Sam Bird charged from fifth on the grid to win the Diriyah E-Prix round one beating Porsche’s Andre Lotterer and Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne.
Bird looked supreme throughout following a slightly disappointing qualifying session. He was putting pressure on Edoardo Mortara for 4th position from the start. Smart use of Attack Mode then helped propel him to the top.
The Diriyah E-Prix round one victory comes exactly five years since Bird took his first Formula E win. Bird is now the only driver to have won a race in every Formula E season.
This dominant opening performance could spell a championship-winning year for Bird and Envision Virgin Racing.
Attack Mode turned the race on its head
Attack Mode did not disappoint, producing yet another unpredictable race result. The top three qualifiers – Sims, Vandoorne and de Vries – seemed unstoppable in the early part of the race. Attack Mode activation then brought a few surprises and showed that Attack Mode strategy can make or break a race.
Formula E rookie and reigning Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries lost out, dropping three places to finish sixth after going offline to activate Attack Mode. Mercedes teammate Vandoorne was also unable to maximise Attack Mode. He activated his second Attack Mode just as a safety car was deployed after a crash between Daniel Abt and Antonio Felix da Costa.
Flying start for new teams
Both Porsche and Mercedes finished in the top three, which is “far more than…[Mercedes] expected.”
Despite Porsche’s Neel Jani finishing 17th, both teams will surely be satisfied with their solid start to the season.
DNF for JEV
Diriyah E-Prix round one was a disappointing season opener for Jean-Eric Vergne, who failed to finish following reliability issues. Techeetah teammate da Costa was also unable to finish inside the points following the collision with Abt.
Both drivers will be looking to put round one behind them and recover some points in the second leg.
