PORSCHE determined for a successful start to the season in Saudi Arabia

In the second night race at the season-opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, Porsche narrowly missed out on claiming its first podium result.

Race 2

At the wheel of the No. 36 Porsche 99X Electric, André Lotterer secured a strong fourth place for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. Finishing ninth in the No. 94 car, Pascal Wehrlein also earned world championship points. After an accident towards the end, the race finished behind the new Formula E safety car, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

Thanks to a good qualifying performance, André Lotterer started the race from the fifth grid spot, on the 2.495-kilometre racetrack near the capital Riyadh. In his Porsche 99X Electric, André drove with the leading pack over the entire distance, advanced to fourth place in the final spurt and thus laid the foundation for a podium finish. However, with just several minutes of racing left, a competitor’s accident saw the Porsche Taycan Turbo S safety car deployed, thwarting Lotterer’s chance of making a decisive move. The race was not restarted. Pascal Wehrlein took off from P11 and drove a solid race up to ninth place. 

Race 1

Strong qualifying – disappointing race: the start to season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team was not crowned with success. Scoring eleventh place with his No. 94 Porsche 99X Electric at the Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia, Pascal Wehrlein (GER) narrowly missed out on earning points. His teammate André Lotterer (GER) took the flag in P13 with the No. 36 car.

After a strong qualifying performance, André Lotterer took up the night race on the 2.495-kilometre racetrack near the capital Riyadh from the fourth grid spot. The fight for pole position was held for the first time in a new format with gripping one-on-one duels. At the wheel of his Porsche 99X Electric, he made it into the semifinals. In the race, where the Porsche Taycan Turbo S made its debut as the new Formula E safety car, Lotterer maintained the pace of the frontrunners over the entire distance. With a boost from his second attack mode, he progressed up the order to third place. In the final phase of the race, however, he lost contact with his rivals and fell behind. Pascal Wehrlein took up the race from P10 and managed to progress to eighth place for a while. Ultimately, he also finished outside the points rankings.