Fantastic drive from Maximilian Gunther who converted pole position to victory to win the round 10 Shanghai E-Prix on Saturday, in a historic day for his team DS Penske.

Gunther took victory after setting a remarkable qualifying lap to take pole position prior to the E-Prix getting underway. However, he was part of history for his team DS Penske as they recorded their first ever 1-2 finish in Formula E.

The German driver took victory ahead of teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, who with a sensational last lap pass took second. Completing the podium in another fine drive was NEOM McLaren driver Taylor Barnard.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland extended his championship lead despite finishing in fifth place. Rowland now has an 86-point lead in the championship over second in the standings Taylor Barnard, who has overtaken both Porsche drivers - Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa.

Saturday meant E-Prix race day for round 10 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which was the first of two E-Prix in a double-round weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit. 

After a busy day of action already in China, there was a lot of excitement building ahead of the 29 laps of racing that Saturday had in store at the Shanghai E-Prix.

Following pole position in the day's earlier qualifying, Maximilian Gunther was to start the Shanghai E-Prix from the front of the field after Gunther came out on top in the knockout duels final between he and the NEOM McLaren of Taylor Barnard.

29 laps of racing got underway as the lights went out and a great start from Pascal Wehrlein saw him go from third to first into the first turn. Following him, Gunther slotted into second with Barnard down to third.

It was a very close battle throughout the field and many drivers were making gains and losses, in terms of position. Championship leader Rowland moved up to second position from sixth at the end of the lap one.

Rowland had great speed in the early stages and moved up to the race lead almost immediately at the start of the second lap of racing. Wehrlein had a difficult second lap as he dropped towards the back end of the two five.

The field was very close together in the opening stages and this was supported in evidence by Nick Cassidy, Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Eric Vergne going three wide into the final chicane in the lap. 

Mortara and Cassidy made contact though, sending Cassidy into a spin. This was later noted by Race Control and the Jaguar driver was sent towards the back of the pile. Also with the contact made, this saw Mortara fall back.

Stoffel Vandoorne was the first to Attack Mode early on in the E-Prix with Lucas Di Grassi and Sebastian Buemi making it three drivers in the first six laps who had taken to Attack Mode for the first time.

There was continuing to be ferocious battles out in front with so many great on track battles. Nyck De Vries found himself in the race lead on lap seven ahead of Rowland. Rowland was soon down to third after the first Attack Mode from Di Grassi elevated the Lola Yamaha to second.

Robin Frijns, Antonio Felix Da Costa, Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Mueller all ended up taking their first Attack Modes. Following a bit of contact with he and Rowland, Wehrlein had dropped back down the order and was hoping to use the Attack Mode to make up more ground.

The Attack Mode was making such a game changer for drivers making their way through the field. Robin Frijns and Nico Mueller both made their way up into the top three while Wehrlein went three-wide with Rowland and Di Grassi in a battle for fourth.

Mueller was the first driver to take his Pit Boost as soon as the pit window to serve Pit Boost was open. He rejoined towards the back as many drivers pitted on the following lap for their mandatory stops. This included pole sitter Gunther as well as Buemi, Sam Bird and Zane Maloney.

Lap 13 was time for Rowland and De Vries to enter Attack Mode for the first time and both returned to the top two positions with Rowland getting ahead of the Mahindra of De Vries.

Norman Nato and Stoffel Vandoorne then served their Pit Boost pit stops, as they found it the best time to do so while many that had pitted like Buemi, Da Costa, Gunther and Vergne all took to Attack Mode immediately after taking on the eir Pit Boost.

Rowland and De Vries, the leading pair, took their Pit Boost at the end of lap 16, which was also the start of lap 17. It was going to be close on the pit exit where the duo was going to filter out. A good stop for Rowland and he initially rejoined ahead of Gunther but with remaining Attack Mode, Gunther soon found this way.

The following lap and it was Pascal Wehrlein's turn to serve the Pit Boost mandatory pit stop. He had maximised the strategy brilliantly to emerge ahead of Rowland and only just behind Gunther in the DS Penske machine.

Gunther and Rowland still had one portion of Attack Mode left at the start of lap 20 as Barnard took his second and final amount, which was four minutes. The NEOM McLaren driver was then able to fly through to take the lead with just under three minutes of Attack Mode remaining.

