Round two of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship saw a Porsche 99X Electric clinch victory once again. The defending world champion Jake Dennis won the Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia for the Porsche customer team Andretti Formula E. Porsche works driver Pascal Wehrlein won the season opener in Mexico driving for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.

Sporting the starting number 1 on his Porsche 99X Electric, Jake Dennis brought home a commanding victory for Porsche and Andretti Formula E on the challenging 2.495-kilometre street circuit northwest of Riyadh. The British racer crossed the finish line with a comfortable 13-second lead. Pascal Wehrlein, who scored two victories last year in Diriyah, also drove a solid race. However, the Mexico winner was unable to join the battle for the lead and finished eighth in his Porsche 99X Electric.

Norman Nato (FRA), the winner’s teammate, also finished in the points, securing sixth after 37 laps in the stunningly illuminated historic city. At the wheel of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team’s second Porsche 99X Electric, Porsche works driver António Félix da Costa (POR) finished 16th.

With 32 points, Pascal Wehrlein leads the drivers’ championship in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship ahead of Nick Cassidy (NZL/31) and Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/29). Jake Dennis (28) ranks fourth with Norman Nato (9) in ninth. Behind Jaguar with 51 points, Andretti Formula E (37) lies in second place in the team standings. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team (32) occupies fourth place.

Comments on the Diriyah E-Prix, Race 2
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “Two out of two wins for the Porsche 99X Electric, this time thanks to Jake Dennis and Andretti Formula E. Congratulations to our customer team on this sensational performance. Three Porsche 99X Electric cars in the top 8, that’s definitely something to be proud of. Pascal started from the less favourable side of the track, which proved decisive. He lost a few positions and couldn’t regain them. Hardly any energy needed to be saved in this race. Efficiency and clever energy management didn’t help because we couldn’t convert our energy advantage into positions. For tomorrow’s race, we have to ensure that all four Porsche 99X Electric cars are further up the field and then score as many points as possible.”

Jake Dennis, Porsche customer team Andretti Formula E (#1): “We had a tough start to the season, which makes how we came back today all the more fantastic. Thanks to the team for the great strategy. We activated attack mode at exactly the right time. I gave it everything I had and brought my lead safely home. It was an exceptional race. I enjoyed every lap.”

Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team (#94): “We’re not particularly satisfied with this first race in Diriyah. We were off the pace a bit in qualifying. I had to start the race on the dirty side of the track and lost a few places. We had the speed but I couldn’t overtake. For tomorrow we need to make sure we’re a bit further up the field. Then we have to get off to a good start to also set our pace in the race.”

António Félix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team (#13): “That wasn’t our day. We had a fast car, but it still proved difficult to pull together a good qualifying lap. Qualifying was the most important session today because it’s extremely difficult to overtake in the race. Tomorrow we get a second chance and we’ll do everything we can to make the most of it.”

Next up
The next event for Porsche in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is round 3 of the Diriyah E-Prix on 27 January.

Porsche in Formula E
The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team heads into its fifth Formula E season with the Weissach-developed Porsche 99X Electric. With four victories for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 2023 was the most successful year since the sports car manufacturer entered the all-electric racing series. Since last season, Porsche has supported the customer team, Andretti Formula E, which promptly won the world championship title with the Porsche 99X Electric and Jake Dennis. With the all-electric Taycan Turbo S, Porsche again supplies the official safety car in 2024, thus underlining the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport.