Formula E: Lucas di Grassi won in Shanghai

      The Sunday Formula E race in Shanghai, like Saturday's, took place in rainy conditions; just like yesterday, it had to start behind the safety car, but the difference was that after several laps behind the Porsche Taycan electric car, it was decided that the race could finally start from a standstill.

      Starting from pole position for the first time in his debut season was Felipe Drugovich (Andretti), who, as we noted yesterday, is becoming more confident in his performance. Another young and promising driver, Taylor Barnard, representing DS Penske, started from the second position. However, to get ahead, it should be noted that it was not them who truly stood out today, but the Formula E veteran Lucas di Grassi, who is in his last season in the electric series.

      It was the 41-year-old Brazilian who climbed to the top of the podium in Shanghai, securing his 14th victory in a long career – and the first for the Lola Yamaha team, for which he has been racing since last year. In the challenging conditions of changing weather, as the rain gradually eased and the track surface improved, Lucas navigated better than others, including applying the right tactics with his team.

      Once again, it was confirmed that in Formula E, this can sometimes be more important than a favorable starting position, as di Grassi started from second to last, 19th, after qualifying. But in the early stages of the race, he conserved energy, using it wisely, and moreover, Lola took a risk and opted for "dry" settings despite the rain. This approach proved justified, as the track dried closer to the finish.

      It is also worth noting that another Formula E veteran, Jean-Éric Vergne, a Citroen driver and the only holder of two championship titles in the electric series, performed well. Although the Frenchman has not been shining in recent results, today he executed everything correctly. By the way, he started just one position higher than di Grassi, but both used the Attack Mode power boost wisely to move forward.

      When on lap 24, due to a stoppage on the track caused by Zane Maloney's car, di Grassi's teammate (the Lola car with number 22 suffered a rear right suspension failure), yellow flags were waved throughout the lap, Vergne and di Grassi found themselves in the top three.

      At that moment, Joel Eriksson was leading – by the way, the Swedish driver from Envision also started from a distant ninth row but employed a similar tactic to Vergne and di Grassi. However, unlike them, he used his Attack Mode a bit earlier, so he could not withstand the pressure from the two former champions. Let us remind you that Lucas won his title in 2018.

      On lap 25, the race was restarted, and a lap later, di Grassi activated Attack Mode for the last time, allowing him to catch up with Eriksson and Vergne, then in turn 6, he passed the red Citroen of the Frenchman. However, Jean-Éric managed not only to regain his position but also to take the lead, leaving Eriksson behind.

      But di Grassi was already preparing his next attack: first, he overtook Joel on the inside of turn 7 and moved into second place, and then, at the beginning of the last lap, he passed Jean-Éric as well.

      After the finish, Lucas struggled to contain his overwhelming emotions, as his previous victory dated back to 2022 when he was still racing for Venturi Racing. One of the first to congratulate him was Jean-Éric Vergne, and it was clear that he did so sincerely – for him, this was his first podium with the factory Citroen team.

      Joining them on the podium was Joel Eriksson, while Pascal Wehrlein, yesterday's race winner, finished fourth. Since Mitch Evans could not even start on Sunday due to technical problems with his Jaguar electric car, Wehrlein became the new leader in the personal standings. Now the factory Porsche driver has 141 points, while Evans occupies the second position – he has 9 points less, although before the Shanghai weekend, he was confidently leading the electric racing world championship.

      It is worth adding that Sébastien Buemi, another veteran of the electric series, finished fifth, and since his teammate made it to the podium, the Envision team is clearly satisfied with the results of the Shanghai weekend. Qualifying winner Felipe Drugovich finished today's race in 6th place.

      There are four races left in the season – two of them will take place in Tokyo on July 25 and 26, while the London championship final will be held in mid-August.