At the wheel of the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, Pascal Wehrlein (GER) secured the first win of the season for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team at the first night race in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Contesting his 50th Formula E race, the runner-up of the season-opening race in Mexico swept to victory after an inspired drive from P9 on the grid.

On the historic city circuit close to the Riyadh capital, the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 again netted a one-two result. Second place went to the Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti with Jake Dennis (GBR), the winner of the opening round in Mexico City. After the second of 16 races, Pascal Wehrlein ranks second in the drivers’ classification of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with 43 points. António Félix da Costa (POR) lies eleventh with six points. In the team rankings, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is second with 49 points.

Race 2
Pascal Wehrlein headed into round two of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from P9. His teammate António Félix da Costa became entangled in a collision on lap one which forced him back to the pits, and the safety car was deployed on the 2.495-kilometre circuit. At the restart, Wehrlein catapulted to sixth place. Thanks to the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3’s extremely efficient powertrain and a flawless race strategy, he steadily progressed up the order. On the 18th of 39 laps, Wehrlein was on course for the third podium step. Five laps later he was running in second place. In the final stage of the thrilling race with a flurry of overtaking moves, he had the most energy at his disposal – and he used it: on lap 30, he snatched the lead and defended it to the flag. After pitting to replace the front wing, António Félix da Costa rejoined the race at the back of the field and ultimately crossed the finish line in 18th.

Comments on the Diriyah E-Prix, race 2

Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport: “That was a massive team effort. We weren’t a hundred percent happy with our qualifying, but in the race, we again underlined the potential of our Porsche 99X Electric Gen3. I feel really sorry for António, but all in all, everyone did a fantastic job. We’ve validated our strong performance in Mexico and shown that we’re on the right path. We’re now looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “This is a fantastic result for our team and the car. The hard work of our team in Weissach and here at the racetrack has paid off. Pascal put in a powerful drive from ninth on the grid and crowned his 50th Formula E race with this great victory. The fact that our customer squad Avalanche Andretti secured another one-two for the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 makes this day very special.”

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “What a great race. I knew we had a good car, even though not everything went to plan in qualifying with P9. Still, I was confident that I could make up a few positions. But I didn’t expect to win! We had a perfect strategy. I managed to conserve energy behind other cars and then use it to overtake. I’m extremely happy and grateful for this awesome car. I’d like to thank everyone in the team who has worked so hard over the past few months to make such successes possible.”

António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): “Unfortunately, that wasn’t my race. In the second corner after the start, two cars became entangled in front of me and I had no chance to get past them. I’m very pleased for the team and Pascal. We again saw just how powerful our package is. That’s hugely motivating for the race tomorrow.”

Next up
Race 3 will be contested in Diriyah on Saturday 28 January. The worldwide broadcasting schedule of the Formula E event in Diriyah is available at: https://www.fiaformulae.com/watch/ways-to-watch.

Porsche in Formula E
In 2023, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team contests its fourth season in the world’s first all-electric racing series with the new Porsche 99X Electric Gen3. Avalanche Andretti fields two Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 as the first Porsche customer team in Formula E. As an accelerator for innovative and sustainable mobility technologies, Formula E has brought thrilling motorsport to people living in major cities since 2014. With the all-electric Taycan Turbo S, Porsche again supplies the official safety car, and thus underlines the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport.