Dennis wins out after chaotic, action-packed Sanya E-Prix; Full results here
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 2 minutes ago
- 6 min read
After all the action, it was Jake Dennis who won an incident-riddled Sanya E-Prix from pole, taking a special race victory. He finished on the top step of the podium, with rookie teammate Felipe Drugovich and Pepe Martí coming home second and third after a rollercoaster race.
Nyck de Vries recovered to finish fourth, as António Félix da Costa rounded out the top five. He would finish ahead of Maximilian Günther and Nico Müller in sixth and seventh respectively, with Jean-Éric Vergne, Taylor Barnard and Lucas di Grassi rounding out the top 10 in Sanya.
Formula E's return to Sanya was nothing short of a thrilling race, and here's everything that unfolded as the all-electric championship raced for 37 laps around Hainan Island.
AS IT UNFOLDED - Sanya E-Prix
It was an Andretti front-row lockout to kick off the Sanya E-Prix, as Jake Dennis started from pole position, after beating out Felipe Drugovich. Further back, a host of penalties shuffled up the starting grid for the race.
The hardest hit was Taylor Barnard, who would drop from his fifth position grid slot to 15th, due to the penalties accumulated in Round 10 back in Monaco, while Lucas di Grassi would incur 40 places in penalties after changing his MCU and gearbox after qualifying in Monaco.
He would also have to serve an in-race penalty for being unable to serve the full grid penalty this weekend.
The start procedures played out differently in Sanya, with drivers making their way from a 'dummy grid' at Turns 4 and 5, to the actual starting point on the bridge, down to Turn 11. With track temperatures reaching a whopping 62 ℃ and the air temperature at 33 ℃.
There was an early issue when the likes of Wehrlein and Buemi found themselves in the wrong grid slots, and some debris to be collected on the bridge.
Off the five red lights, the two Mahindra cars lost positions, with de Vries down to ninth from his starting position of fifth, while Mortara consolidated his 11th position slot. Wehrlein and Rowland climbed up several places on the opening lap, with Rowland ascending four spots to sit seventh.
At the front, the top four remained unchanged after one lap of racing. Overtaking would remain tough around the narrow Sanya circuit, but several drivers attempted overtakes. Evans and Drugovich attempted to move up the order, unsuccessfully, but Rowland was able to make up yet another spot on Cassidy's Citroën to move into sixth on Lap 5.
As the pack closed up heading into Turns 4 and 5, Wehrlein's street smarts helped him make up a position on Ticktum's Kiro. The German would quickly make up another place on Evans' Jaguar to sit third, however this battle carried onto the following lap.
Wehrlein would then move up into second, breaking Andretti's stronghold over the race, as Zane Maloney became the first driver to take his attack mode, with six minutes of extra power.
Wehrlein would continue his charge, out-braking Dennis to take the lead on Lap 8 in Sanya, before Dennis managed to claim the position again on Lap 10. Meanwhile, as Maloney rose to fourth in his attack mode, Ticktum went in for four minutes of extra power on the same lap.
The tight hairpin was proving to be a pinch point, with de Vries coming to a stop as he lost ground to da Costa's Jaguar, dropping out of the points. Cassidy became the third driver to take attack mode on Lap 11, as Ticktum climbed up to second in extra power.
Both Mahindras of de Vries and Mortara took attack mode on Lap 12, however, the latter ran with a dislodged front wing after an incident at the hairpin on the previous lap.
The race lead changed hands the following lap, with Cassidy utilising his extra power to get past Dan Ticktum, as Mortara climbed into the top five in extra power. The Mahindra man would become the fifth different race leader in 15 laps, taking over from Cassidy.
The front runners of Evans, Wehrlein, Dennis and Drugovich took their first attack modes, as they looked to bring themselves up to the front again. Despite his front wing flapping around, Mortara's deep defence into Turns 11 and 12 helped him keep the lead, although he would later lose out to Wehrlein and Dennis.
Ticktum would endure poor luck once again, outbraking himself and clattering into Evans at Turn 6, dropping several positions and braking his front wing.
