Stoffel Vandoorne claims shock victory in crazy red-flagged Tokyo Formula E

Stoffel Vandoorne ended a three-year wait to claim a shock victory in a wet opening race of this weekend's Formula E Tokyo E-Prix. 

The Season 8 world champion had started towards the back of the grid; however, he made staggering gains on the entire field after taking his Pit Boost early. 

When a red flag was flown on Lap 13, Vandoorne was the only driver to have used Pit Boost, handing him a huge advantage to claim the win. 

Championship leader Oliver Rowland had led the entirety of the first half of the race, but had to settle for second ahead of Taylor Barnard in third.

Opening laps

It had been a dramatic day in Tokyo before the race had even begun, following the cancellation of qualifying due to adverse weather. As a result, the timesheets from second practice set the grid.

Championship leader Oliver Rowland started from pole, ahead of Edoardo Mortara. In addition to a Nissan on pole, two further Nissan cars were on the second row, in the form of factory driver Norman Nato and customer McLaren driver Taylor Barnard. 

Heavy rainfall did not end until 30 minutes before the race, triggering a 15-minute delay to the E-Prix which was started behind the safety car for the first four laps.

Despite the rain having eased, substantial surface water remained, causing high volumes of spray. Very strong gusts were also present, adding to the challenge for the drivers. 

However, following the laps behind the safety car, a standing start commenced ahead of lap five. Rowland made the best start and retained the lead, whilst Nato and Barnard swapped positions.

Several drivers immediately darted to activate attack mode, whilst Rowland escaped out front. The advantage of attack mode was not as large as normal, given the horrible conditions.

The opening 12 laps offered minimal position changes, with Rowland having boasted a several seconds advantage over Mortara, Sebastien Buemi, Barnard and Nyck de Vries.

That was until a red flag was required a lap later due to Maximilian Günther having ground to a half, with his car having been red (too dangerous to touch) momentarily. 

It was music to Stoffel Vandoorne's ears, who was the only driver to have used his Pit Boost. On the flip side, it presented a problem for Rowland, who had two attack modes and Pit Boost to use.

Following a short stoppage the race got back underway with a standing start, and Rowland again made the best start. The top five remained unchanged.

Vandoorne surprise win

Rowland quickly rebuilt a large lead after taking his first attack mode on lap 17, whilst others pitted to use their Pit Boost. It meant Vandoorne quickly moved up the leaderboard.

Elsewhere, it was disaster for Jake Dennis who was shown the black flag for entering the pit lane when it was closed, ahead of the second restart. Mitch Evans also retired after being hit by de Vries as the Dutchman exited the pit lane.

Lap 24 and both Rowland and Mortara pitted for Pit Boost. Rowland emerged behind Vandoorne, whilst Mortara was also behind Barnard who pitted a few laps prior. Over the next few laps, the remaining drivers yet to pit, took their Pit Boost. 

What it all meant is that when Nick Cassidy pitted, the final driver to do so on Lap 28, Vandoorne took the lead by 25 seconds from Rowland and Barnard. 

Dramatically, the Belgian immediately lost five seconds after spinning at Turn 2, before making contact with the wall. He managed to continue, in what was a major wake-up call.

It was a fine example of the benefit of taking a gamble under a safety car, as Vandoorne went on to win by a staggering margin.

Behind, Rowland claimed a comfortable second place ahead of Barnard – further extending Rowland's championship lead. Buemi and Ticktum completed the top five, with Mortara in sixth having suddenly fallen late on.