Pascal Wehrlein has described his victory in Formula E's opening race of its Shanghai E-Prix double-header as "definitely" a major statement in the title fight, with it representing a much-needed "bounce back".
The German converted pole position into a comfortable win at a wet Shanghai International Circuit to move into second in the drivers' standings.
Championship leader Mitch Evans joined him on the front row but dropped to eighth, with Wehrlein slashing the New Zealander's title lead to just three points.
It was a dominant display by Wehrlein, who read the changing conditions perfectly. A frenetic dash to the front unfolded in the opening laps as rain began to fall, with the drivers aware that it would intensify.
The rain did intensify and, with the Porsche driver in the lead, he was able to control the pace and claim a crucial victory.
Discussing the chaos in the opening laps, with everyone wanting to lead, Wehrlein told RacingNews365: "Well, it wasn't weird because it was something we expected to happen during the race, that the rain would come.
"So, it was always the plan to stay at the front and be efficient, but still not drop too far down. And, yeah, I think it was the right call."
The result represented the perfect bounce back from difficult recent weekends in Monaco and Berlin, with Wehrlein viewing it as a significant boost to his title challenge.
However, he is aware that his hard work could be completely undone by a poor second race on Sunday.
Asked if the win felt like a big statement in the title fight, Wehrlein replied: "Yeah, definitely. It was also so important to bounce back as quickly as we could because the last couple of weekends felt unlucky and the results felt undeserved.
"And, yeah, we couldn't really afford to have another bad weekend here. So, like you said, half of the job is done this weekend. Tomorrow is another important day, and we just need to maximise every day until the end of the season."
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