De Vries was the latest to complete his Attack Mode along with Norman Nato and both Cupra Kiro cars - David Beckmann and Dan Ticktum. Lap 22 and championship leader Rowland took his final Attack Mode, which was four minutes worth.

Rowland had rejoined from the Attack Mode zone in eighth and was flying as you would have expected with the extra speed as he hunted down Barnard at the race lead as Gunther also picked up his second and final dosage of Attack Mode.

Gunther was flying and after Rowland took the lead of the E-Prix, Gunther was making his way through the field and before long he was on the tail of Rowland who had run out of Attack Mode.

With 30 seconds of Attack Mode remaining Gunther took the lead, in a no-contest pass down the start/finish straight. The pole sitter was back into the race lead ahead of the championship lead.

Ticktum was having a great race after starting in the back three places on the grid was pushing on the fringes of the podium with the latter stages of his Attack Mode and in the latter stages of the E-Prix.

Meanwhile Barnard with a glorious move fought himself to get ahead of Rowland for second place with Ticktum hounding the pressure on the top three. With slipstream down the start/finish straight and it was up to third for Ticktum after passing Rowland down the start/finish straight.

Vergne was flying though as well and onto the final lap of the E-Prix he was in the hunt for a podium too as he got by Rowland. While this was going on, a frantic battle was ongoing between Ticktum and Barnard for second position.

The DS Penske driver made a lunge on both Ticktum and Barnard in the final few corners, on the final lap to make it a 1-2 for the team.

Out front, it was outstanding from Gunther, who mastered his Attack Mode and Pit Boost strategy to take the chequered flag first. The German driver converted his pole position into E-Prix victory in Shanghai.

It was the first ever 1-2 for the DS Penske team as Vergne took second place in the very latter stages of what was an enthralling Shanghai E-Prix. Taylor Barnard completed the podium with a third-place finish in another strong showing from the young Brit.

Dan Ticktum and championship leader Oliver Rowland ended fourth and fifth respectively ahead of the second Nissan of Norman Nato in sixth place. Sam Bird achieved a double points finish for the team, with a seventh place finish ahead of the Mahindra of Nyck De Vries, who was eighth.

Envision duo Sebastian Buemi and Robin Frijns completed the points scorers in ninth and 10th respectively.

After such excellent racing around the Shanghai International Circuit, Formula E were to do it all again on Sunday with Free Practice 3 kick-starting the action off at 08:00 local time.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

A stunning lap from German driver Maximilian Gunther of DS Penske, who takes his second pole position of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit, on Saturday.

Gunther will start on pole for round 10 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and in doing so it is his second of season 11 for him as he picks up three world championship points.

The DS Penske driver beat the NEOM McLaren of Taylor Barnard in the duels final after beating Nick Cassidy and championship leader Oliver Rowland on route to the duels final, where he picked up pole position.

A 1:08.234 for Gunther, which was an incredible lap and by far the fastest throughout the entirety of qualifying. Barnard's time in comparison was a 1:08.621.

Rowland has the championship lead coming into the round and after a difficult start to the weekend, in Free Practice 1 & 2, he managed to get through to the knockout duels but was eliminated at the Quarter Final stage.

The gap is 77 points in the championship between Rowland and second place in the championship Pascal Wehrlein. The star of Free Practice, Antonio Felix Da Costa is third, heading into this double-weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit. 

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 would progress into the semi finals, where again there would be 1v1 battles. 

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

​The groups are as follows: ​

The green flags started flying in Shanghai to signal the start of Group A as the first 11 drivers headed out for 12 minutes of qualifying. The top four finishers at the end of this 12 minutes were going to progress to the knockout duels.

Andretti were strong in the early parts of the session as Nico Mueller laid down an early benchmark lap before this was subsequently beaten by his teammate Jake Dennis. The Brit had soared to the top of the times.

Dennis did not stay at the top of the times for much longer as Jake Hughes of Maserati went to the top of the time sheets. Also beating Dennis was the Lola Yamaha ABT of Zane Maloney and the Nissan  of Norman Nato.

Oliver Rowland had been having a difficult start to the weekend after finishing 15th and 22nd in both of the Free Practice sessions of round 10. He moved up to second place with a lap that was 0.022 behind Hughes' lap.

