How Pascal Wehrlein escaped Madrid Formula E disaster

Pascal Wehrlein finishing Formula E’s inaugural Madrid E-Prix was nothing short of a miracle, following an almost race-ending collision with Nyck de Vries.

On the second lap at the Circuito del Jarama, while fighting for the lead, Wehrlein was hit hard from behind by de Vries following an error by the Dutchman.

The front of de Vries’ car momentarily went airborne as he rode over the back of Wehrlein’s Porsche, resulting in the clean removal of his Mahindra’s front wing. A five-second penalty was awarded, ending any hope of him scoring significant points.

Wehrlein suffered significantly heavier damage than de Vries, with his rear wing collapsing and being left hanging on one side, in addition to floor damage.

However, this was not the aspect of the damage that could have ended his race. That centred on his rear tyre, which miraculously did not puncture despite suffering a deep cut.

How Wehrlein’s tyre did not puncture was nothing short of a miracle, with the driver himself conceding after the race that he was initially concerned he would be forced to retire.

He was extremely lucky, yet still nursed his Porsche home with good pace to a crucial podium behind a Jaguar one-two to extend his lead in the drivers’ standings to 11 points.

It may be early days in the championship, but avoiding a puncture and retirement in Madrid could prove to be a defining moment come the season finale in London.

Addressing Wehrlein being hit by de Vries, Porsche boss Florian Modlinger told RacingNews365: "It was a very critical moment in the race. I think it was a big misjudgment, because the impact was really hard.

"When you see the back of the car, a lot of parts were destroyed. Luckily, there was only a deep cut in the tyre and no puncture. If this had been a puncture, the race would have been over. But still, with this car, he had amazing pace.

"It was good enough for a podium. It was a close fight with the Jaguars and with Dan [Ticktum], who also had a strong race. Yeah, he extended the lead [in the drivers' title], and we’ll take that. But in the teams’ and manufacturers’ championships, it’s quite close.

"We are still leading, but it will be a tough, hard fight until the end of the season. We need to focus on every single session, on every single race day, and perform at our maximum."