Oliver Rowland has delivered his Formula E drivers' title statement that a major effort will be required to beat him, after mastering a mad Monaco E-Prix.
The Nissan driver collected his third victory of the season in what was the second race of the year to feature PitBoost, as his title rivals suffered mixed fortunes.
Nyck de Vries secured Mahindra's first podium of the campaign in second, his first rostrum since London 2022. Jake Dennis completed the rostrum.
It was a disappointing race for Antonio Felix da Costa, who crashed out in the opening laps. It was also misery for pole sitter Taylor Barnard, who collided with reigning world champion Pascal Wehrlein which sent him into a wall and towards the back.
Opening stages
McLaren's rookie Taylor Barnard started at the Principality from pole position for the second time in is FE career, with Oliver Rowland alongside him. It was, again, Rowland against his apprentice into turn one.
As the lights went out at an overcast Circuit de Monaco, it was Barnard who made the best start to lead into the first corner, ahead of Rowland.
The drivers behaved themselves, although Dan Ticktum did fall behind Nyck de Vries in Turn 1, changing the final podium position in the early stages. As expected, the pace started slowly.
Similarly to the first PitBoost race in Jeddah, the drivers saved energy in the opening laps, before the pace quickly increased at the front.
Lap five and Ticktum lost another position, this time to Pascal Wehrlein after skipping the bus stop chicane whilst attempting an overtake on de Vries. It worsened a lap later as he lost two more positions, frustrating the Briton.
The gentle started quickly turned to aggression on Lap 8, as three did not go into one at the final corner, whilst David Beckmann, Edoardo Mortara and Antonio Felix da Costa were jostling.
Da Costa attempted an audacious divebomb on the pair, creating major contact which sent the Porsche into the wall, ending his race and triggering a full course yellow. It handed a huge opportunity to his title rivals.
The full course yellow lasted several laps, due to significant debris having also needed collecting. The ending of the neutralised conditions resulted in phenomenal reactions from Jake Dennis, who jumped de Vries and Pascal Wehrlein.
However, it turned out Dennis' reactions were too good, as he received a five-second time penalty for over-speeding under the full course yellow.
At the front, Rowland forced his way through on Barnard, with the McLaren driver having skipped two chicanes to remain in front, before vacating the lead.
Title statement delivered
The pace of the race ramped up due to the pit window approaching; however, a second full course yellow was required after home driver Mitch Evans ground to a halt. It was short-lived as Evans' restarted, with Rowland having activated his first attack mode.
Interestingly, Barnard and Dennis dived into the pits on Lap 16 to take their PitBoost, whilst Rowland was still in attack mode.
What was even more interesting, is that both drivers rejoined behind Nico Müller and Nick Cassidy, two drivers who pitted for their first attack mode during the first full course yellow.
The Andretti driver suffered an early puncture, creating an opportunity for the American outfit to gamble. It created complete confusion, as Müller found himself in the lead once every driver had pitted.
With 10 laps remaining, he had a two-second lead over Cassidy, whilst Rowland was eight seconds adrift. Despite the remarkable margins, Cassidy was quickly dismantled of due to a staggering energy deficit.
Müller was also caught; however, it was de Vries who was the first to overtake him on Lap 24 for the lead, having also overtaken Rowland with attack mode. There was drama behind though, as contact between Wehrlein and Barnard sent the Briton into the wall.
He reversed out of the wall, although was towards the back. All eyes were on the chaos at the front, as Rowland roared from fifth to first in a matter of corners after activating his final attack mode.
As a result, with three laps remaining, Rowland led from de Vries, Dennis, Müller, Edo Mortara and Wehrlein. With Dennis penalised, Andretti instructed Müller to hold up those behind.
There was no denying Rowland a third victory of the season to extend his championship lead, whilst de Vries secured second – his first podium since London 2022.
Remarkably, Dennis did hold on for third, as Müller created a five-second gap between the duo. Mortara pipped Müller on the line for fourth, with the second Andretti completing the top five.
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