The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team recaptures the championship lead with a victory in Jakarta

Success for Porsche at the prelude of the Jakarta E-Prix: At the wheel of his Porsche 99X Electric, Pascal Wehrlein won race 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the Indonesian capital on Saturday. Thanks to this victory, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has reclaimed the lead in the team classification.

With temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius and 75 percent humidity, the 22 drivers faced extreme conditions at the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit. Pascal Wehrlein put in an immaculate drive in his Porsche 99X Electric to clinch his third win of the season and thus slash the gap to the top of the drivers’ standing to just two points. His teammate António Félix da Costa earned all-important points for eighth place. This was the fourth win so far this season for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.
 
Spectators in the packed grandstands were treated to a gripping race and an exceptional performance from the Porsche 99X Electric: Driving for the Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti, Jake Dennis (GBR) – the winner of the season opener in Mexico – finished in second place behind the winner Pascal Wehrlein with the electric racing car developed in Weissach. David Beckmann (GER) also performed well at his Formula E debut: The test and reserve driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team and Avalanche Andretti replaced regular driver André Lotterer (GER) in the second customer Porsche and finished in P17.

Ahead of race 11 on Sunday, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has regained the lead in the teams’ classification with 198 points, followed by Envision Racing (189), Jaguar (156) and Avalanche Andretti (137). Pascal Wehrlein ranks second in the drivers’ championship with 126 points just two points behind Nick Cassidy (NZL/128). Jake Dennis (114) lies third with António Félix da Costa (72) in sixth. André Lotterer (23) occupies P13.
 
Race 10
Thanks to his best qualifying performance of the season, Pascal Wehrlein started the sweltering race on the 2.37-kilometre Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit from P3. In lap four, he promptly swept into the lead with his Porsche 99X Electric. With the activation of Attack Mode, he briefly lost the lead but regained it lap twelve. Putting in a commanding performance, the winner of the Diriyah doubleheader fended off his pursuers to clinch his third win of the season. His teammate and Cape Town winner António Félix da Costa tackled the race from P15 and fought his way up the order and into the points with eighth place after a solid drive.


Comments on the Jakarta E-Prix, Race 10
 
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport: “Unbelievable. We kicked off this season extremely well but then experienced a bit of a slump and lost our world championship lead in Monaco. Today we showed that we still have what it takes. We’re back and there’s only one direction for the rest of the season: we want to be world champions, no question.”
 
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “What a sensational win for Pascal. To lead for almost the entire race and beat the strong competition was a terrific achievement. The team at the racetrack and back in Weissach perfectly implemented the strategy we had set ourselves. António also put in a strong drive. Although there were very few overtaking manoeuvres in the race, he ploughed from P15 to P8, which is quite remarkable. We are now back leading the teams’ classification. Another tough day awaits us tomorrow. We are highly motivated and now we’ll focus on reclaiming the lead in the drivers’ standings.”
 
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “The last races were difficult for us but we learned the right lessons and came back extremely strong today. Although I started from P3 after my best qualifying session this season, the race wasn’t easy. We spent a lot of time in the lead which meant others used the slipstream and were able to save energy. But thanks to our great strategy, we were able to defend our lead. I’d like to thank the whole team, both here at the track and in Weissach, for their hard work and great support.”
 
António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): “That was a terrific day for the team with Pascal’s victory and taking the lead in the world championship. I experienced some problems in qualifying and had to start from far down the grid. It was very difficult to overtake today, so I’m delighted that I was able to score a few more points for the team. We’re working hard on making it better for me in the second race tomorrow.”

Next up
Race 11 will be contested in Jakarta on Sunday, 4 June. The worldwide broadcasting schedule of the Formula E is available at: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/ways-to-watch.
 
Porsche in Formula E
In 2023, the squad contests its fourth season in the world’s first all-electric racing series with the new Porsche 99X Electric. Avalanche Andretti fields two Porsche 99X Electric 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.

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