Pascal Wehrlein was certainly the star of the Diriyah E-Prix double-header, with the German driver having incredibly won both races to claim the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.
The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver likely won’t forget rounds two and three of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship anytime soon, with both of his wins at the Riyadh Street Circuit having come thanks to some exceptional racecraft. His victory on Friday was arguably the better of the two, with the German having won from ninth on the grid, whilst on Saturday he started fifth.
Whilst his wins came from different starting positions, his strategy in both was virtually identical, with Wehrlein having sat comfortably in the leading train for the first-half of both races. In doing so, he preserved huge amounts of energy, something which meant he was able to effectively go flat-out in the second-half of the races. He made everything look so remarkably easy, with nobody having been in a position to stop him. Wehrlein literally drove straight past multiple drivers down the main straight, thanks to his energy advantage.
The German proved that it ultimately doesn’t matter if he makes the duels or not, with his Porsche powertrain having the ability to manage its energy better than anyone else.
Unsurprisingly, Wehrlein will “never forget” the weekend, with the German having won his fiftieth race in the series on Friday.
“I’ll never forget this weekend. Two wins are an unbelievable success. The whole team gave a fantastic performance over the weekend. Everybody worked hard for this achievement and I’m incredibly proud of the team. Today we had blistering race pace and a perfect strategy. We used the attack mode at exactly the right time.
“That was a decisive advantage. When I won on Friday I had to overtake more cars, but today’s race was even more difficult. You could see that our rivals were catching up. That means we can’t rest on our laurels either.”
“We aren’t quite where I’d like us to be” – António Félix da Costa
On the other side of the Porsche garage, it was a frustrating weekend for António Félix da Costa, with the Portuguese driver having failed to score a single point across either race.
In race one in Diriyah, Da Costa’s race was effectively over by the second corner, after being the victim of a concertina effect, after both Mahindra Racing cars ahead of him were forced to suddenly come to an almost complete stop. As a result, Da Costa hit the back of Oliver Rowland, meaning he had to pit for a new front-wing. As a result of having been so far behind the field following his unplanned pit-stop, Da Costa finished the first race of the weekend in eighteenth.
Race Two was considerably better for the Porsche driver, despite qualifying a disappointing seventeenth. He showed great promise during the race to make up six places, resulting in an eleventh-place finish, meaning he just missed out on adding to the points he scored in Mexico City.
Despite his own difficulties in Diriyah, Da Costa was incredibly pleased for the German manufacturer; however, he does admit that things “aren’t quite where” he’d like them to be just yet.
“Another terrific day for Porsche. Congratulations to Pascal and the whole team. Things ran a little better for me today. We’re making progress every day, but of course, we aren’t quite where I’d like us to be yet. But that’s just a question of time. We have a fantastic car. I’m highly motivated and I know I have a superb team behind me. The successes will come.”
