António Félix da Costa claimed an absolutely breathtaking victory at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, with the Portuguese driver having fought former team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne in an epic closing laps scrap. Only thirteen drivers finished the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with drama having been present throughout the race, with championship leader Pascal Wehrlein having been amongst the retirees.
Heartbreak for van der Linde
The drama ahead of the inaugural Formula E race in Cape Town began well before the race had even started, with it having been announced that both Mahindra Racing drivers and both ABT CUPRA Formula E Team drivers wouldn’t be taking part. All four Mahindra-powered cars sat-out qualifying, before it was announced that they’d all be withdrawn from the weekend following a safety concern with their rear suspension. It meant Kelvin van der Linde would miss his home race, whilst Lucas di Grassi would miss his first ever Formula E race.
The disappointment didn’t end there, as it was also announced by Jaguar TCS Racing that Sam Bird wouldn’t be taking part in the race, with his car having suffered too much damage during his collision into Edoardo Mortara in qualifying. As a result of everything, only seventeen drivers would participate in the race.
Wehrlein Suffers Huge Championship Blow
With the grid looking noticeably slimmed following the five absentees, Sacha Fenestraz looked to make the best start possible, with the Frenchman having claimed his first pole position after setting the fastest lap in the history of Formula E.
As the five red lights went out, it was Fenestraz who made the best start by a country-mile, with the Frenchman having maintained his lead into the opening corner. The entire field actually all got away very cleanly, with no incidents having occurred until the torrid Turn Ten. The incident in question at Turn Ten involved Sébastian Buemi and championship leader Wehrlein, with the German having out-braked himself going into the corner. Wehrlein steamed right into the back of Buemi, with the German having retired instantly as a result in what could be a huge moment in the championship. Buemi managed to rejoin the race; alas, in last.
Elsewhere on the opening lap, Mortara’s day somehow became even worse, with the Swiss driver having pulled off the circuit. Whether his retirement is to do with his crash from qualifying remains to be discovered, with Maserati MSG Racing having been against the clock to get his car ready for the race. It means only fifteen drivers remained as a Safety Car was summoned, in a bid to recover the stricken cars. Before the Safety Car was called, Fenestraz lost the lead to Mortara’s team-mate Maximilian Günther, with his overtake having been missed by everybody!
Nick Cassidy Times Attack Mode Right
The Safety Car finally ended as Lap Five came to an end, with Günther having restarted the race excellently. Fenestraz remained in second at the restart whilst Nick Cassidy sat in third, as the New Zealander pushed for a second consecutive podium finish. With Wehrlein out of the race, all the leading drivers knew that this was suddenly a great opportunity to make serious inroads on his championship lead, highlighting how significant Wehrlein’s retirement could be.
One driver who wasn’t able to take advantage of Wehrlein’s retirement was Mitch Evans, with the New Zealander having fallen to last on Lap Twelve after being awarded a drive-through penalty, after using too much power. It marked a miserable weekend for Jaguar, with Bird having not started the race. Back at the front and Günther and Fenestraz dropped to second and third, with the pair having activated their first Attack Mode. Cassidy gained the race lead as a result and immediately built a great advantage, enough to activate his first Attack Mode and retain the lead of the race on Lap Fourteen.
Fenestraz moved ahead of Günther and into second on the same lap, as the Maserati driver opted to activate his second Attack Mode. The poleman clearly had great pace, as he closed the gap to Cassidy and was quickly right on his tail. Behind the leading trio was Wehrlein’s team-mate da Costa, Vergne and René Rast, who were all battling for fourth.
Porsche Power Blasts António Félix da Costa to the Front
Whilst the leading trio remained as they were, it started to look like nobody wanted to take advantage of Wehrlein retiring, with his closest rival in the standings Jake Dennis having been awarded a drive-through penalty for his tyres being below the minimum pressure, marking another weekend to forget for the Brit. At the front and it was yet more bad luck for Maserati, as Günther hit the barrier on the outside of the entry to Turn One, breaking the front-right of his car resulting in a disappointing retirement for the German.
It meant only fourteen drivers remained, as Cassidy and Fenestraz both quickly activated their second Attack Mode. The Envision Racing driver maintained in the lead, whilst Fenestraz slipped to fourth behind Da Costa and Vergne, as the race entered its final seven laps. The top-seven were all right together, with just two seconds having split Cassidy in first and Stoffel Vandoorne in seventh.
Da Costa was a man on a mission, with the Portuguese driver having pulled off a sensational move on Cassidy as they approached Turn Nine. Da Costa knew he had to push, with him having an Attack Mode left to take. After falling to second, Cassidy was quickly demoted a further place, after Vergne overtook the New Zealander. In the lead and Da Costa missed the activation point when attempting to take his final Attack Mode, in a mistake which allowed Vergne to close right up on him with just a handful of laps remaining.
Da Costa Pulls Off Overtake of the Year
Da Costa successfully activated his Attack Mode two laps later on lap Twenty-Nine, with Vergne having gained the race lead as a result. The Frenchman wasn’t considered as someone who could challenge for the win, let alone claim back-to-back victories. Da Costa stuck right behind his former team-mate as it was announced that the race would be extended by two laps, with the pair having been seperated by next-to-nothing.
Behind the escaping duo at the front and Fenestraz overtook Cassidy for third, with the battle for the final spot on the rostrum having been between seven drivers. At the front and Da Costa pulled off the move of the season so far, after making a high-speed overtake on Vergne at Turn Eight to claim the lead of the race on the penultimate lap.
As they entered the final lap it was complete chaos, as Fenestraz crashed into the barrier in heartbreaking fashion. His error promoted Cassidy back into third, a position he held onto for the remainder of the final lap, to claim back-to-back podium finishes. At the front and Vergne tried everything he could, but it was Da Costa who held on to claim his first win for Porsche, meaning he too claimed back-to-back podiums. Vergne, too, claimed back-to-back podiums after finishing second, with the top three having been the same in Cape Town as they were in Hyderabad, just in a different order!
As well as claiming second, Vergne also claimed the fastest lap of the race, securing him an additional point. Whilst Fenestraz crashed out on the final lap, he did claim three points for starting on pole, giving him at least something to take home with him. In the Drivers’ Championship and Wehrlein luckily maintained his eighteen point lead over Dennis, whilst Vergne closed the gap significantly on the leading duo. Da Costa jumped to fourth in the standings whilst Cassidy moved to fifth, marking an excellent day for the pair.
In the Constructors’ Championship and the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team extended their lead to forty-two points, with Envision having risen to second above Avalanche Andretti Formula E. After what was one of the best races in the history of Formula E, the sport now takes a month-off before the inaugural Sao Paulo E-Prix, which will likely be another thriller.
Cape Town E-Prix Round 5: Race Full Results
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER. | NAT. | TEAM. | TIME/GAP. |
| 1 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | POR | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | 42:25.403 |
| 2 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | FRA | DS Penske | +0.281 |
| 3 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | NZL | Envision Racing | +1.808 |
| 4 | 58 | René Rast | GER | NEOM McLaren Formula E Team | +2.208 |
| 5 | 16 | Sébastian Buemi | CHE | Envision Racing | +2.656 |
| 6 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | GBR | NIO 333 Racing | +3.209 |
| 7 | 1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | BEL | DS Penske | +4.210 |
| 8 | 17 | Norman Nato | FRA | Nissan Formula E Team | +8.582 |
| 9 | 36 | André Lotterer | GER | Avalanche Andretti Formula E | +8.755 |
| 10 | 5 | Jake Hughes | GBR | NEOM McLaren Formula E Team | +10.475 |
| 11 | 9 | Mitch Evans | NZL | Jaguar TCS Racing | +14.183 |
| 12 | 3 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | BRZ | NIO 333 Racing | +14.914 |
| 13 | 27 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Avalanche Andretti Formula E | +38.846 |
| 14 | 23 | Sacha Fenestraz | FRA | Nissan Formula E Team | DNF |
| 15 | 7 | Maximilian Günther | GER | Maserati MSG Racing | DNF |
| 16 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | CHE | Maserati MSG Racing | DNF |
| 17 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | GER | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | DNF |
| 18 | 10 | Sam Bird | GBR | Jaguar TCS Racing | DNS |
