Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Antonio Felix Da Costa took his second victory of 2024, and victory on successive weekends, ahead of Jake Hughes, who took his maiden Formula E podium finish, while Norman Nato took third for Andretti, his first podium of the season too.
Da Costa played his cards to perfection, taking his two attack modes later than the drivers around him, before taking the race lead and never relinquishing it, as he managed the race to perfection to claim victory around the Shanghai International Circuit.
Hughes and Nato took valuable points to go with their podium finishes, both confidence boosting results for the drivers, who were experiencing tough seasons for their teams.
Cassidy finished fourth, extending his championship lead to 25 points, the equivalent of a race victory, as his closest rival Pascal Wehrlein failed to score, while Mitch Evans closed in on the duo with yet another strong points score.
The two DS Penske drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne finished sixth and seventh respectively, claiming valuable points to keep their team on a strong footing in the constructors.
Maximilian Gunther finished eighth for Maserati MSG Racing, while Robin Frijns grabbed two points for defending champions Envision Racing, finishing ninth, while Oliver Rowland took home the final point for Nissan in tenth.
A relatively straightforward race compared to the events of round 11, and here's how it all unfolded, as Formula E took to the road course at Shanghai once again.
AS IT UNFOLDED
Another exciting qualifying session in Shanghai ensued on Sunday, for round 12, once again decided by a nail-biting margin, of 0.001 seconds, as Jake Hughes narrowly beat Stoffel Vandoorne to pole, for NEOM McLaren.
With big hitters Cassidy, Rowland, Evans, and the others further down the grid, the front duo would be looking to capitalise and grab a victory on Sunday, despite the track record of pole sitters in 2024. Who would triumph on Sunday?
As the five lights went out, the front two managed to get off the line well, however, Da Costa had the best start in third, almost challenging for the lead. Vandoorne, however, managed to take the race lead, while Norman Nato made up a place on Nyck de Vries, who had a stellar qualifying, and started fourth on the grid.
The likes of Hughes, Nato, and de Vries pulled in for their first dose of attack mode on lap three, with six minutes available to all the drivers, once again. However, with one fewer lap compared to round 11, drivers would be looking to push harder, whilst managing their energy.
Antonio Felix Da Costa was one driver to not take attack mode until lap eight, when he took his first attack mode for two minutes, slotting into third. The Portuguese driver had played his cards right, as he took the lead shortly after, before taking his second dose of attack mode for four minutes, rejoining in second, behind Nato on lap 11.
Pascal Wehrlein's day went from bad to worse, the German coming into the pits as he complained of a rear-left tyre puncture. He would rejoin last, and would require a safety car and a miraculous recovery drive to limit the damage to championship rival Cassidy ahead, the Kiwi up in fifth.
Halfway into the race, Nato still led for Andretti, a rarity for a driver to lead a significant portion of the race in one go, ahead of Da Costa and Vandoorne, the former having utilised his attack mode, while the latter was attempting to fend off pole-sitter Hughes.
The lead would change hands once again, as Da Costa would take the race lead on lap 16, as Evans and Cassidy in the Jaguar cars attempted to make their way further up, with Cassidy in fourth and Evans in sixth, managing their races, and saving energy for the final stages of the race.
de Vries, who was running well in the points for Mahindra, suddenly dropped out from the points, with Sam Bird too dropping to 20th on the road, the duo having an incident in the final sector on lap 17, leaving the NEOM McLaren spun around, while de Vries was able to continue, rejoining down in 14th.
The Briton would soon return to the pits, and retire from the race, whilst ABT Cupra's Lucas Di Grassi too retreated to the pits at the same time, rejoining in 19th.
The 'go' moment was on lap 21, with drivers being free to push on until the chequered flag without fear of running out of energy. Da Costa led from Hughes and Nato, as the Jaguar duo of Cassidy and Evans loomed large in the trio's mirrors, waiting to make a move.
Hughes and Nato were on for their first podiums this season, the first for the former in all of Formula E too. With no added laps, it would be three tours for the duo to see out, in order to experience a confidence-boosting podium finish for either driver.
Into the penultimate lap, the race victory battle appeared to be between Da Costa and Hughes, while Cassidy pressured Nato for yet another podium finish, remaining up on energy compared to the Andretti ahead.
The race petered into a straightforward conclusion on the final lap, with drivers looking to stabilise their finishing positions. Despite Hughes looming large, and attempting to stage a last-lap move, it didn't materialise, and Da Costa controlled the race to take his second victory of the season, and became the victor for a second successive weekend.
It would be a strong comeback from the Porsche driver, who was later stripped of his points after cutting the left hander of turn 11 during the race, and gaining an advantage.
Cassidy scored the highest among the championship quintet, as Evans made his way up to third in the standings with another strong race, while Jaguar accumulated a steady tally to maintain their lead in the teams standings, despite Porsche taking victory.
Your points scorers from round 12 at Shanghai are as follows:
Antonio Felix Da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche)
Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren) - +0.612s
Norman Nato (Andretti Formula E Team) - +1.122s
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) - +2.215s
Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) - +3.167s
Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) - +3.861s
Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) - +4.374s
Maximilian Gunther (Maserati MSG Racing) - +5.077s
Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) - +7.846s
Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) - +8.840s
The championship standings after the Shanghai double header are as follows:
Drivers' standings:
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) - 167 points
Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) - 142 points
Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) - 132 points
Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) - 131 points
Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E Team) - 113 points
Constructors' standings:
Jaguar TCS Racing - 299 points
TAG Heuer Porsche - 236 points
Nissan Formula E Team - 157 points
DS Penske - 154 points
Andretti Formula E Team - 153 points
That's it from an exciting Shanghai weekend, then! The championship fight has continued to swing towards the likes of Cassidy and Jaguar TCS Racing, despite Da Costa's victory today.
With only two racing weekends left, and four races to go, will anyone be able to close down Cassidy's points haul? Only time will be able to tell. Do tune in for the racing action in one month's time, as Formula E heads stateside to Portland, for the Portland E Prix double header.
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