- Portuguese driver wins for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
- Norman Nato from the Andretti Formula E customer team comes third
- Fifth victory of the season for the Porsche 99X Electric
Victory and double podium for Porsche: António Félix da Costa notched up his second win of the season on day two of Formula E’s debut in Shanghai on Sunday. A fortnight ago, the works driver from Portugal won Porsche’s home race in Berlin – in both events he led the field for most of the race. Norman Nato from the Andretti Formula E customer team rounded off the strong performance of the efficient Porsche 99X Electric in the major Chinese metropolis, with the Frenchman claiming a podium for the first time this season.
He clinched third place after swapping for the lead several times with da Costa. Thanks to today’s team effort, Porsche defended its position at the top of the manufacturers’ championship. The Porsche 99X Electric has won five races so far – more than any other vehicle in the field.
Bad luck for Pascal Wehrlein, who was forced to pit during the race with a puncture after being shunted by a rival. The current runner-up in the world championship wrapped up the race in 20th and missed out on earning points. In eleventh place, Jake Dennis, the defending world champion from the Andretti Formula E customer team, also went home empty-handed.
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “Dominant package, strong performance – that’s the conclusion of our weekend in Shanghai. António brought home a sensational victory – just fantastic. I’m thrilled for him. Including Misano, it was his third on-track win this season. I’m sorry for Pascal, who didn’t collect any points today. Yesterday he scored a commendable second, today he promptly swept into the top ten after starting from P13 only to sustain a puncture after being hit by another competitor. Aside from the victory and the all-important points, we saw great teamwork in Shanghai. The way Pascal and António supported each other in Saturday’s race was exactly the spirit we encourage. Congratulations as well to our customer team Andretti Formula E and Norman Nato, who rounded off the successful Shanghai weekend for Porsche with his best result of the season so far. Thanks to his performance, we’ve pulled even further ahead at the top of the manufacturers’ standings.”
António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): “Two wins in the last three races – what an incredible team performance! After winning our home race in Berlin, victory in Shanghai is an indescribable feeling. I’m absolutely delighted and I want to thank everyone who believed in me and supported me even in tough times. My qualifying was strong today and my car was brilliant in the race from start to finish. Our strategy worked perfectly. We’ll take this momentum into the last four races of the season.”
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “The car’s balance wasn’t great in practice and qualifying. The grip wasn’t right either. After qualifying we found the problem and fixed it in time for the race – it was caused by the incident yesterday. I then succeeded in making up a few positions in the race before someone hit the rear of my car and caused a puncture. I had to call it quits after that.”
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – standings after 12 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Nick Cassidy (NZL), 167 points
2. Pascal Wehrlein (GER), 142 points
5. Jake Dennis (GBR), 113 points
7. António Félix da Costa (POR), 84 points
11. Norman Nato (FRA), 40 points
Teams’ classification
1. Jaguar TCS Racing, 299 points
2. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 226 points
5. Andretti Formula E, 153 points
Manufacturers’ Trophy
1. Porsche, 337 points
2. Jaguar, 328 points
3. Nissan, 236 points
Next up
The next outing for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and Andretti Formula E is rounds 13 and 14 at the Portland E-Prix on 29 and 30 June.
