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Günther leads home Penske 1-2 while Jaguar's woes continue


Günther and Vergne celebrated their victory together | Credit: Formula E
Günther and Vergne celebrated their victory together | Credit: Formula E

Energy conservation was the name of the game at the Shanghai International Circuit as drivers traded the race lead, not wanting to be the one to lead the pack and over-consume their energy. Come the chequered flag, it was polesitter Maximilian Günther who led home a surprise one-two finish for DS Penske at the Shanghai International Circuit despite the best efforts of championship leader Oliver Rowland.


How it happened

Despite Günther’s strong start from pole position, it was Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein that slung his car around the outside of turn one and snatched the race lead after starting 3rd. It wasn’t long before he relinquished the lead, however, as he backed the pack up in the hopes of saving as much energy as possible in the early stages.


The opening lap was clean even with most of the drivers running side by side through the twisting turns, but it didn’t take long for the first drama of the race to occur at the final turn. Three drivers – Jean-Éric Vergne, Edo Mortara, and Nick Cassidy, attempted to squeeze through the corner as one, but as the trio turned it was Cassidy on the outside who suffered the most, being tipped into the spin after contact with Mortara.



Elbows were out into turn one... | Credit: Formula E
Elbows were out into turn one... | Credit: Formula E


The Kiwi was able to recover quickly, but jumped into the pits the following lap for a damage check that plunged him right to the back of the train – where teammate Mitch Evans already was after his whopping 80 place grid penalty was converted into a stop-go on lap one of the race. 


Once again Stoffel Vandoorne was the first to take Attack Mode, no doubt wanting to repeat his Tokyo glory, and quickly used this to power his way into the battle for the lead. A brief tussle with Rowland followed, resulting in Rowland clipping the front wing of Vandoorne, running wide, and dropping back to 4th as a result. 


Further back, Nico Müller became the first to take Pit Boost and by doing so started a flurry of drivers heading for Attack Mode to force a gap. This action split the field in two, those towards the front of the running were using their Attack Mode to push ahead and reduce the benefits of taking early Pit Boost, while those who took Pit Boost first were further back and pushing to close that gap back down.


Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein did not earn the result he wanted | Credit: Simon Galloway/LAT Images
Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein did not earn the result he wanted | Credit: Simon Galloway/LAT Images

By this point, Lucas di Grassi had dragged his Lola-Yamaha into the dizzying heights of the top five by using both Attack Modes alongside Pascal Wehrlein, but the strategy did not pay off and the pair dropped behind the early Pit Boost takers when they took theirs.


A Nissan 1-2-3 formed on lap 23, with Taylor Barnard leading the way and attempting to do what Rowland did in Tokyo by building a gap and leading to the end, but when his Attack Mode ran out it was Oliver Rowland and Maximilian Günther who picked up the pieces.


Günther’s Attack Mode ran out a lap later than Rowland’s, allowing him to slip by and snatch the lead of the race from the championship leader. While the DS Penske driver built his lead, chaos exploded behind him as the two Nissans fell foul of Barnard first and then were forced to fend off attacks from Vergne and Dan Ticktum – who had started back in 21st.


The four way battle for the podium positions continued until the very last corner, with it looking as if Ticktum was on for back-to-back podium finishes until Vergne elbowed his way past and into 2nd, making it a stunning one-two finish for the black and gold DS Penske team. 


Barnard rounded out the podium, with an angry Ticktum forced to settle for 4th at the chequered flag. Still, the young Brit should still take consolation in the fact he climbed from 21st to almost the podium.


Ticktum's strong season continued with a 4th place finish | Credit: Joe Portlock/LAT Images
Ticktum's strong season continued with a 4th place finish | Credit: Joe Portlock/LAT Images

It was yet another race to forget for Jaguar Racing, who finished 20th and 21st after the penalty for Evans and incident for Cassidy ruined their race before it had truly begun. There was only one retirement during the race, belonging to Mortara who quietly entered the pits with just five laps remaining – there’s no doubt he’ll be looking to come back stronger in Sunday’s race.


Nissan finished 5th and 6th, with Rowland leading teammate Nato home, still a strong result despite it being their first race without a podium since the Miami E-Prix. 


While Penske celebrated a 1-2 finish, Porsche suffered a pointless finish with their drivers finishing in only 12th and 13th – a huge blow to their title challenge against Nissan. 

2025 Shanghai E-Prix Results (provisional)

  1. Maximilian Günther (DS Penske)

  2. Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Penske)

  3. Taylor Barnard (McLaren)

  4. Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro)

  5. Oliver Rowland (Nissan)

  6. Norman Nato (Nissan)

  7. Sam Bird (McLaren)

  8. Nyck de Vries (Mahindra)

  9. Sébastien Buemi (Envision)

  10. Robin Frijns (Envision)

  11. Stoffel Vandoorne (Maserati)

  12. Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)

  13. António Félix da Costa (Porsche)

  14. David Beckmann (Cupra Kiro)

  15. Nico Müller (Andretti)

  16. Jake Hughes (Maserati)

  17. Jake Dennis (Andretti)

  18. Lucas di Grassi (Lola-Yamaha)

  19. Zane Maloney (Lola-Yamaha)

  20. Mitch Evans (Jaguar)

  21. Nick Cassidy (Jaguar)

DNF: Edo Mortara (Mahindra)

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