After an incredible Race 1 during the Jeddah E-Prix, Maximilian Günther comes out on top, ahead of Oliver Rowland and Taylor Barnard.
With the lights about to go green in Jeddah, the drivers prepared for Race 1, after an exciting Qualifying session, that resulted in an all-German front row.
Maximilian Günther secured his first pole position with DS Penske after an impressive performance throughout the session. The qualifying format saw rookie Taylor Barnard leading Group A, while Oliver Rowland topped Group B, with Championship leader António Félix da Costa failing to progress. In the Duels stage, Günther defeated Nyck de Vries before advancing past rookie sensation Barnard in the semi-finals. The all-German final saw Günther outpace reigning World Champion Pascal Wehrlein by nearly three-tenths of a second, setting up an intriguing race ahead as he looked to convert his pole position into victory.
Lights out in Jeddah
The lights went out, and Maximilian Günter got on with a clean start, retaining his lead. Oliver Rowland looked for a gap to slip past Pascal Wehrlein. Unfortunately, for Sam Bird, he spun backwards and found himself below the original order.
The Yellow Flag was brought out, with Wehrlein reporting a puncture at the rear of his car, and made his way into the pits. Jaguar TCS Racing driver, Mitch Evans, had visible damage to the front of his car, but carried on with smoke coming out of the car. It was an unideal start for the Kiwi driver, who ran into the back of Wehrlein, only to hit the rear of Nyck De Vries, causing the damage to his car.
Nightmare start for Evans 😫
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 14, 2025
He collides with Pascal Wehrlein giving the Porsche driver a puncture. #JeddahEPrix pic.twitter.com/MHp3zfjR77
Andretti’s Nico Müller was also unlucky and had to retire the car, after catapulting into the back of António Félix da Costa.
Meanwhile, Günther was still in the lead, maintaining a lead of over a second from Rowland. Taylor Barnard inherited third from Wehrlein, with De Vries and Jake Hughes right on his tail. Despite sustaining damage to his rear wing, Da Costa was still quick.
Evans’ race was turning from bad to worse as he went to pit to repair the front of his car. When he was released, he was already a lap down, and requested to retire the car. Jaguar told him to stay out, to gather data for tomorrow’s race.
First Safety Car out
The Safety Car was deployed to clear debris off the track and bunched the field up. Once the Safety Car was in, Günther got the pack up and running again. The DS Penske driver was instructed to extend his lead to Rowland, if possible.
As Günther sped up, Rowland matched him, hot on his tails. Günther moved over and Rowland was the new race leader.
The remaining Andretti driver, Jake Denis, was the first driver to go for Attack Mode. Meanwhile, the new Pit Boost was finally opened. Jake Hughes was the first to enter the pits to get a jolt of extra energy. Barnard and Da Costa followed suit. With the race leaders about to come in for their Pit Boost, Hughes and Barnard have a chance to capitalise the chance.
Barnard was up on Günther and bravely dove into the inside of De Vries. Rowland maintained the lead, whilst being ahead of Hughes and Barnard. However, Hughes’ race took a turn for the worst, when he radioed saying he would not be able to maintain his pace.
De Vries made use of strategy and was able to exit ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne (JEV), after a pit stop, working his way up to fourth.
Günther and De Vries charging forward
Günther was now down in seventh, and needed to find a way to charge forward. De Vries was making good use of Attack Mode, slipping into second place. With extra power, Günther began to make moves, fighting his way past De Vries and into a podium position. Rowland was in a three-second lead.
The victory might seem far for the German driver, but second place was in the cards.
Although he still had a jolt of Attack Mode left, Rowland found himself under investigation over a pit lane infringement.
Maximilian Günther wins the first race in Jeddah
The final stages of the race were kicking in, and the intensity did not die down. It was Günther versus Rowland, the German driver looking for any chance to make a move. Behind the battle for first was Barnard maintaining third.
It was the last lap and Günther and Barnard were in the fight to take the lead from Rowland. The Nissan driver tried to make the lead as wide as possible, but he lacked the energy. Maximilian Günther went around the outside and made an incredible lunge for the lead and crossed the finish line in first! Oliver Rowland finished in second, followed by Taylor Barnard. Barnard was also voted Driver of the Day, after bringing home his second Formula E podium of the season. Nyck De Vries and Jake Hughes round out the top 5.
LAST CORNER DIVE FOR THE WIN 🤩 😱
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 14, 2025
What race debut we have had in Jeddah! #JeddahEPrix pic.twitter.com/lrnOafmOVK
Oliver Rowland may have missed out on the win, but his second-place finish moved him on top of the Championship leaderboard.
It was a brilliant race in Jeddah for Günther, who broke the 17-race streak of drivers winning from pole. A streak that started with DS Penske and JEV, in Diriyah.
Feature Image Credit: FIA Formula E | Joe Portlock