However, this was only the prelude to a bigger incident. The tight Turn 9 hairpin would once again claim several victims. As Evans attempted to move past Maloney, the two made contact, stranded in the corner. This caught out the likes of Buemi, the Cupra Kiros of Pepe Martí and Ticktum, and da Costa's Jaguar, triggering a red flag.
This decision certainly triggered about some debate, with all the cars back in the pits. However, the biggest losers during this period were Nissan, with both Rowland and Nato now in the rear of the grid, while Nico Müller sat a lofty fourth ahead of Joel Eriksson in fifth.
Several drivers returned to the pits with damaged components, and risked a back of the grid restart if they changed any of the damaged components.
Race control ensured a quicker turnaround, with the race resuming at 15:46 local (08:46 BST). The race director revealed it would be a standing start once again. Martí would not return to the circuit, as would Evans, who would start from the pit lane. The likes of Mortara and Ticktum too started at the rear of the field after changing components.
Off the second restart, Müller would be the gainer, moving up to fourth, while Rowland took his first of two attack modes available, for four minutes. With the likes of Müller, Nato and da Costa taking attack mode, Rowland was up to fourth, which became the race lead on Lap 22 as he pulled out a series of moves.
Both Müller and da Costa climbed up to second and third, utilising their extra power. However, Cassidy's race would come to an unfortunate end, with a technical issue. The Jaguar man became the race's seventh different leader on Lap 24, taking over from Rowland with over three minutes of attack mode left. Rowland's teammate Nato climbed into fourth in attack mode.
Mortara's race came to an end, his Mahindra stranded in the run off, as it continued a disastrous day for the Indian manufacturer as de Vries ran in 14th. Nato would be the next driver to retire from the race, nudged into the wall by Wehrlein, as he crabbed to a stop at the corner. The Full Course Yellow was called out to recover his stricken Nissan.
This FCY came as a major dampener for DS Penske's Taylor Barnard, who had taken six minutes of attack mode.
As the FCY ended, it was perfect timing for Rowland, who was at Turn 4 and dived in for his final four minutes of attack mode. Further ahead, da Costa's ambitions of victory would take a hit, with a five-second penalty for causing a collision at Turn 6.
Meanwhile, di Grassi had lifted himself to fifth with his four minutes of attack mode, while Rowland took over the race lead once again. Dennis and Drugovich too looked to utilise four minutes of extra power to their advantage, as Wehrlein would receive a penalty for his collision in Turn 3.
da Costa would retake the race lead, albeit it would be with a caveat: He would drop back after the chequered flag. Meanwhile, Dennis would climb back into the race lead once again, opening up a nearly two second gap at the front.
With race control adding two more laps due to the time spent under safety cars and yellows, there would be more to fight for until the finish. With Drugovich once again climbing into third, and on for a net second position finish, it would bring an Andretti 1-2 once the penalties were applied.
de Vries and Rowland scrapped away once again, with the Dutchman putting his Mahindra up to fourth on the road. He would be third after penalties were applied, as Martí climbed into the top five.
Rowland's aims to score a big result went on the day, his car firmly wedged in the barriers after a crash in Turn 4, as Martí would ascend past de Vries, into a net podium position. The FCY was called out once again to recover the stricken Nissan.
However, none of this would be able to stop Dennis in his quest for victory, as he took a second race win of 2026, leading home an Andretti 1-2. A hectic, chaotic Sanya E-Prix later, here is how it all panned out!
Classification - Sanya E-Prix (39 laps)
Jake Dennis (Andretti)
Felipe Drugovich (Andretti)
Pepe Martí (Cupra Kiro)
Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing)
António Félix da Costa (Jaguar)
Max Günther (DS Penske)
Nico Müller (Porsche)
Jean-Éric Vergne (Citroën Racing)
Taylor Barnard (DS Penske)
Lucas di Grassi (Lola Yamaha ABT)
Zane Maloney (Lola Yamaha ABT)
Joel Eriksson (Envision Racing)
Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing)
Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)
Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro)
Mitch Evans (Jaguar)
Oliver Rowland (Nissan) - DNF
Nick Cassidy (Citroën Racing) - DNF
Norman Nato (Nissan) - DNF
Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra Racing) - DNF
