Robin Frijns took a dominant maiden victory in what was a chaotic Paris E-Prix, becoming the eighth different driver in eight races this season to stand on top of a Formula E podium.
In qualifying it was Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein who secured pole position, however, post-qualifying scrutineering revealed that the driver had been running incorrect tyre pressures, with this resulting in the deletion of his lap time.
This handed Nissan e.dams a front-row lockout, with Oliver Rowland starting on pole position while Sebastien Buemi lined up in second, with this promoting Frijns to third.
Starting behind the safety car as a result of the partially wet nature of the Circuit des Invalides following a downpour prior to the race, the 45-minute + 1 lap affair was underway, with Rowland leading the field away when the green flag waved.
As the field began to settle into a rhythm, it was Rowland out in front who would make the first mistake, locking his front tyres to go straight on at Turn 3 after only two minutes of racing, with this handing Buemi first place.
Now in second, Frijns armed and deployed his first use of Attack Mode with 37-minutes of racing remaining, getting a 25kW increase in power to close in on Buemi.
Looking up the inside of the leading Swiss racer, Frijns considered a move up the inside of Turn 9 but thought better of it, instead switching his attention on clearing Buemi on the exit of the corner on the run to Turn 10, only for the leader to cut in front, arming Attack Mode.
As a result of Buemi cutting in front, Frijns picked up front wing damage, albeit minor, which caused stress levels to rise in the cockpit of his Envision Virgin machine as the wing began to loosen lap by lap.
No sooner had Buemi used Attack Mode, the former champion began to slow with a puncture, quickly peeling into the pit lane with this handing Frijns the lead while DS Techeetah's Andre Lotterer moved into second after fighting through the field having started in sixth place.
After 15 minutes of running, the heavens opened in Paris and a sudden downpour of rain and hail soaked the 1.93km-long circuit, adding a further element of unpredictability as Alexander Sims and Sam Bird were spun as a result of contact with Jerome d'Ambrosio and Rowland, with this causing a second Full Course Yellow.
Despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions, pressure from Lotterer and two more Full Course Yellows late in the race, Frijns survived to take his maiden victory in Formula E while Envision Virgin Racing secured its second win of the 2018/19 season, becoming the first team to secure multiple victories in the series' present campaign.
For the second race in succession, Lotterer claimed second place to secure a haul of 18 points while Daniel Abt returned to the Formula E podium for the first time since the Santiago E-Prix for Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler.
Season Three champion Lucas di Grassi took fourth place in the second Audi while Maximilian Gunther, who once again filled in for Felipe Nasr at GEOX Dragon, took fifth – the team's highest finishing position of Season Five to date.
Jean-Eric Vergne finished in sixth place on home turf while Antonio Felix da Costa was seventh as the sole finishing BMW driver, with HWA Racelab's Gary Paffett, Venturi's Felipe Massa and Mahindra's Wehrlein completing the field from eighth-10th.
In the second Envision Virgin car, Sam Bird failed to finish inside the top 10 for the third race in succession, taking 11th while Rowland recovered to finish in 12th.
Jose Maria Lopez finished in 13th in the second GEOX Dragon car while a penalty for Oliver Turvey following contact with Bird dropped the Briton out of a points-paying position, taking 14th as the sole finishing NIO driver.
Buemi, Mitch Evans and d'Ambrosio rounded out the classified finishers, with the latter crashing in the dying stages of the race.
Alex Lynn, Edoardo Mortara, Sims, Stoffel Vandoorne and Tom Dillmann failed to see the chequered flag in Paris.
By winning in the City of Light, Frijns has taken the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 81 points while Lotterer sits in second place, only one point adrift of the flying Dutchman while a further 10 points separate second and third.
In the Teams' Standings, DS Techeetah continue to lead through the performances of Lotterer and Vergne, holding a six point advantage over Envision Virgin Racing.
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship will return on May 11 for the Monaco E-Prix.
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