The Jakarta E-Prix double header provided yet another twist in the 2023 Formula E championship, with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein re-taking the championship lead as Envision’s Nick Cassidy struggled.
Max Guenther also handed Maserati its first world championship single-seater win since Juan Manuel Fangio’s F1 German GP win in 1957.
- Wehrlein wins Round 10; Dennis and Guenther on podium
- Guenther wins Round 11; Dennis and Evans on podium
- Cassidy drops to third in the championship
Wehrlein bounces back
Wehrlein lost the championship lead to Cassidy after the Monaco E-Prix, but he bounced back to win the first Jakarta race. Starting from third on the grid, he quickly moved up to second off the line and then passed polesitter Guenther for the lead on Lap 4.
The top three drivers – Wehrlein, followed by Guenther and Andretti’s Jake Dennis – remained within striking distance of each other throughout the race. Dennis found a way past Guenther and then attempted to pass Wehrlein into Turn 1. But the Porsche driver held on to score his third win this season and reinvigorate his championship fight.
Guenther clinches Maserati’s first Formula E win
Guenther picked up back-to-back pole positions in Jakarta. However, he lost the lead to Dennis early into the second race. By using his attack mode activation later than Dennis, he was able to jump the Andretti driver and reclaim the lead.
This time around, he held on to the position and delivered Maserati their first-ever Formula E win. Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans rounded out the podium in third place.
2023 Formula E championship standings
Cassidy endured a torrid race after a costly slip while trying to pass Wehrlein on Lap 20. He dropped to the back of the field with a damaged car and could only limp to 18th place.
Wehrlein’s sixth place result in the second race was enough for him to once again take the championship lead. He’s now one point clear of Dennis, while Cassidy has dropped to third overall, six points off the lead.
No points for Mahindra
Mahindra Racing had a new driver line-up at Jakarta, with Roberto Merhi replacing Oliver Rowland. However, both Merhi and Lucas di Grassi struggled in qualifying and didn’t score any points.
Reflecting on their performance, Mahindra Racing CEO Frederic Bertrand said, “We would have hoped for more, but we now know that this season is turning into more of a learning and rebuilding year. Lucas did a great job making up multiple places during both races and Roberto settled into the team and the car more and more each session.”
“Of course, we still have a lot of work to do, and we don’t pretend that it is going to be an easy end to the season results wise, but thankfully our team has a good fighting spirit and we will not give up,” he added.
Formula E will now head to the USA for the inaugural Portland E-Prix on June 24.
2023 Jakarta E-Prix results
Suraj Viswanathan
