The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship held its first round on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia today. Even so, calling the place a street is a stretch. The track itself is purpose-built for the event, resulting in a slightly wider track than a regular Formula E track. The scorching heat and the new road surface provided the rider with a low-traction surface and a significant challenge.
Qualifiers ended with Techeetah locking in top with Jean-Éric Vergne defeating teammate António Félix da Costa to take pole in the final match of qualifying. Knocked out in the semifinals, Jaguar’s Mitch Evans was third and Venturi’s Edo Mortara was fourth.
At the start, the entire pitch was cleaned in the first corner with the squad leaders keeping the positions they started in. The most important starter was Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, who took eighth place from eleventh. Even so, the safety car had to be deployed early to recover the wheel that had slipped off Oliver Rowland’s Mahindra. After the restart, António Félix da Costa locked the brakes, opening the door for Mitch Evans to put his Jaguar in second place.
Evans quickly takes the lead in the midpoint as Vergne activates his Attack Mode. Even so, Vergne will overtake Jaguar for first place. The E-Prix will remain a rival between these two riders as Evans waits for the perfect moment to snap. With less than seven minutes left, Evans used the slide to run straight down his long back and suddenly dashed into the inner ring in Round 7 to take the lead from Vergne. Mitch Evans was able to fend off a counterattack in the final round and win the first Jakarta E-Prix.
Race results – Top 10
- Mitch Evans
- Jean-Eric Vergne
- Edo Mortara
- António Félix da Costa
- Stoffel Vandoorne
- Jake Dennis
- Lucas di Grassi
- Pascal Wehrlein
- Bird Sam
- Sebastien Buemi
Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne leads the Drivers’ Championship by five points over Jean-Éric Vergne. Formula E will be back in a month for the Marrakesh E-Prix.
