Pascal Wehrlein wins one of two Formula E races in Saudi Arabia

• Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein wins the first of two Formula E races in Diriyah.
• He finishes 0.531 of a second ahead of Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis.
• Sam Bird finishes third for Jaguar, marking his first podium finish since July 2021.

After losing to series leader Jake Dennis in the Mexican season-opener, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein turned the tables on the Briton by winning the first of two Formula E races in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

After a close race at Diriyah under the lights, former Formula One driver Wehrlein prevailed over Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti’s Dennis by 0.531 of a second. Sam Bird from the United Kingdom finished third for Jaguar.

The victory, which came in the German’s 50th start, was his second in the current series.

On Jan. 14, Dennis had won and Wehrlein had finished second in the inaugural race of the ‘Gen3’ era of the electric world championship, but the Briton was still in the overall lead by one point because of his fastest lap in Mexico City.

Due to the dominance of the Porsche powertrain, Sebastien Buemi of Envision Racing, who started the race on the pole but finished fourth, is now a distant third in the overall standings with 23 points, followed by Dennis and Wehrlein.

Rene Rast of McLaren, who finished fifth, was awarded the extra point for the quickest lap in Diriyah.

Despite starting in ninth place, Wehrlein quickly moved up the field to overtake Bird and seize the lead on lap thirty-nine of the 39-lap race. Dennis, who lined up in eleventh place, passed Wehrlein four laps later.

Bird finished third, marking his first podium finish since a race in New York in July 2021.

On Saturday, a second race is held in Diriyah.

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