prix from the very front of the field. However, it would be an all-British front row provisionally with Dan Ticktum expected to start alongside.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

A fantastic start to round nine of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E Championship for Pascal Wehrlein, saw him top Sunday's Free Practice session.

Wehrlein shone in Free Practice by setting a 1:12.011, which was the fastest time of that respective session. That lap from Wehrlein saw him finish clear of Nissan's Norman Nato who was second while Maserati's Jake Hughes ended the Free Practice 3 session in third.

The reigning Formula E champion was hoping to impress in round nine after a difficult round eight qualifying, where due to them using the Free Practice 2 results to determine the grid, he was to start only in 17th place.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland did not have as good of a session as he would have been hoping for. Instead, he ended up 22nd and last after a difficult morning at the Tokyo E-Prix circuit.

Antonio Felix Fa Costa is second in the standings and 60 points of the championship lead and needs a big result in round nine to close down the gap to the current championship leader Rowland who has ended in the top two in the last three E-Prix.

Sunday in Tokyo was the day of round nine for the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, with this being the second round of this weekend's first double-round weekend in Tokyo.

Tokyo had already seen eventful action across the weekend following round eight where wet weather significantly played its part. Stoffel Vandoorne secured his first win since 2022 on Saturday as he beat championship leader Oliver Rowland to the chequered flag.

Following another top finish from Rowland, he comes into round nine with a 60-point lead over Antonio Felix Da Costa, who sat second in the standings heading into the very start of the second half of the 2024/25 season.

It was a double-round weekend at Tokyo and the drivers should have been familiar with the venue, after round eight taking place a day prior on the Saturday.

40 minutes of Free Practice was underway in Tokyo with the green light on at the end of the pit lane. It was going to be an important session of running for the teams and drivers so they could have a range of knowledge about the Tokyo E-Prix circuit in dry conditions.

The drivers were beginning flying laps quickly with a lot of positions changing in the early stages of Free Practice on the time sheets. In the first six minutes of the session, Antonio Felix Da Costa of Porsche was the driver to beat after setting the provisionally best lap time.

His Porsche teammate Pascal Wehrlein was someone who had good speed and it was Wehrlein who went to the top of the time sheets. Norman Nato of Nissan moved up into second and prevented the 1-2 that Porsche were looking to achieve at that point.

There were more changes at the top of the times with championship leader Rowland being top for only a moment. Soon enough Lola Yamaha ABT were showcasing the talent within the team as they went 1-2.

Zane Maloney was fastest for Lola Yamaha ahead of Lucas Di Grassi and the Lola Yamaha ABT team were running first and second in Tokyo. A 1:12.750 was set by Maloney, which was almost three tenths clear of the time set by teammate Di Grassi.

With the track continuing to ramp up there was so many drivers who were changing positions and trying to look to improve their personal best lap times. All running was about building confidence ahead of round nine of the 204/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Da Costa was a driver who showed speed throughout Free Practice would be in high competition for fist place with the track ramping up constantly. Edoardo Mortara was holding himself in second place for the time being.

Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein made his way up to the top of the time sheets with a strong lap for Tag Heur Porsche. Nissan's Norman Nato had moved up into second place but was still 0.16 behind Wehrlein.

Wherlein was the fastest of the session and he was hoping to continue his great form in the day's later qualifying session, which is to set the grid for the E-Prix, which was to be round nine of the 2024/25 championship.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Fantastic gamble with the timing of the Pit Boost stop for Stoffel Vandoorne, who wins a hectic and wet Tokyo E-Prix for Maserati.

Vandoorne took his Pit Boost stop before a red flag was brought out by Race Director Marek Hanaczewski after Maximilian Gunther had a red light show on the front of his car, which meant it was electrically unsafe to move.

At the red flag restart, he was close within the field and was able to capitalise as those who started at the front and those who had been leading most of the race, had to serve the Pit Boost mandatory stop when the field was closer together.

Vandoorne picked up a first win since 2022 as he took the chequered flag first ahead of pole sitter Oliver Rowland, who finished second despite being heavily pursued by Taylor Barnard who completed the podium rostrum.

​Rowland has extended his championship lead once again after round eight and at the halfway point of the season. The gap is 60 points between he and Antonio Felix Da Costa, who is second in the standings after finishing seventh. 

Saturday afternoon had rolled around and it was time for the first of two E-Prix in as many days, in the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The E-Prix on Saturday was part of round eight of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and there was lot of anticipation surrounding the action ahead.

Rainfall since the start of Saturday morning played its part in getting us ready for the afternoon's E-Prix after it being very wet since the start of Free Practice 2. It was Oliver Rowland who was fastest and the Free Practice 2 results ended up being pivotal.

This was because the rain had become significantly heavier and was relentless from the end of Free Practice 2 until when qualifying was supposed to start. After making best attempts to get qualifying underway, it was too unsafe and Race Director Marek Hanaczewski felt he had no choice to cancel qualifying.

Therefore, to determine the grid Hanaczewski decided the Free Practice 2 results were to be used. This meant Oliver Rowland was to start on pole position and take three championship points. He was to be joined on the front row by Mahindra's Edoardo Mortara. Behind them were Rowland's Nissan teammate Norman Nato in third and McLaren's Taylor Barnard in fourth.

Both Porsche drivers, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein, who came into the round second and third in the championship respectively were to start 11th and 17th.

Rain had continued for a bit longer, but nowhere near as heavy. This was before stopping ahead of the E-Prix. Due to this, the track was going to start to dry ahead of the round eight E-Prix, which was to be the third E-Prix of the season to have pit boost following round three at Jeddah and round six in Monaco.

Hanaczewski decided the race was to start behind the Safety Car for three laps before a standing start was confirmed by FIA Race Control, meaning the drivers were starting from their grid positions.

The standing start was to take place on lap five after the Safety Car was brought in at the end of lap four, with Oliver Rowland pulling into his grid position first. 31 laps were remaining at the race start.

The lights went out and it was a great start from Rowland who took the lead into the first corner with Mortara holding onto second position. Nato going on the outside of Mortara was vulnerable to Barnard and was forced to continue third.

Immediately after the lights went out, there were already drivers taking their first of two Attack Modes in the E-Prix. Sebastian Buemi, Da Costa and Mitch Evans were the three that were first to bolt.

The following lap and there were more drivers making the trip to the first Attack Mode, which taking it early was clearly part of many strategies up and down the field. Robin Frijns, Nyck De Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne and DS Penske duo Maximilian Gunther and Jean-Eric Vergne all took their first Attack Modes.

Buemi was making sharp progress with his first four of eight Attack Mode minutes. He moved all the way up into second following maximising the extra power he had at his disposal.

Lap eight and into Attack Mode were Mortara, Barnard and Nato and they were hoping to move up back ahead of Buemi after he had passed them moments before. That was not an issue for Mortara, who was a lot closer to Buemi than Barnard and Nato.

Zane Maloney took Attack Mode next for Lola Yamaha ABT meanwhile Barnard made good and critical use of the Attack Mode to get into fourth place, ahead of De Vries into turn 17 with a brilliant pass.

Vandoorne of Maserati was the first driver to use the Pit Boost, which was his mandatory pit stop served and now he was down to the back of the pack and was going to have some catching up to do. This was as his teammate Jake Hughes took his first Attack Mode of the race.

De Vries from fifth position was to be the next driver but he had not actually come to serve his Pit Boost yet but was about to prior to lap 14.

He was prevented from doing so though as Max Gunther had come to a stop on circuit, with the red light flashing on the front of the car, meaning it was not electrically safe to be moved by marshals. This gave Hanaczewski no choice other than to red flag the race and it was back to the pit lane for the other 21 drivers.

Vandoorne had been the only one to take his Pit Boost and with the red flag he was in a great position as the other 20 drivers were yet to serve their mandatory pit stops. He was back on the lead lap for the restart and was going to be in a good position when the others had come in.

There was a standing start in waiting after the Safety Car was leading the drivers out of the pit lane at the time of the restart. Lap 14 and the drivers were led round by the Safety Car ahead of the restart.

There were 21 laps of racing remaining plus any additional laps undertaken by the Stewards. There were 20 cars on the grid, with Jake Dennis in the pit lane for his Attack Mode at the restart, which dropped him down to the back.

Dennis was investigated for entering the pit lane while it was closed and this would lead to him having been disqualified on lap 20 as he was shown the black flag.

The lights went out and it was a good start for Rowland who maintained position ahead of Mortara, Buemi and Barnard as the top four with Nyck De Vries completing the top five.

As for the Pit Boost situation, which is where the mandatory pit stop takes place, Jaguar's Mitch Evans was the next to serve it with Rowland, Mortara, Buemi, Barnard, Frijns and Nato all having enabled their window with them set to come in over the next few laps.

Lap 17 was Rowland's time for his first Attack Mode with him taking on board four minutes of the eight he has to use within an E-Prix. Meanwhile, this was at the same time as Frijns took his second Attack Mode dosage of four minutes and that was his Attack Mode served.

More drivers were undertaking their Pit Boosts including Barnard and Nato who both followed De Vries in to serve it - a couple of laps later. All of them dropped behind Vandoorne who had served his Pit Boost stop before the red flag stoppage.

There was an incident between De Vries and Evans as De Vries exiting the pit lane was unaware of Evans and collided with the Jaguar - sending him backwards into the wall.

More Attack Modes had been undertaken including second dosages for the likes of Dan Ticktum, Barnard and Pascal Wehrlein with after lap 22 the top three (Rowland, Mortara and Buemi) all having one Attack Mode remaining.

End of lap 23 and into the pit lane was Rowland and Mortara next to visit the pit lane for their mandatory pit stops and both rejoined behind Stoffel Vandoorne who had moved up into sixth place. 

Rowland rejoined in eighth, behind Hughes in seventh position but crucially ahead of Barnard, which the same could not be said for Edoardo Mortara and he had dropped behind the NEOM McLaren driver.

The following lap was Buemi's turn and he was behind Barnard too but crucially for Mahindra, Buemi had rejoined behind Mortara in 10th place. There was many up the road though from the prior leaders that had yet to serve their mandatory pit stops - including Nick Cassidy and reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein.

The gap between Rowland and Vandoorne was a big gap and it was going to take some achievement to pull it back and the championship leader was going to need the fortune of a Safety Car or Red Flag to pull himself back into contention.

Meanwhile all this action was ongoing, McLaren driver Sam Bird was given a five-second time penalty for failing to follow the Race Director's instructions.

Cassidy was the last driver of those still in the race to take his mandatory pit stop and it was going to be interesting to see where the Jaguar driver was going to slot into with still an Attack Mode remaining.

A moment for Vandoorne though was a pin at the second corner but thankfully for him he was able to keep his Maserati from fully going into the wall. Also, the gap was still fairly big between the leading pair and Rowland might have needed a miracle to turn it around.

Vandoorne and and Mortara were into their final Attack Modes with Rowland still needing to take his second and final Attack Mode. The championship leader took it at the start of lap 31 and dropped down to third momentarily.

Rowland was behind Barnard for a matter of a few corners and the Nissan driver was back up into second place. He was going to have to have a rocketship-style speed in order to catch Vandoorne with so little laps remaining.

With the race starting behind the Safety Car and the laps lost, Race Control announced there were three additional laps of racing at the end of proceedings extending the total from 35 to 38 in Tokyo.

Jean-Eric Vergne in the latter stages undertook his second Attack Mode and he was eager to make moves with the final two minutes that he had in the final four laps of the race, Vergne was pressuring Robin Frijns.

Lap 36 and it was a brilliant move from the Frenchman to pass Frijns and take ninth place in the race. It was likely to be too late in the day for him to catch De Vries with the lack of Attack Mode.

Low on energy, Rowland was severely under pressure from Barnard on the last lap of the race and was going to have to use his skill and quality to keep himself out in front of the young British superstar.

Out in front though, Stoffel Vandoorne and Maserati took a gamble to take their Pit Boost early in the race, in case their was a Safety Car or red flag later on in the E-Prix and their gamble had paid off brilliantly.

He had failed to win a race since the 2022 Monaco E-Prix but now he could call himself a winner once again. He replaced Maximilian Gunther at Maserati, who won the first ever Tokyo E-Prix in 2023/24 and Vandoorne continued the team's 100% record at the Tokyo E-Prix circuit.

Vandoorne took the victory ahead of championship leader Oliver Rowland, who held on for second place, despite a charging young Taylor Barnard behind, who had to be content with third.

Sebastian Buemi, winner of round seven in Monaco, was fourth in round eight at Tokyo with Brit Dan Ticktum completing the top five for Cupra Kiro. Edoardo Mortara was sixth for Mahindra ahead of Antonio Felix Da Costa, who despite finishing in the points, had lost more ground on Rowland.

Nyck De Vries, Jean-Eric Vergne and Robin Frijns completed the top 10 in Tokyo.

Action will return on Sunday for round nine of the 2024/25 season, which will begin the second half of the campaign and the second round of the double-round weekend in the Japanese capital.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Qualifying for round eight of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has been cancelled following significant rainfall on Saturday morning.

Formula E had made just the second visit to Tokyo in the history of the world championship, and with it was also the first double-round weekend at the Tokyo E-Prix. However, the round eight qualifying was cancelled due to the extremely heavy rainfall at the circuit making it unsafe for the drivers to use.

Despite Race Control trying to give the weather time to improve so qualifying could be run, unfortunately Race Director Marek Hanaczewski was left with no choice but to cancel the qualifying session.

Following the cancellation of qualifying, Hanaczewski confirmed that the grid for Saturday's later E-Prix was to be determined by the results of Free Practice 2. This would give Oliver Rowland pole position for the second successive time for the Brit at Tokyo.

Rowland topped Free Practice 2 and it has proved pivotal for him in the championship, as he picks up three world championship points for picking up pole positions. Rowland has the chance to extend it further, with second place Antonio Felix Da Costa starting 11th and third place Pascal Wehrlein starting 17th.

Free Practice 2 saw Rowland fastest by over six tenths faster than the Mahindra Racing car of Edoardo Mortara, who was second and the Swiss driver will share the front row with Rowland. 

Rowland's teammate Norman Nato is to start third after finishing there in Free Practice 2. Nato will start alongside Taylor Barnard on the second row, as the young NEOM McLaren driver will start in fourth place.

Last year's Tokyo E-Prix winner Maximilian Gunther will go from ninth place for DS Penske, behind his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne in eighth. Gunther won from second position in the 2023/24 season.

The race is scheduled to begin at 15:05 local time should everything start and run smoothly. This is also 07:05 for UK viewers. This is all very weather dependent with the treacherous rain that has already fallen on the Tokyp E-Prix circuit this weekend.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

In heavy rain conditions on E-Prix race day for round eight of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Nissan's Oliver Rowland was fastest in Free Practice 2.

On Saturday morning, at the start of the first ever double-round weekend to take place at Tokyo, Rowland set the fastest time in a session that had extreme difficulty with the heavy rain making the circuit extra slippery and treacherous.

Rowland was fastest in Free Practice 2, with a good margin ahead of Mahindra Racing's Edoardo Mortara who was second. Rowland's Nissan teammate Norman Nato finished third. Only Mortara and Nato were within a second of Rowland's time at the end of the session,

It is Rowland, who is the championship leader, and will be hoping to continue his fine form in the 2024/25 season after picking up top two finishes in four of the last five E-Prix in Season 11. He comes into this round with a 48-point lead over Porsche's Antonio Felix Da Costa.

Saturday rolled around to complete round eight of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which was to mark the halfway point of Season 11, at the first of the weekend's two Tokyo E-Prix racedays.

Round eight action started on Friday in Tokyo, with Free Practice 1. Nissan's Norman Nato was fastest in that session, which kicked off a perfect start to the weekend for Nissan at their home round, across the weekend.

Saturday morning saw heavy rain fall on the circuit ahead of Free Practice 2, which was the first session of three ahead of round eight race day of the 2024/25 season.

The track was extremely wet when the 40 minutes of Free Practice got underway. Exiting the pit lane Oliver Rowland practically drifted out of his garage with the standing water in front of him as he pulled onto the pit lane.

Visibility was low but this was not a deterrence for the drivers, who were needing to get some lap times set as this was the first wet running of the weekend. With the forecast predicting a wet qualifying and E-Prix, the more laps the better they would find it in the long run.

The drivers were constantly looking to find time and Maserati were sitting first and second after the first quarter of the session. Stoffel Vandoorne was top ahead of teammate Jake Hughes with a 1:36.240. There was a gap of 0.329 between the teammates with Sebastian Buemi third.

Less than 27 minutes to go and there was a Full Course Yellow brought out about the FIA Race Director for some debris that was on the circuit. Thankfully though, the rapid response from the marshals saw the circuit back to green flag conditions.

Finding time in the next few minutes was Antonio Felix Da Costa, who dislodged the Maserati duo from the top of the time sheets with a strong lap time. However, drivers were starting to practice qualifying runs in order to see what the running was like.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland and his Nissan teammate Norman Nato set their best lap times of the session, with Rowland going to the top of the time sheets with a 1:32.525. His teammate Nato was unable to put a lap anywhere near as good together.

There was time being won and lost in laps all around the circuit as the drivers were desperate to develop an understanding for the circuit in the treacherous conditions that the Tokyo weather was providing.

Rowland's time was holding strong up at the top of the times and was staying top ahead of Edoardo Mortara and Nato. The pair were in the top three and were the only drivers within a second of the championship leader.

A moment appeared for David Beckmann who ended up skidding down the escape road and this ended up leading to him not being to turn his car around and get back onto the circuit. The Race Director gave chance for him to get it going under a yellow flag.

However, despite Beckmann trying, it was to no prevail and he was out of the session. Therefore, the session was red flagged while the marshals moved the Cupra Kiro to a safe position.

The red flag was brought out within the final 10 minutes and it was unclear as to whether the session was to restart or not and if it was whether there was to be any added minutes or not.

The session restarted with four minutes to go in the session and the majority of the field were back out on circuit trying to get some more track time despite the rain getting heavier in the Japanese capital.

There was no added minutes and the session was soon over with yellow flags out for Zane Maloney, as the session reached its conclusion. Oliver Rowland was the driver who was fastest with a very good lap time.

A very positive start to their home weekend for Nissan, who had topped both Free Practice sessions of round eight, with Rowland following on from Nato topping FP1 on Friday. It was Rowland, who ended the session fastest ahead of Edoardo Mortara and Nato, who were the top three.

Completing the top five were Taylor Barnard and Nyck De Vries of NEOM McLaren and Mahindra respectively. Sebastian Buemi was sixth for Envision Racing ahead of the Cupra Kiro of Dan Ticktum in seventh place.

DS Penske duo Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Gunther wer eighth and ninth. Envision's Robin Frijns completed the top 10.

There was a short break before the qualifying session which would set the grid for the Tokyo E-Prix - round eight of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

On Friday afternoon in Tokyo, Nissan's Norman Nato set the fastest time in Free Practice 1 to kick start the double-round weekend.

Nato was fastest in the opening session of the weekend, where two rounds of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was to take place over three days of action. The weekend was seeing the halfway point of the championship with rounds eight and nine taking place.

Nissan at their home event had the perfect start after Nato was fastest with a 1:12.152, which was almost three tenths clear of Maximilian Gunther who was second fastest for DS Penske. Nato's teammate Oliver Rowland was third quickest.

Rowland leads the championship by 48 points coming into the round ahead of Porsche's Antonio Felix Da Costa.

There were seven minutes of added practice minutes, following a red flag stoppage which was caused by NEOM McLaren Taylor Barnard, who found the wall at turn 17. He got out the car okay but his car would need repairs ahead of the action on Saturday.

Just two weeks after the double-round weekend happened in Monte Carlo, it was time to have a double-round weekend all over again. Formula E had swapped the infamous streets of Monaco for the Japanese capital of Tokyo.

This weekend was just the second ever visit Formula E had made to Tokyo following the Tokyo E-Prix circuit back in the 2023/24 season - where Maximilian Gunther took victory for Maserati. The weekend at The Tokyo International Exhibition Centre was holding rounds eight and nine of the 2024/25 championship.

The green light was on at the end of the pit lane and the session was underway for 40 minutes of Free Practice, in the late Tokyo afternoon. Drivers were immediately pouring onto the circuit from the pits in order to get track time ahead of the busy weekend ahead.

As is usual with Free Practice 1 at Formula E weekends there was an early Full Course Yellow test where the Race Director Marek Hanaczewski was testing the smoothness of it around the Tokyo E-Prix circuit.

Soon enough the green flag was back going again and then there was starting to be drivers aiming for some lap times around the Japanese capital. With drivers finding time in different areas and constantly improving, the order was changing a lot.

At the end of the first 10 minutes, which was the first quarter of the session, Wehrlein was the driver to beat ahead of championship leader Oliver Rowland and the DS Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne. 

After finishing third in round seven at Monaco, Nick Cassidy of Jaguar was the only driver not to have been onto the circuit but there was still 30 minutes where he could set his mark on the weekend and get some running completed.

The track was continuing to evolve and that was proven when Rowland took top spot from Wehrlein by almost half a second with a 1:14.786. His Nissan teammate Norman Nato had moved up to third and was just 0.013 behind the reigning champion.

Soon there was a stoppage for an unusual mistake from Taylor Barnard, a driver who had been shining all season. Barnard found the wall with a heavy impact at turn 17, leaving his car damaged on the right hand side.

 The session was red flagged while his NEOM McLaren and any debris was removed from the circuit. After a 10-minute delay, the session was back underway with 16 minutes of the session remaining of Free Practice 1. However, Race Control extended the session by eight minutes.

At the restart, the track became busy almost instantly and it also saw the first on-track appearance of the weekend for Cassidy.

The other Jaguar of Mitch Evans went straight for a lap from the restart and in doing so he went second fastest with a lap that was 0.289 behind an improved time of 1:14.584 from Rowland. Antonio Felix Da Costa meanwhile had moved himself up to third.

Lap times were really starting to improve as the track was ramping up in addition to some drivers testing laps with four wheel drive. This saw Rowland's lap be beaten by his teammate Nato and then the Andretti of Nico Mueller, who beat Nato by almost six tenths with a 1:13.902.

The Andretti looked to have good raw pace in Tokyo and this was proven by Jake Dennis, Mueller's teammate, going faster by over six tenths of a second and it was then a Andretti 1-2 at the top of the times. A 1:13.245 was the new session best lap time.

Both Andretti drivers were beaten though as Da Costa split the pair to go second quickest with an impressive lap for the Tag Heur Porsche team. The lap from Dennis was beaten though by Da Costa's teammate Wehrlein, 

A 1:13.190 for Wehrlein was the lap to beat with 10 minutes remaining, as it was half a tenth between he and Dennis. 0.121 was the gap between the two Porsche drivers, with Da Costa sat in third place.

Dan Ticktum was a driver who seriously impressed in Monaco and the Cupra Kiro driver was impressing once again as he was going fastest but many drivers were impressing including the Nissan pair.

Nissan at their home E-Prix weekend were hoping to impress and Norman Nato was the driver at the top with a 1:12.735, which was a lap one tenth quicker than his teammate Rowland. Ticktum was down to third.

Despite being in the final two minutes, the session was not done and dusted as the reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein found time and went quickest with a 1:12.578.

Soon enough, the chequered flag was out and that signalled the end of the Free Practice 1 session in Tokyo with drivers on flying laps able to complete their laps and improve their positions.

Doing so was Norman Nato, who ended the session fastest for Nissan at the team's home event. He was quickest ahead of Maximilian Gunther, who was second for DS Penske. Nato's Nissan teammate Oliver Rowland was third.

Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein and Maserati's Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top five. Dan Ticktum was sixth ahead of the Lola Yamaha ABT car of Lucas Di Grassi, who ended seventh.

Antonio Felix Da Costa was eighth while British duo Jake Hughes and Jake Dennis completed the top 10.

​Action would return on Saturday to complete round eight with Free Practice 

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

This coming weekend the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship arrives at Tokyo for rounds eight and nine of the 2024/25 championship.

​ Following the first ever double-round weekend at Monaco just two weeks ago, Formula E will hold a double-round weekend in Tokyo for the first time. This is just the second ever trip Formula E has made to Tokyo too with more history set to be unravelled.

The 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will reach the halfway point of this 16-round campaign for Season 11. Tokyo will be hosting rounds eight and nine and the third double-round weekend of the 2024/25 season.

Maximilian Gunther is the only winner so far, in the history of the Tokyo E-Prix, after he took victory in the 2023/24 season for Maserati. Gunther led home British duo Oliver Rowland and Jake Dennis, who were second and third respectively and completed the podium places.

It's Rowland who comes into the round leading the championship after a brilliant weekend last time out in Monte Carlo as the Nissan driver picked up a first and second place result out of both races, while also taking pole position for round seven. 

Rowland's team Nissan will be hoping he can strike gold once again this coming weekend, as it is their home round in Tokyo. The championship leader has already won three times out of seven E-Prix so far in the 2024/25 season.

Coming into rounds eight and nine Rowland has a 48-point lead in the Formula E Drivers' World Championship, which is the biggest championship lead anyone has had in the Gen3 era. Antonio Felix Da Costa of Porsche sits second in the standings, with his teammate and reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein third overall.

Sebastian Buemi is the most recent winner of the 2024/25 season after he showed brilliant experience and talent to take victory for the first time in his Formula E career since 2019. He took victory for Envision Racing ahead of Rowland and Jaguar's Nick Cassidy.

The Tokyo E-Prix circuit is based surrounding the Tokyo International Exhibition Centre, which is also known as Tokyo Big Sight, which is the largest venue in Japan. The circuit itself has 18 turns and a lap distance of 2.575km. 

With three long straights and Attack Mode to be used twice by each driver, throughout both races, there is set to be a lot of overtaking and racing action across the weekend in Tokyo. Free Practice 1 begins the action on Friday May 16.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal 

Experienced Envision racer Sebastian Buemi who sets a new record for the most Formula E victories, after winning a difficult race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

On Sunday, the Swiss driver excelled in all aspects which included the Attack Mode. Buemi used all the experience to take his record-breaking 14th Formula E victory which has been his first Formula E win since 2019.

Buemi won ahead of pole sitter Oliver Rowland, who had to settle for second place despite showing some strong pace throughout but the championship leader was unable to catch Buemi in the latter stages. The first podium of the season for Jaguar's Nick Cassidy saw him finish third place after a great drive.

Rowland leads the championship now by 48 points to Antonio Felix Da Costa in second position. The championship leader takes a first and second place finish from the first ever double round Formula E weekend in Monte Carlo.

Sunday afternoon rolled around and it was time to complete round seven of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the E-Prix at a very wet and rainy Monte Carlo.

Monaco had seen its first ever double round weekend in Formula E with the action taking place on just Saturday and Sunday, in a very busy couple of days for all of the teams and drivers up and down the grid.

The rain had poured down throughout qualifying and affected it so much that the final duel was cancelled by Race Director Marek Hanaczewski, with the headache of both DS Penske drivers in one of the knockout duel semi-finals exceeding track limits.

Oliver Rowland took pole position for Nissan to extend his championship lead by a further three points, as he picked up three as a prize for taking pole position for the E-Prix. Due to both in the semi-final two having exceeded track limits that promoted Nyck De Vries, who lost to Rowland, to second place on the grid as his lap was legal.

The two drivers in the finished in the top two for Saturday's Monaco E-Prix which was round six, were to start from the front row. Rowland was on pole with De Vries alongside. On row two was the DS Penske duo of Maximilian Gunther and Jean-Eric Vergne, who started third and fourth respectively.

Sam Bird, despite a big crash in qualifying, made the start of the race as NEOM McLaren had got the car fixed in time. However, he was to start from the pit lane at the Circuit De Monaco.

The lights went out and it was a very well disciplined start from the drivers with Oliver Rowland leading from Nyck De Vries in second position. A change between the two DS Penske cars as Vergne got ahead of Gunther.

Antonio Felix Da Costa made a good start for Porsche who had taken fifth from Stoffel Vandoorne at the start, who started in front of him on the grid.

Once again there were 29 laps of racing scheduled in Monte Carlo, just like round six on Saturday in the double weekend. The opening lap was something that the drivers were taking very easy due to the treacherous track conditions.

Lap three saw the first drivers to Attack Mode in the E-Prix with Sebastian Buemi, Dan Ticktum, Jake Dennis, Robin Frijns and David Beckmann all taking to the Attack Mode. Dennis the only one outside of Cupra Kiro and Envision to take Attack Mode on lap three.

Buemi was making good use of the Attack Mode early on and prior to the start of lap four he got ahead of Da Costa, who took his first Attack Mode at the following lap along with Vandoorne. Both took four minutes each.

Norman Nato and Jake Hughes were the next two drivers to take Attack Mode as well as Jean-Eric Vergne and Max Gunther who took it prior to Da Costa as they were slightly further up the road.

The Attack Mode was showing its worth as Vergne and Buemi shot ahead of the Mahindra Racing car of De Vries. Vergne and Buemi were up to second and third respectively with De Vries down to fourth.

It was lap five where De Vries took to the Attack Mode for the first time and was wanting to try and re-claim the positions he had lost.

Attack Mode was the difference in terms of overtakes being made. It was shown with Vergne taking the lead but Rowland was doing well to keep himself in the top two despite those around him having had Attack Mode already in the first six laps.

Yellow flags were out briefly during the early part of the E-Prix with Jake Hughes making contact with the Cupra Kiro of David Beckmann who because of it had to take to the escape road and picked up a puncture.

This was put under investigation by the Stewards and he was subsequently handed Hughes a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

De Vries was using his first Attack Mode to get himself up into third once again after passing Gunther and Buemi in quick succession. 

Lola Yamaha had both of their cars running in decent positions and were in a contest with the Andretti of Dennis with their drivers Lucas Di Grassi and Zane Maloney. However, Di Grassi trying to pass Dennis locked up into turn eight and ended up in the wall.

Di Grassi being in the wall brought out a Full Course Yellow while his car and the Lola Yamaha ABT debris was removed from the circuit, so that the other 21 cars were able to go racing once again.

Lap eight and the green flag was flying with racing back underway around the streets of Monte Carlo and it was Vergne who remained in the lead from the Nissan of Rowland in second, with De Vries tailing behind in third.

Nick Cassidy and Edoardo Mortara were the latest two drivers to make their trips to Attack Mode for the first time but there had been 10 laps without the first Attack Mode visit for Nissan's Rowland.

Drama was caused between the Cupra of Dan Ticktum and the Jaguar of Cassidy as they both were battling but Ticktum skidded and ended up clipping the wall and headed down the escape road. Thankfully he was able to keep the car going but was down in 18th place.

Rowland was without using his first Attack Mode even onto lap 12 but neither had other experienced E-Prix winners in Mitch Evans. Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Mueller were the latest to take their first portions of Attack Mode.

Evans had been having a difficult weekend as had Jaguar. On Sunday, Evans had topped Free Practice 3 but had been knocked out of qualifying low down the order. He had made a pass though into La Racasse on the Nissan of Norman Nato.

When trying to pass Jake Hughes into Sainte Devote on the following lap, they both made contact and went wide. This led to them being both passed by Pascal Wehrlein who moved up into 13th place.

There were yellow flags out in turn three for Nico Mueller who ended up hitting the wall and was out of the race on the spot requiring a Safety Car which had bunched the field close together! A nightmare for Muller but it had closed the field together for the final 15 laps.

It was a short Safety Car as Muller's car was moved quickly. Lap 15 and the E-Prix was back underway with Vergne getting off the line well and keeping hold off the lead through the first few corners. 

Championship leader Rowland was under pressure though from De Vries with many battles happening further through the field with one including Jake Dennis and Zane Maloney, in a battle for the lower points positions.

Immediately taking his first Attack Mode was Sam Bird at the restart. Meanwhile, an incident between Jake Hughes and Mitch Evans was noted by the FIA Race Control. Hughes already had picked up a penalty for an earlier collision between he and Beckmann.

Buemi was up to fourth place with a pass on Gunther and the experienced Swiss driver was up into fourth place in Monte Carlo and the Envision driver was hunting down the Mahindra of De Vries.

Rowland has yet to visit Attack Mode at all throughout the course of the E-Prix wa son lap 17 and hounding Vergne for the race lead in Monte Carlo. It was a tense battle beginning to build slowly for the race lead.

Eventually in lap 18 Rowland took his first Attack Mode of the E-Prix and it worked well for him and he only lost one place to De Vries and was down to third. He tried to pass De Vries on the run to the Nouvelle chicane but was squeezed and had to take to the run off - while giving the place back to the Dutch driver.

Rowland did get into second before the start of the next lap and was pressuring Vergne who was in the race lead. The following lap and in to the Nouvelle chicane the pair were side by side with Rowland taking the place but going off the curb in the process.

Rowland attempting to give the place back to Vergne, gave De Vries the opportunity to take them both and the Dutch driver took the lead momentarily before Rowland re-passed him.

In the midst of all of this De Vries and Buemi took their second Attack Mode servings and this worked for the pair of them who moved into first and third with De Vries in first and Buemi in third after the pair passed Rowland and Vergne  respectively.

Vergne and Gunther were two others that also took their second Attack Mode portions and were trying to play themselves into contention for race victory. 

Buemi meanwhile had got Rowland and was using the Attack Mode to his advantage and in no time at all took the lead from De Vries who had run out of Attack Mode and the Envision Racing driver was flying and into the race lead.

Rowland took the second Attack Mode shortly after this and moved behind Vergne to give him the place back that he gained unfairly earlier on in the race to avoid picking up a penalty that cost him more and more time.

Rowland was using his Attack Mode well and was pulling himself up towards De Vries as Vergne ahead was also catching him and the pair got ahead of De Vries easily but Rowland also got ahead of Vergne too and was into second of the E-Prix and was chasing Buemi down but it was a tall order with little laps remaining.

Cassidy was driving well and was using Attack Mode well as he took third from De Vries who was dropping back without the Attack Mode he had previously had. Cassidy took third and Da Costa took fourth with De Vries down into fifth place.

Buemi was managing the gap well out in front for Envision, who were bottom of the Teams' Standings coming into round seven but he was commanding the race well out in front with a four-second advantage over points leader Rowland.

There was one lap added by the FIA Race Control due to the Safety Car being deployed for Muller's Andretti. Meanwhile, the FIA had issued five-second time penalties to Taylor Barnard and Zane Maloney and Dan Ticktum for track limits.

Da Costa was pacey and was showing his speed well as he set the fastest lap of the race. He in his Tag Heur Porsche was hunting down the Jaguar of Nick Cassidy. However, on lap 28 of 30 he made a slight error and dropped back and gave Cassidy a bit of breathing room.

As for the other Porsche of reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein, he was running in seventh on the penultimate lap but was catching Vergne who was in sixth, with a potential battle looking to form as the race approached the final lap of the race.

Out front, Sebastian Buemi had really impressed and used all of the experience of his many, many races in Formula E. The challenging and unpredictable conditions made it no doubt that extra bit more tricky to manage. However, the Swiss driver had driven brilliantly.

Buemi crossed the line first to take victory on the streets of Monte Carlo, at the infamous Circuit De Monaco. Superb from the Swiss driver who took his first E-Prix victory since 2019 - some five years ago for such an experienced talent.

The Envision veteran took the flag first ahead of championship Oliver Rowland who had to settle for second place in the race despite starting the E-Prix from pole position but it had been an incredible points haul for Rowland over his championship rivals. Nick Cassidy drove brilliant to end third and complete the podium for Jaguar.

Antonio Felix Da Costa took fourth for Porsche ahead of Nyck De Vries, who may have been disappointed to be made to settle for fifth place despite starting on the front row. Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein was seventh, behind Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth after the multiple champion had been in the lead for a large part.

In ninth place was Jake Dennis of Andretti, behind DS Penske's Max Gunther with Belgian and Maserati driver Stoffel Vandoorne completing the top 10.

Formula E will return in just short of two weeks time in the Japanese capital Tokyo for a double round weekend between 16-18 May.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

In the most dramatic circumstances, Oliver Rowland takes pole position for Sunday's Monaco E-Prix as due to wet weather and track limits drama, the duels final was cancelled.

Rowland took pole after having no final to take part in following both DS Penske drivers in the second semi final, had their lap times deleted, following track limit violations at the Nouvelle Chicane.

In addition with the tricky conditions worsening, Race Director Marek Hanczewski decided that qualifying was concluded and that the two drivers in the first semi final, Rowland and Nyck De Vries will share the front row, with Rowland starting from pole position.

Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Gunther both had their laps deleted and therefore as De Vries' time was legal, he goes above them on the starting grid for the E-Prix later on in the afternoon.

Pole position for Rowland means he is to extend his championship lead to 37 points, with the three world championship points. This now he means he has the biggest championship lead in the Gen3 era of Formula E.

Sunday this weekend in Monaco meant the day of round seven in the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. This was the second round in two days on the double weekend taking place in Monte Carlo.

​ The Circuit De Monaco had already seen a lot of thrilling action already across the weekend with round six taking place yesterday. After Oliver Rowland won from the front row on Saturday, it once again that qualifying around this infamous race track is so important.

Mitch Evans was the driver to beat coming away from Free Practice 3, as he set the fastest time ahead of Andretti's Jake Dennis and Mahindra's Nyck De Vries. Half a tenth of a second separated the top three.

Formula E qualifying is knockout-based and the 22-driver field is split into two groups of 11, with the top four progressing from each group. The top four will progress into a 1v1 duels knockout bracket and the eight drivers will form four quarter final fixtures.

From the quarter finals, the eight drivers will be competing against another driver who had progressed from the group phase in a 1v1 one-timed lap. The one quickest in each quarter final will progress into the semi finals where again there would be 1v1 duels.

The two winners of the semi finals would compete against one another in a 1v1 grand final duel, with one lap for each of the drivers. The driver with the fastest time will take pole position for the afternoon's E-Prix.

Here are the groups for the first phase of qualifying:

The green light was on at the end of a wet pit lane as heavy rain had been falling making the circuit wet and very treacherous for the drivers and teams. This was going to be a very tricky 12 minutes for the 11 drivers.

Oliver Rowland was having difficulty early on with a run down the escape road and a cut across the Nouvelle chicane leaving him under pressure.

Drivers were trying to find time everywhere with Zane Maloney and Nyck De Vries having small stints at the top of the time sheets but they would not stay there for the long, due to drivers finding improvements everywhere.

Rowland found a lap and was able to put it together and keep it on the circuit. Keeping with the constant pace he had been showing from the first six rounds of the season, he went fastest with a 1:57.628 which was an impressive time from the championship leader

Antonio Felix Da Costa had a moment at the top of the time sheets but he was beaten by Rowland who was back up at the top again but even Rowland's stay at the top of the times was brief with Dan Ticktum going up to first.

Soon enough the chequered flag was out and drivers needed to find laps but someone who was unable to was Mitch Evans and despite topping Free Practice 3 earlier he could only manage ninth.

Top of the times was Nyck De Vries who continued his fine form for Mahindra in Monte Carlo and had better fortunes than his teammate Edoardo Mortara who was eliminated. Joining De Vries in progressing was Da Costa, Rowland and Ticktum.
​

After Group A had concluded, attention turned to Group B with the rain having stopped the track and was bound to be trying all the time. These 11 drivers were fighting to finish in the top four and join De Vries, Da Costa, Rowland and Ticktum in the knockout duels.

After the first laps, it was the experienced Envision Racing driver Sebastian Buemi who had the provisionally fastest time with Jean-Eric Vergne just behind him. However, things were expected to change with constant improvements.

Jean-Eric Vergne for DS Penske was shining in the first few laps and went to the top provisionally by over two seconds faster than second place Jake Dennis who had moved up the order. A 1:54.863 for Vergne was going to take some beating with five minutes remaining.

His teammate Max Gunther got close he was unable to beat it with the time ticking down but the lap was beaten by Vergne's former DS Penske teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, who went fastest for Maserati.

However, the session was brought to a halt slowly after the lap as NEOM McLaren driver Sam Bird found the barrier at Sainte Devote and hit the barrier at some speed. In doing so he was out of qualifying and the red flag was out.

The session was paused with 2:46 on the clock remaining so there was time on the clock for drivers to have one more flying lap attempt. Vandoorne, Vergne, Gunther and Cassidy were the drivers provisionally through.

Eventually the session got back underway for the final few minutes of the group stage qualifying in Monte Carlo. Everyone had made it to the line in time for one flying lap to try and get themselves through to the duels.

Cassidy was the first to cross the line and did go fastest but so many were making greater improvements behind including Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis but even their lap times were not good enough to make it through.

Fastest in the session was the Envision Racing of Sebastian Buemi who was joined in the quarter finals by Jean-Eric Vergne, Max Gunther and Stoffel Vandoorne in progressing to the semi finals.

Following a pause in qualifying following an eventful group phase where there was drama, incidents and big surprise eliminations, it was time to head onto the 1v1 knockout duels to find out the pole sitter for round seven of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

In this stage of qualifying, eight drivers are paired up to form the quarter final stage. The winner of each quarter final will progress to make four drivers remaining in the semi final stage with the fastest driver from them progressing which will leave two drivers remaining.

Those two drivers would fight for pole position for round seven of season 11 in Formula E.

The quarter final fixtures in Monte Carlo are as follows:

• Quarter Final 1: Oliver Rowland vs Antonio Felix Da Costa
• Quarter Final 2: Dan Ticktum vs Nyck De Vries
• Quarter Final 3: Stoffel Vandoorne vs Jean-Eric Vergne
• Quarter Final 4: Maximilian Gunther vs Sebastian Buemi

First up in the quarter final duels stage was championship leader Oliver Rowland taking on third in the championship Antonio Felix Da Costa with it being Nissan versus Porsche! Rowland was setting his lap first with Da Costa following him around the circuit.

The time to beat set by Rowland was a 1:48.032 and in the end it was a very comfortable margin to see the championship leader through to the semi-final stages. Da Costa was over 1.4 seconds behind and was out of qualifying.

Up next in the quarter final stage was Cupra Kiro's Dan Ticktum taking on Group A's fastest driver Nyck De Vries. It was the British driver Ticktum who was tasked with setting the lap time first.

Following a mistake across the Nouvelle chicane, Ticktum had to abort the lap and therefore Nyck De Vries went through fairly easily. Ticktum was frustrated as he was unable to get through to the semi final stage for the second successive round in back-to-back days.

The third quarter final was a battle between the former DS Penske teammates but now at different teams. Stoffel Vandoorne of Maserati was up against multiple Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne.

It was Vandoorne who was to set the lap time first for Maserati and laid down a lap to beat 1:49.238 but Vergne had been flying throughout the group phase and was thriving in the wet conditions. He went eight tenths of a second faster than his former teammate.

Vergne was awaiting one of the two in Quarter Final 4. He was to be joined by his teammate Maximilian Gunther and the Envision of Sebastian Buemi who looked incredibly fast in the group phase.

Gunther was up first and set the lap to beat which was faster than Buemi but both of them looked to have exceeded track limits which was to involve some sorting out. Gunther had the quicker time initially so he provisionally was to be through.

There were four drivers remaining though that formed two semi final fixtures, which were as follows:

• Semi Final 1: Nyck De Vries vs Oliver Rowland
• Semi Final 2: Jean-Eric Vergne vs Maximilian Gunther

It was time for the semi final stages of the knockout duels and to determining pole position, the session was getting closer and closer to its climax. First up it was the battle between second and first from round six on Saturday.

Nyck De Vries took on Oliver Rowland and it was De Vries who went first. Remarkably both went down the run off at Sainte Devote but both turned it around and continued on!

De Vries completed a 1:58.489 but due to Rowland spinning the car round quicker he had an advantage over two seconds crossing the line and made it through to the final for the second day in a row and the second successive round.

Rowland awaited one of the DS Penske drivers, as the two teammates Maximilian Gunther and Jean-Eric Vergne went up against each other in the second semi-final. It was Gunther who was to complete the lap time first.

Gunther and Vergne both went off at the chicane due to the slippery brake times. A 1:53.590 was the time set by Gunther was beaten by two seconds but both lap times were deleted in huge dramatic circumstances.

Then Race Director Marek Hanaczewski decided that enough was enough with the conditions worsening and being unsafe. Qualifying was over and he declared that Oliver Rowland would take pole position as he is the one who won his semi final with a legal lap time.

Due to both lap times being deleted for Gunther and Vergne in the Semi Final 2, it would be decided that Nyck De Vries was automatically promoted to second place in the final provisional qualifying order.

However, Oliver Rowland had taken pole position and was to start round seven of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from the front of the field and added three extra world championship points to his name.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal