Jean-Eric Vergne expertly held off the chasing Nick Cassidy to win a thrilling Hyderabad E-Prix in Formula E's first race in India. The DS Penske driver was running low on available energy entering the closing laps on the street circuit, with Envision Racing's Cassidy enjoying about 4% more energy than the two-time champion. However, Vergne cleverly positioned his car on the inside of the Turn 4 hairpin every lap - denying Cassidy a chance at sliding up the inside on the track's only true overtaking spot. It is the 11th win in Formula E for Vergne, and his first since Rome in April 2021, with Cassidy and Antonio Felix da Costa completing the podium, as original P3 finisher Sebastien Buemi was slapped with a post-race penalty for exceeding allowable energy usage. Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein came home fourth with nearest championship challenger Jake Dennis only 16th.
Jaguar's clash early on
In what was planned to be a 32-lap tour, pole-sitter Mitch Evans initially held the lead, taking his first two-minute attack mode on Lap 7. However, Buemi who started in third, was able to squeeze by when he took his own first activation two laps later, with the order being Buemi, Vergne and Evans. On Lap 13, at the Turn 4 hairpin, Sam Bird locked up and clattered into Jaguar teammate Evans, putting both out of the race and causing Sacha Fenestraz and Max Gunther to lose time. By Lap 15, Vergne was leading with Cassidy, Dennis and Buemi, before Jake Hughes triggered a safety car on Lap 23 after a weird crash exiting Turn 4. The McLaren driver appeared to radio in that the mirror had got stuck behind the steering wheel as he slid into the barrier, with the race being extended by one lap thanks to the incident. At the restart, Vergne held position from Cassidy as Buemi acted as his Envision teammate's rear-gunner and holding off the pack. Despite his reserves of energy, Cassidy was unable to find a way past ex-Formula 1 driver Vergne, who held on to claim his first win in nearly two years. Post-race, Buemi's penalty was converted to a drive-through penalty, which dropped him to 15th in the classification and promoted da Costa into a podium slot.
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THE TWO JAGUARS COLLIDE! 🤯 Incredible drama here at the @GreenkoIndia #HyderabadEPrix ! — ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) February 11, 2023
Wehrlein extends lead
In finishing fourth, Wehrlein was able to extend his points lead to 18 over Dennis who suffered rear-wing damage in the closing laps after contact relegated him from a top 10 position. Reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne took eighth place for his second points haul of the season, as Sergio Sette Camara (fifth), Oliver Rowland (sixth), Norman Nato (seventh), Andre Lotterer (ninth) and Eduardo Mortara (10th) rounded out the points positions.
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