Hughes's session best lap time was dislodged by Nick Cassidy as he dropped Rowland down to third. Cassidy's stint at the top for Jaguar was short lived as a stunning effort from Maximilian Gunther saw the German go top by over three tenths with a 1:09.939.

A minute remaining in the session and Gunther, Cassidy, Hughes and Rowland were the provisional top four with final laps set to get underway, which left uncertainty for all 11 drivers, who were looking to improve.

The chequered flag was soon out and it was Hughes the first to take the chequered flag but was unable to improve on his third place position. Many drivers were improving and this caused a very close end to the session.

Gunther progressed ahead of Jake Dennis, who with a last-gasp lap time put Hughes out of qualifying after a prior improvement from Rowland saw him secure a place in the knockout duels. Nick Cassidy were to join the trio.

As for the drivers eliminated, a big shock was Antonio Felix Da Costa after he had topped both Free Practice sessions prior to qualifying for round 10. A disaster for Da Costa who was eliminated from the group phase.

Following the extremely tight and enthralling action of Group A, the attention had turned to the other 11 drivers in Group B, who likewise had 12 minutes to find a time good enough to finish in the top four.

Just like Group A, the top four from Group B were to progress to the knockout duels. Maximilian Gunther, Jake Dennis, Nick Cassidy and Oliver Rowland were the drivers awaiting the fastest four from the 12 minutes of action.

Mitch Evans' qualifying was irrelevant unless he took the three world championship points for pole positions. Due to many significant mechanical changes to his car after the damage he sustained in Tokyo, he was to take an 80-place grid penalty for round 10.

Almost immediately from the green light coming on at the end of the pit lane, the Group B session was underway. Drivers were heading onto the circuit almost immediately to start setting some lap times.

At the end of the first half of the session, it was Nyck De Vries leading the way for Mahindra with a 1:10.219. De Vries was ahead of both NEOM McLaren drivers, Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird, while Lucas Di Grassi rounded off the provisional top four.

All 11 drivers had lap times with the likes of Pascal Wehrlein down the order and needing to find some time if the reigning champion was to qualify for the knockout duels.

De Vries ended up being dislodged from the top spot by an improvement for Taylor Barnard, who with his personal best went to the top of the timing tower. An improvement on his second run from Wehrlein saw him go third behind De Vries, with Jean-Eric Vergne improving and sitting in fourth.

On the final flying lap runs in Group B, Stoffel Vandoorne was the first driver to take the flag but was eliminated as he could only achieve a personal best of sixth place. David Beckmann in the latter stages put in a great lap to end up fourth and through to the knockout duels.

Taylor Barnard though had shone in a qualifying group stage once again as he finished fastest. Nyck De Vries and Pascal Wehrlein joined Barnard and Beckmann in progressing through to the knockout duels.

Following a pause in the action after two enthralling action-packed group stages, it was time to see who will start the 2024/25 round 10 Shanghai E-Prix from pole position with the knockout 1v1 duels.

In this stage, eight drivers are paired up to form the quarter final stage, with one lap for each driver in each quarter final and they have to set a better timed lap than their opponent to progress through to the semi final stage.

The quarter final duels are as follows:

• Quarter Final 1: Nick Cassidy vs Jake Dennis
• Quarter Final 2: Oliver Rowland vs Maximilian Gunther
• Quarter Final 3: Pascal Wehrlein vs Nyck De Vries
• Quarter Final 4: Taylor Barnard vs David Beckmann

It was time for the knockout duels and the first quarter final got underway between the Jaguar of Nick Cassidy and the Andretti of Jake Dennis at the Shanghai International Circuit. The winner was to face one of Oliver Rowland and Maximilian Gunther in the first semi final.

Cassidy was the driver to enter the circuit first and therefore he was the first out of he and Dennis to set his one lap, in their one chance to progress to the semi final duels for round 10.

The Jaguar of Cassidy laid down a lap of 1:08.880 which was the time to beat for Dennis but the Andretti was unable to beat it and Cassidy has progressed through to the semi final of the duels. The gap between Cassidy and Dennis was around two tenths of a second.

Cassidy had to wait to find out who he was to face in the semi final stage. It was to be one of championship leader Rowland or the DS Penske of Maximilian Gunther. Rowland was the driver to set the lap first.

