Lucas di Grassi wins Shanghai ePrix after tactical masterclass, while Pascal Wehrlein gains championship lead after Mitch Evans fails to start

Lucas di Grassi (Lola Yamaha ABT) gambled on dry tyre pressures in a damp start to snatch victory in the Shanghai ePrix.

The veteran driver is retiring at the end of this season and used all his experience in deciding on dry tyre pressures and profited as the track dried in the latter stages.

There was drama before the start in Shanghai as championship leader Mitch Evans failed to start due to a technical issue with his car.

That opened the door for championship rival Pascal Wehrlein to lead with Porsche team-mate Nico Muller.

However, when the Shanghai course dried those with dry tyre pressures charged from the back of the grid through to the front.

Rookie Joel Eriksson (Envision Racing) had a clear race lead into the final five laps, before a late yellow flag scuppered his chances.

Di Grassi had a power boost remaining for the final laps and passed Eriksson with Jean-Eric Vergne (Citroen Racing)

In his final season of racing, 41-year-old Di Grassi celebrated his 14 victory in Formula E and first since 2021.

 Vergne had also gambled on dry tyre pressures and celebrated second and Eriksson third.

 A fourth placed finish for Wehrlein moves the Porsche driver to the top of the championship standings after 13 rounds.

Rookie Joel Erikkson felt the late full course yellow impacted on his charge for victory.

He said: ”I had to fight hard for that one, coming from the back of the grid.

”I came a little bit short in the end. I felt like I had it nicely under control, just before the full course yellow.

”I think we could have kept it until the line, if it would have been a green race to the end.

”We wanted a bit more, but super happy with the team to deliver a podium for them in probably the most important race of the year for them here in Shanghai.”

Jean-Eric Vergne says that the risk he took with the dry pressures worked, despite calls from his garage to change.

He said: ”I’m very happy to be frustrated with P2.

”Considering the season, I’m having to podium here today is fantastic, especially considering where we started, both Lucas (Gi Grassi) and I.

”We were talking on the grid and said let's try the dry pressure.

”I couldn’t even follow the safety car at the beginning. I got asked to pit to put the wet pressure in, but I fought back.

”Luckily, we did, and I'm very happy for the team. It's been a rough season, so having a podium is nice.”

 

Lucas Di Grassi has spoken about the risk he took with the dry tire pressures which took him to victory at the Shanghai ePrix.

He said: ”It feels amazing.

”I won the first race here in China, nothing better than winning the last. We took the right risk today.

”But in my position, where we were, we had to take those risks. I'm so glad we managed to make it.

”It was a great battle and I'm so happy that we pulled it off. We've been working flat out, not always easy, but moments like this is what we do all of this for.”

It’s a tactical masterclass as Di Grassi wins. It's an emotional moment for the veteran driver who gambled on dry tyres and worked with Vergne to move through the pack.

Eriksson looks short of energy as he shuffles back to third. Vergen comes through but Di Grassi then snatches the lead from him.

It’s a last lap showdown.

All eyes are on Di Grassi who has around six seconds to gain on Erickson in the final three laps of this race.

Di Grassi has four minutes of attack mode to use.

Eriksson will hope that the yellow flag remains out for longer. Di Grassi has attack mode left to deploy but might run out of laps to do so.

Erikson has a good lead as the race goes back to green flags.

It’s a huge moment in the race as Di Grassi and Vergne come through and pass Wehrlein. However, the yellow flag comes out as Maloney is stricken on the home straight.

Vergne and Wehrlein are both seeing their attack mode disappear.

The Envision Racing pair have some serious pace on the drying track. Eriksson makes it look easy as he passes Wehrlein and moves into the lead.

Erickson also has more energy then his rivals and team-mate Buemi in third.

Muller has taken his final minutes of attack mode and has moved back to try and block Buemi and Erickson.

However, he is unable to defend resulting in Eriksson and Buemi coming through.

Despite both of their drivers starting towards the back of the grid Envision Racing have some good race pace. Buemi has attack mode in third and Eriksson is just behind. They are after Muller who also takes two minutes of attack mode.

Muller currently sits nicely behind team-mate Wehrlein as the pair have a 1.2-second lead over De Costa chasing in third.

However, Muller has just two minutes of attack mode left compared to Wehlein’s four minutes.

Da Costa clipped the side of Rowland at turn eight after taking attack mode. The Jaguar driver sits in seventh but has issues with his front wing which could be deemed unsafe.

Buemi has the inside line and sees his racing room cut off by Mortara pushing his rival towards the wall. Mortara might hear about that incident again through the stewards.

The Jaguar Team have released a statement about Mitch Evans’ absence from the second Shanghai race.

The team says that it’s a DCD issue/inverter issue.

Muller has moved into second with his first attack mode and looks to close down on team-mate Wehrlein at the front. Muller is unsure what the team tactics are as they look to work in unison.

Mortara, Marti and Muller are inside the top five positions and are exchanging blows on the damp course. However, Wehrlein has the lead and the most attack mode remaining as he looks to drive away.

Drugovich held the front position away from the start. However, Barnard has attack mode so will have extra grip and power for these opening laps.