For the third time in three races, Porsche has powered the top two finishers in a Formula E E-Prix. And for the second time this weekend it has been Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein standing on the top step followed closely by Andretti’s Jake Dennis. This time Wehrlein was able to put together a lap in qualifying to get himself into the duels and ultimately started the race from 5th on the grid, much better than the 9th he started in Friday’s race. That alone made this race a little easier for him.
McLaren’s Rene Rast made it up into the lead briefly, taking over from polesitter teammate Jake Hughes. Werhlein pushed through the field and ultimately overtook Rast with an attack mode undercut and pushed out to a two-second lead. Dennis pushed from fifth up into second on a single lap by smashing past Hughes, Evans, and Rast on the trot. By that time Pascal’s Porsche was way out of sight.
A late race caution could have thrown the whole thing away for Porsche, but ultimately it worked out alright. Wehrlein got away to a strong restart and held the lead to the end of the E-Prix. Considering Porsche only found one race victory and six podiums in its first three seasons, and has already found six podiums and three wins in the first three races of the year, we’re in for a strong Porsche run in 2023. The powertrains for this season are already locked, so it’ll be tough for the other teams to catch up. Never bet against Porsche, and you’re likely to do okay.
Meanwhile, Porsche’s second driver Antonio Felix da Costa finished in 11th, just out of the points, while Andretti’s second driver Andre Lotterer finished just behind him in 12th.
With his second win on the trot, Wehrlein moved into the driver standings lead over season opening winner Jake Dennis. Wehrlein is now sitting on 68 points to Dennis’ 62. Their closest competitor in third is Sebastien Buemi on 31 points. Andretti as a team still leads the Porsche factory team by 2 points, 76 to 74.