Jake Dennis kicked off Season 12 of the Formula E World Championship with victory in a dramatic Sao Paulo E-Prix after a late red flag.
Pepe Marti, making his Formula E debut, caused the stoppage after a frightening accident in which his Kiro overturned twice after failing to slow for a full course yellow.
Defending champion Oliver Rowland was second having started 13th, with Nick Cassidy third in the first race for the Citroen team.
It was Dennis’ first FE victory since Diriyah two seasons ago, and ensured another thrilling opening of the all-electric championship.
At the start, Dennis got a blistering start, with Ticktum tucking in behind. De Vries tried to find a gap between the Kiro and Mortara, but touched the latter, sending both Mahindras off the circuit.
With both rejoining, it quickly transpired that Ticktum was also touched, giving him a left-rear puncture.
Mortara was third, with de Vries sixth, with Wehrlein taking second. Nato started well and was up to third by Lap 2, but at the start of Lap 3, Wehrlein took the initiative, with Dennis relinquishing, dropping to fourth behind Mortara and da Costa.
Rowland was already up to 10th, with Mortara in the lead on Lap 4. De Vries was seventh and under investigation for his role in the first-corner incident.
Da Costa now took the lead on Lap 5, with Vergne the first to take Attack Mode, followed by Lucas di Grassi.
Mortara was handed a five-second time penalty, not for his role in the de Vries incident, but for not following Race Director’s instructions.
Wehrlein was back in the lead with Mortara and Vergne taking da Costa, with Rowland now on his first Attack Mode.
De Vries was in on Lap 8, suffering from a puncture of his own, presumably through the initial contact with Ticktum.
With Attack Mode still in place, Rowland was now in the lead, with di Grassi having worked his way up to eighth.
Da Costa was fifth, also in Attack Mode, and was up to fourth on Lap 10, swiftly taking third, followed by team-mate Evans, who was up to fourth on his first Attack.
Wehrlein surrendered second to da Costa. The Portuguese took first from Rowland on Lap 11, with Evans making it 1-2, as the pair both ended their Attacks at the same time.
Wehrlein was in Attack for the first time, with Barnard and Buemi also. Nato took Evans for second as his ran out, and then took da Costa for the lead.
Mortara was up to second on Lap 14, as Evans dropped down to ninth, forced wide by Rowland and losing out to Dennis. Barnard was up to sixth, with Dennis making his way up to fifth on Attack Mode.
Wehrlein, with his Attack Mode ending, took the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 15. Rookie Pepe Marti was making good progress on his extra power, going into 10th.
Dennis was up to second, with Nato and Mortara also jostling for position. Wehrlein gained about a second as a result.
Mahindra’s day of promise capitulates further with Mortara punted off
The Andretti took the lead on Lap 17, with Mueller leapfrogging those in front to take the lead by the end of it.
In and around that pack, Marti went around the outside of Rowland, and a bottleneck ensued with Nato punted by his team-mate, the Frenchman suffering a puncture.
Dennis maintained the lead with 10 laps to go, with Cassidy in second. Wehrlein led Mueller in third, with da Costa now defending from Drugovich in fifth place.
Ticktum, with a time penalty hanging over him too, retired the car, ending a race that promised so much but delivered absolutely nothing due to the de Vries incident.
Rowland was the first big hitter to blink and take a second Attack Mode, and was quickly in front of Drugovich and Guenther to take seventh, and gained two more places by the end of Lap 21.
Rowland was in the lead quickly enough, with a flurry of cars taking Attack Mode. But it was quickly a disaster for anyone that did, as Mortara was out, colliding with di Grassi who left him no room.
The Safety Car was now out, as was di Grassi. Rowland, Cassidy and Dennis were first, second and third, with those around them on Attack Mode vulnerable.
This left Andretti in the strongest position, along with team-mate Drugovich, as they – third and eighth – the highest-placed drivers with one more Attack Mode left.
With over 80 percent of the race complete, the Race Director did not add more laps, and this would give Andretti more scope to target a 1-2.
With four laps to go, the Safety Car pulled in, and Dennis, Drugovich, Marti, Barnard and Evans all went into Attack Mode.
It took Dennis just one more lap to take the lead, with Drugovich moving up to sixth. But it would not be Formula E without more drama.
Marti brings out red flag with scary accident
A full course yellow was called with Evans in the wall at the exit of the penultimate corner, but it was a tame incident in comparison to what came next.
Marti, looking good for a good result, but at full pelt, the full course yellow caught him out and launched over both Mueller and da Costa.
Barrelrolling twice, the Kiro came to a stop the right way up, but was totalled, and a small fire developed on the right side of the car.
The red flag was immediately called and a wait of over 15 minutes ensued. The Safety Car was back out to commence a rolling start, with one lap of racing.
Dennis went for it and began the final lap with a good gap to Rowland, with Cassidy third. Da Costa was the biggest victim, as he was forced to rejoin last due to taking repairs after being clattered by Marti.
Dennis had a second already by the middle point of Lap 30, and unchallenged, took the chequered flag to open Season 12 in dramatic style.
Rowland amazingly took second place, with Cassidy third, and Wehrlein fourth.
Drugovich was fifth, with Mueller sixth, Guenther seventh, Eriksson eighth on his full FE debut, with team-mate Buemi ninth and de Vries 10th.
A penalty after the race for Drugovich saw him bumped out of the points, moving everyone one place forward, including Zane Maloney, giving him his first-ever point in FE.
For Dennis, it was a brilliant way to end a near two-year haitus from a victory, and remind the world that Formula E is, as always, a fantastically unpredictable championship.
READ MORE – Formula E 2025 São Paulo E-Prix – Race Results
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