TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team have returned to the top of the Constructors’ Championship, after returning to form in-style at the Jakarta E-Prix double-header.
Having endured a challenging few rounds, Porsche returned with a bang in Southeast Asia, as Pascal Wehrlein got back to winning ways. Having remarkably not won since the end of January in Diriyah, Wehrlein claimed victory in the first of two races in the Indonesian capital. Having lost the lead of the Drivers’ Championship in Monaco, it was the perfect response by the German, who claimed the team’s first rostrum since António Félix da Costa‘s win in Cape Town.
Whilst Wehrlein won the opening race of the weekend, Da Costa finished eighth, having recovered from fifteenth on the grid. Team Principal Florian Modlinger was ecstatic after Wehrlein’s win on Saturday, with the team boss having hailed the side’s “terrific achievement”.
“What a sensational win for Pascal,” Modlinger said on Saturday. “To lead for almost the entire race and beat the strong competition was a terrific achievement. The team at the racetrack and back in Weissach perfectly implemented the strategy we had set ourselves.
“António also put in a strong drive. Although there were very few overtaking manoeuvres in the race, he ploughed from P15 to P8, which is quite remarkable. We are now back leading the teams’ classification. Another tough day awaits us tomorrow. We are highly motivated and now we’ll focus on reclaiming the lead in the drivers’ standings.”
“The race for the title is very close” – Florian Modlinger
Sunday’s race wasn’t quite as successful for the German manufacturer, as both drivers finished outside the top-five. Wehrlein finished sixth with Da Costa in seventh, a result which Modlinger still rated as “strong”.
What made the result hugely significant was that Envision Racing endured a bit of a nightmare, as Nick Cassidy finished outside the points. As a result, Wehrlein reclaimed the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, whilst Envision’s bad weekend saw Porsche return to the top of the Constructors’ Championship. Both remain incredibly close though, with Wehrlein leading by just a single point, whilst Porsche boast a twenty-two point advantage ahead of Portland.
With just five races remaining, the title race remains unbelievably close, with Modlinger believing that it will go “down to the wire” in London.
“That was another strong performance from the whole team in extreme conditions today, huge thanks to everyone involved. We leave Jakarta leading both the teams’ and drivers’ world championships.
“This is a good base for the five remaining races of the season. However, we will need to keep working hard and try to keep extending our lead little by little. The race for the title is very close and promises to be exciting down to the wire.”