A 1:08.924 for Rowland was not enough to get through and the championship leader was defeated by Gunther. His lap in addition was slower than Dennis' time, meaning that Rowland was to start behind his fellow countryman.

In the third quarter final of the duels, of round 10 at Shanghai, it was between the reigning champion of Pascal Wehrlein and the Mahindra of Nyck De Vries. This was for the first spot in the second semi final.

Both the Porsche and Mahindra had looked quick around the Shanghai International Circuit but it was the reigning champion who progressed through to the next round. Wehrlein beat De Vries by a narrow margin of 0.059.

Wehrlein was to face the victor of quarter final four in the second semi final. The battle was between David Beckmann and Taylor Barnard, who are both enduring their first full seasons in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Beckmann set the time first, which was a 1:09.266 and going up against it was made to look effortless by the brilliance of Barnard, who beat the Cupra Kiro driver by four tenths of the second.

The four drivers remaining were participating in the semi final duels stage. The semi final match-ups were as follows:

• Semi Final 1: Nick Cassidy vs Maximilian Gunther
• Semi Final 2: Taylor Barnard vs Pascal Wehrlein

After a short pause, it was time for the first of the two knockout duels semi finals, which was between the Jaguar of Nick Cassidy and the DS Penske of Maximilian Gunther.

It was Cassidy who was heading onto the circuit out of the two first, therefore was to set his lap time first, in his first knockout duels of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The benchmark lap laid down by Cassidy was a 1:08.779 with Gunther aiming to beat it, behind the New Zealander on the road and the DS Penske driver was to progress through to the duels final. He beat Cassidy by almost three tenths of a second.

The second semi final followed immediately after with Gunther awaiting his opponent in the duels final. Taylor Barnard was up against the reigning champion in Pascal Wehrlein. Barnard was the driver to start his lap first.

Barnard laid down a benchmark of 1:08.503, which was the quickest lap of the qualifying session so far but Wehrlein had the chance to go better. Unfortunately for the German he was unable to do so and Barnard progressed to the duels final.

The DS Penske of Gunther was to take on the NEOM McLaren of Barnard in the duels final, with the winner taking pole position but with it, also is three world championship points to add to their 2024/25 tallies.

It was Barnard who was to head out onto the circuit first and therefore he was the first in the duels final to set his lap time, in the quest for a third career Formula E pole position.

It was a 1:08.621 for Barnard but in a phenomenal lap Maximilian Gunther took pole away from the young Brit. A 1:08.234 for Gunther sees him takes his second Formula E pole position of the campaign.

He will start the round 10 Shanghai E-Prix from pole position on Saturday afternoon, with Barnard on the front row alongside him.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal 

Porsche's Antonio Felix Da Costa shone in an extremely tight Free Practice 2 at the Shanghai International Circuit in China, as the Portuguese driver ended the session quickest.

The field was extremely close together throughout Free Practice 2 and the entire 22-driver field was separated by less than seven tenths of a second after 40 minutes of running at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Da Costa was quickest with a 1:08.749, a lap that was just 0.042 ahead of Taylor Barnard who was second for the NEOM McLaren team. Nyck De Vries finished third for the Mahindra Racing team, while DS Penske's Maximilian Gunther and Maserati's Jake Hughes completed the top five.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland and his team Nissan once again struggled in Free Practice so far, at the start of this double-round weekend in China. Rowland finished last and 22nd, only 0.696 off Da Costa at the top.

Rowland's teammate Norman Nato ended up finishing the session in 20th but not much faster than the Brit, who has a 77-point championship lead coming into rounds 10 and 11 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

At 08:00 local time the session began in Shanghai with the drivers piling out onto the circuit, ahead of what was to be a busy couple of days for the teams and drivers in the session. No hesitation from the vast majority of drivers in heading straight out onto the track.

​After the first five minutes in the session, drivers were crossing the timing line and were beginning to set lap times on the timing tower. Oliver Rowland, the championship leader spent small time at the top before going quickest was Nico Mueller of Andretti.

Laps of real representation started being set and Pascal Wehrlein emerged to the top of the times with a 1:10.951, which was 0.066 ahead of Rowland. However, reigning champion Wehrlein was soon dislodged from first place by Dan Ticktum.

There was constant changing of the positions on the timing tower within the first 10 minutes, as the track was ramping up while also different drivers were finding time at different areas of the Shanghai International Circuit.

By the end of the first 10 minutes of the session, 21 out of the 22 drivers had set a lap time. The only one who had not was Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing. It was Devid Beckmann though of Cupra Kiro who had the fastest time with a 1:09.324.

Many drivers were finding improvements and that group of drivers included the Lola Yamaha ABT of Lucas Di Grassi, who had moved to second place and was 0.107 behind the lap from Beckmann.

Oliver Rowland had a difficult Free Practice 1, in comparison to his Nissan Norman Nato but was looking quick in Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning. Rowland went third fastest and the lap was 0.121 behind that of Beckmann.

Jake Hughes took pole position in Shanghai, back in the 2023/24 campaign and with a 1:08.992, the British Maserati driver went to the top of the times ahead of Beckmann. Jean-Eric Vergne also made a major improvement to second as Beckmann dropped to third.

At the halfway point in the session, it was Hughes that led the way from Vergne, Beckmann, Di Grassi and Rowland who joined the Brit inside the top five. Still 20 minutes of the session was remaining as many were preparing for Attack Mode practice laps.

Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein was on a practice Attack Mode lap but only went into sixth place. A gap that was 0.489 behind the provisionally fastest time from Hughes, who was joined up in the top two by Zane Maloney  with a great lap for Lola Yamaha ABT.

An impressive improvement to second place though was made by Nick Cassidy of Jaguar TCS Racing. While his teammate was in the pits with another mechanical fault, Cassidy was making use of his track time and was just six thousandths off Hughes in top spot.

However, both Hughes and Cassidy dropped a position to second and third respectively with the Andretti of Jake Dennis who set the session's new fastest time, which was a 1:08.972. Dennis' lap was just two hundredths faster than Hughes' best lap with 12 minutes to go.

After topping FP1, it was a session mostly out of focus for Antonio Felix Da Costa as despite going fastest overall in both of the first two sectors, he was only able to improve to fourth place. It was a good lap from Da Costa, despite him not having the best final sector.

The following lap from Da Costa was much better though and went to the top of the timing tower for the Tag Heur Porsche team. A 1:08.749 for Da Costa, which was a lsp two tenths of a second faster than Dennis.

A new gap from Da Costa's lap to that of second place was narrowed to 0.042 as Taylor Barnard moved up to second place for NEOM McLaren. Barnard moved into second after Nyck De Vries had a brief moment where he improved and spent time in that position. 0.064 separated the top three.

Despite another session that was plagued with mechanical problems, Evans got back out on circuit and improved to 14th only - despite being just 0.452 off the top spot which still belonged to Da Costa.

The field was very close together in Free Practice 2, as the session reached a conclusion. Seven tenths of a second separated the entire field with championship leader Oliver Rowland down in 22nd but only seven tenths off Da Costa who ended the session quickest.

Da Costa, who topped Friday's Free Practice 1 session topped Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning. He beat the NEOM McLaren of Taylor Barnard, who was second, while Nyck De Vries completed the top three positions for Mahindra.

DS Penske's Maximilian Gunther and Maserati's Jake Hughes completed the top five, while Jake Dennis ended the session in sixth place for the Andretti team. 

Nick Cassidy was seventh, as the highest of the two Jaguar drivers. Cassidy finished ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, Nico Mueller and Zane Maloney, who completed the top 10 finishers for Free Practice 2 in Shanghai.

Formula E would not have long of a pause in the action with qualifying coming up - kicking off at 10:20 local time at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Portuguese driver Antonio Felix Da Costa was fastest in the opening Free Practice session of the double-round weekend for Tag Heur Porsche, at the Shanghai E-Prix on Friday.

Da Costa set the fastest time in the session, with an Attack Mode powered lap in the late afternoon at the Shanghai International Circuit. Porsche, who was expected to be strong had both cars inside the top five as Pascal Wehrlein finished fourth.

A 1:09.280 for Da Costa saw him beat Nyck De Vries of Mahindra by a tenth, who finished second. Maserati's Jake Hughes ended the session third at a venue that he took pole position at in the 2023/24 season.

Oliver Rowland, the championship leader, had a difficult start to track action for this weekend as he finished down in 15th place for Nissan. His Nissan teammate Norman Nato finished higher up in seventh.
​
The 40 minutes of Free Practice got underway and drivers began to head out immediately. The session though began as is normal for Free Practice 1 sessions with a Full Course Yellow test being undertaken by Race Director Marek Hanaczewski.

The drivers began to set lap times as they were getting a feel for the circuit and the two Nissans leapt up to the top of the times but they were of little representation and it was Rowland who led his teammate Norman Nato.

However, both were beaten as Dan Ticktum went to the top of the time sheets as he looked to continue his fine form with a 1:11.367. The Cupra Kiro driver secured his maiden Formula E podium last time out in Tokyo.

The track was ramping up though and winner at Shanghai in 2023/24 Mitch Evans went fastest with a 1:10.04 ahead of Mahindra's Edoardo Mortara, who went briefly to the top of the time sheets.

Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein would join Evans in the top two, but was nearly nine tenths off the pace for the Tag Heur Porsche team. This was before DS Penske's Maximilian Gunther went second fastest with 27 minutes to go.

Evans stayed at the top of the time sheets for a decent amount of time until Wehrlein went fastest with a 1:09.854 - a lap four tenths faster than Evans' lap. That was until Taylor Barnard beat the lap for NEOM McLaren.

These were Attack Mode practice laps and the track was ramping up. This combined was causing significant improvement as the Maserati of Jake Hughes went second quickest on the day of his 31st Birthday.

Nissan was having a quiet session but the highlight of the first session up until the final 10 minutes was Norman Nato going to second on his Attack Mode lap. However though, he was still behind Barnard.

Barnard's time at the top was brought to a close with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the session. Nick Cassidy of Jaguar was the driver to beat him, albeit by just four thousandths of a second with a 1:09.686.

The session was proving that the field was really close together and that was until Antonio Felix Da Costa went top by four tenths of a second on his Attack Mode lap for the Tag Heur Porsche team.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland was finding his brake balance difficult during Free Practice 1 with an improved best lap time taking him to 12th but he was 0.743 behind Da Costa's time of  1:09.280.

Before long the session was complete and it was Da Costa fastest in Free Practice with his strong lap time that he set with 10 minutes remaining in the session. There was 0.132 between Da Costa and second place Nyck De Vries. 

Jake Hughes of Maserati was third ahead of reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein in fourth, while Jaguar's Nick Cassidy completed the top five.

Young superstar Taylor Barnard was sixth for NEOM McLaren ahead of the highest-placed Nissan of Norman Nato, who was seventh. Dan Ticktum was eighth ahead of Jake Dennis, while 2022 champion Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top 10.

Friday action was complete with Free Practice 2 continuing the weekend's action on Saturday morning, with a start time of 01:00 for UK viewers.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal

Formula E goes back racing once again this coming weekend, after two weeks away from action, ahead of a double-round weekend in China at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The double-round weekend at Shanghai will see rounds 10 and 11 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship take place in just Formula E's second ever visit to the Shanghai International Circuit.

China's Shanghai International Circuit is very famous in the world of motorsport for it being the very well known venue of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. Despite the race track layout being different to Formula One, the Formula E layout still has the recognisable first sector and start/finish straight from the Grand Prix.

Shanghai will host rounds 10 and 11 of the Season 11 campaign, compared to the 2023/24 season where it hosted rounds 11 and 12. So the Formula E campaign only sees Shanghai one-round earlier in comparison to last season.

The race track that Formula E will go racing around is made up of 12 turns and has a lap distance of 3.051km.

Last year at the Shanghai International Circuit, it saw pole positions for Jean-Eric Vergne and Jake Hughes, while standing on the top step of the podium was Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix Da Costa.

Coming into the double-round weekend Oliver Rowland has a healthy lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship for the Nissan team. Following four successive top-two finishes and taking three successive pole positions, Rowland now leads the championship by 77 points over reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein.

Rowland has only finished off the top two steps of the podium in two of the first nine rounds of the season and considering the current form of the Nissan driver it is likely to continue as the championship heads to China.

The double-round weekend will begin on Friday for Free Practice 1, part of round 10 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

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