Stoffel Vandoorne took his first Formula E victory in three years after a strategy gamble paid-off amid wet conditions in Race 1 of the Tokyo E-Prix double-header.
The Belgian opted to take his Pit Boost at the earliest opportunity, just before a red flag briefly halted proceedings, handing him a huge advantage upon the restart.
Oliver Rowland increased his title lead with second place, holding off a charging Taylor Barnard to take yet another podium.
For Vandoorne, it was the first time he would stand on the top step of the podium since Monaco in his title-winning Season 8 campaign, giving the Maserati MSG Racing team a much-needed boost.
Rowland claims the ascendancy before red flag
The first four laps were run under the Safety Car, before race control ordered a standing start to commence race on Lap 5
At lights out, Rowland kept his leads as Barnard scythed his way past Norman Nato for third, as many struggled for grip. Sebastien Buemi, Antonio Felix da Costa and Mitch Evans opted for Attack Mode immediately.
Nyck De Vries, Robin Frijns, Jean-Eric Vergne, Max Guenther and Vandoorne all followed a lap later, with Buemi making his way up to third. Nato and Dan Ticktum took Attack Mode on Lap 7, as Sebastien Buemi took Mortara for second.
Barnard was next to take Attack Mode, as Mortara re-took second off Buemi with his extra power now out. Meanwhile, Rowland was now over three seconds ahead.
At the end of Lap 9, Barnard went wheel-to-wheel with de Vries, and superbly slid into fourth on the outside at Turn 16.
Vandoorne gambled with an early Pit Boost, with perhaps half a mind on a potential Safety Car as the slippery surface could still prove chaotic.
The red was red flagged as Guenther’s DS came to a stop, the car deemed unsafe – a ‘red car’ – for the German to exit. The status was reverted back to green but race control had already made its decision.
Rowland retains lead at restart
After a 20-minute delay, the Safety Car led the field back out of the pit lane, and under a standing start, Rowland immediately led again with Mortara third.
Jake Dennis decided to use his Pit Boost at the end of the second formation lap, but was placed under investigation for entering the pits when it was closed, his shrewd move appearing to backfire.
Mitch Evans pitted next, as Rowland took his first Attack Mode on Lap 18, already pulling out a near four-second gap to Mortara, as Frijns moved to fourth after taking his second attack.
Da Costa, Ticktum and Sam Bird all took extra energy as Evans went backside-first into the wall at the top of the hill after slight contact with de Vries, but was able to continue.
Dennis’ gamble proved to be an ultimate failure, being given the black flag for the pitlane infringement.
By Lap 21, Rowland had a 4.7 second lead, and duly took his Pit Boost on Lap 24, along with second-placed Mortara, handing the lead to Buemi.
Evans’ damage from the de Vries collision was enough to see him box the car, ending his race.
Vandoorne was sixth on the road but with others yet to pit ahead of him, was the net leader and by quite some margin, the Belgian praying for no more red flags or Safety Cars.
On Lap 25, Ticktum, by default, was leader, but pitted, followed by Nico Mueller, with Pascal Wehrlein released into the lead until his Pit Boost two laps later.
Vandoorne had a heart-in-mouth moment, going deep into Turn 1, and sliding backwards towards the wall on the exit before Turn 1, nudging it as he did so.
The Maserati seemed to get away with it, but a big warning and let-off for the race leader, allowing Rowland to somewhat eat into his lead.
Vandoorne took his second Attack Mode on Lap 29, with Rowland around 17 seconds behind. Mortara was unable to hold position, losing third to Barnard as Buemi and Ticktum lurked not too far behind the Mahindra.
The Swiss was lapping faster however, and had another Attack Mode in reserve, which he took on Lap 31.
Meanwhile, further ahead, Barnard began to hound Rowland, as the charging Mortara had a front row seat to any potential action, but the Nissan’s extra energy would see him pull away.
Mortara seemed to be lacking the extra 350kw in his Attack Mode, as Buemi went past him for fourth, and Ticktum swiftly catching him too.
Vandoorne sees gamble pay off
Buemi, who took victory in Monaco two weeks ago in the rain, was almost literally sailing in similar weather again, catching Barnard as the laps ticked away, with Vandoorne 18.3 seconds still in the lead.
Further back, Vergne and Frijns were looking racey, the Frenchman hammering on the Envision’s door, eventually taking ninth off him on the outside into the chicane, a brave and quite brilliant move.
Into the final lap, Barnard harried Rowland, who was now on his final percent of energy, but for Vandoorne, it was no bother, as he saw his early Pit Boost gamble pay off to take victory by eight seconds.
Rowland just held off Barnard as the British pair completed the podium, as Buemi continued his rich vein of form in fourth, with Ticktum fifth and Mortara managing to hold on to sixth after his Attack Mode issues.
Da Costa was seventh, with de Vries eighth, Vergne ninth and Frijns completing the top 10.
