Formula E: Strange race in Miami won by Wehrlein

      The fifth stage of the Formula E season took place on a new track for this championship in Miami, laid along the stadium area of the famous American Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, part of the oval track with banks in a circle with a length of only 3551 meters was still included.

      Norman Nato, a Nissan factory team driver, started from pole position and held the lead, but in the first corners he was closely pursued by Antonio Felix da Costa, who was attacked by Nick Devries on the second lap, but the Portuguese Porsche racer was able to fight back. By the way, both have won titles in this electric series in the past.

      But in the end, the exchange of positions did take place - Nato apparently decided not to resist, ceded leadership for tactical reasons. Moreover, it is quite possible to overtake on wide sections of the track, and then we saw so many overtaking that it was simply impossible to keep track of them.

      De Vries started the third lap of the race as the leader, with da Costa one tenth behind his Mahindra, Nato in third, and Envision drivers Robin Frijns and Sebastien Buemi in fourth and fifth positions. The Swiss veteran of Formula 1, WEC and Formula E may be spending his last season in this series – however, this is not a fact yet, and indeed another story.

      By the fifth round, Nato had regained the lead, also without encountering much resistance from its rivals. In Formula E, a lot depends on tactics, and it's important who will lead in the last laps, not at the beginning of the race.

      After eight laps, the fight on the track took on a positional character, for some time the race participants waited, watched the actions of their rivals, but Buemi was the first to activate the high-power mode, and although this did not help him much, he still beat his teammate.

      Soon, Stoffel Vandoorne, another former Formula E champion, turned on Attack Mode, which helped him rise to third position. Then DeVries did the same, which allowed him to take the lead altogether.

      There were also interesting events in the middle of the peloton, for example, Jean-Eric Vergne, a DS Penske racer, did not keep his electric car on the track, drove along the turf-covered shoulder for several hundred meters, and then returned to the track outside the top ten. Then he tried to recoup and acted very harshly, jostled with rivals who blocked his way to the top ten, and after a while he was already ninth.

      When the race crossed the equator, everyone decided that it was time to move on to more active actions. Many activated Attack Mode, which caused constant exchanges of positions on the track, and it became really difficult to keep track of what was happening. But ten laps before the finish, da Costa was in the lead, Pascal Wehrlein was second, and Lucas di Grassi, now a Lola racer, rose to third position.

      At that time, yellow flags appeared on the highway and an electric safety car pulled out – this happened due to the stop of Nick DeVries' car. But the Dutchman managed to reboot the system on his Mahindra, after which he continued to move, although he ended up in the very last position.

      On the 19th lap, the restart was given, and the fight continued. Da Costa was in the lead, with his teammate just one tenth behind him, and Frijns was third, pushing di Grassi to 4th position.

      But then the unexpected happened – three cars collided in the chicane.:  Jake Hughes' Maserati, Max Gunther's DS Penske and Mitch Evans' Jaguar have almost completely blocked the track. The last two got off with only broken front fenders and went to the pits to change them.

      But that was after the safety car returned to the track, and then the race was stopped with red flags altogether. In fact, this meant that after the restart, it would turn into a sprint lasting only the last four laps. It would seem that the advantage in such a situation should have been given to those riders who have not fully used up Attack Mode and are now using this mode.

      For example, Mitch Evans, who rolled back to the last position, no longer had such an opportunity, therefore, it will be extremely difficult for him to make his way forward in an attempt to somehow correct his position. The New Zealander has had no luck at all this season.

      The top five at the restart looked like this: Antonio Felix da Costa was in the lead, followed by the cars of Wehrlein, Edoardo Mortara, Freins and di Grassi.

      The restart was given again from the spot. Da Costa retained the lead, Mortara broke through to second position, and Wehrlein rode third. But on the next lap, Mortaru was ahead of both Wehrlein and Freins. Then both activated Attack Mode, but da Costa couldn't do it anymore.

      Anyway, Pascal went ahead, followed by Robin. Nato was in third position, followed by Oliver Rowland, his partner at Nissan.

      In the last laps, Nato got ahead of Freins and tried to attack the leader, and this attempt proved successful: literally in the last meters of the race, Norman, having squeezed everything out of the car, desperately outran Wehrlein and crossed the finish line first.

      But Formula E is not such a simple sport, and there are many specific rules that often lead to complete confusion – at least if you look at what is happening on the track through the eyes of an ordinary fan.

      After the race, several cars came to the attention of the stewards, including both Nissan electric cars, and the reason was as follows: their riders had not fully used up Attack Mode, and a fine was due for this. As a result, a couple of minutes after the finish, the verdict became known: it was Nato, Rowland, Frines and two McLaran drivers, Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard, who received 10-second penalties, which means that Pascal Wehrlein became the winner of the race.

      The second place went to Lucas di Grassi, which is not only his first podium in two years, but also the very first podium for the Lola Yamaha team. Antonio Felix da Costa, who finished only seventh on the track, rose to the third step of the podium.

      And he was really upset because he thought he could have won the race without much difficulty, but all his hopes were dashed when it was stopped by red flags. His feelings can be understood, because if he had won, he could have become the leader of the personal standings, but for now he remains on the second line. And the first one is still occupied by Oliver Rowland.

      The next time Formula E drivers will sort things out on the track on the first weekend of May, and this will take place in Monaco, where the double stage, i.e. the 6th and 7th races of the season, will take place.