Shanghai ePrix - A Weekend of Extremes
Following last year’s Shanghai ePrix — where a software problem caused multiple cars to unexpectedly come to a halt during free practice one in a way that felt almost apocalyptic, this year’s narrative was driven by more tangible, but no less disruptive, forces: the weather.
Jaguar TCS Racing experienced a rollercoaster of a weekend. Saturday was a real low point. Mitch Evans, having had an 80-place grid penalty hanging over his head as a result of repairs having been done to his car, was always going to struggle. Teammate Nick Cassidy, despite a promising P4 in qualifying, fell to 21st after contact resulted in an unscheduled trip to the pits. A race with no points haul for the team, who last season had won the teams championship.
Sunday, however, brought a dramatic turnaround for the outfit. Heavy rain led to earlier wake-ups for everybody and replanning, as a severe weather forecast predicted unsafe driving conditions at the initially scheduled times. The clouds seemed to not want to cooperate with the new schedule, however, as Free Practice 3 saw again a different start time and was then red-flagged early after drivers reported severe aquaplaning and unsafe conditions.
Stoffel Vandoorne summed it up on the Maserati Instagram story: "Day 2: We're chilling. Not much on-track action so far. We've been out for a few laps in FP3, but it's really wet out there. A lot of aquaplaning."
For the longest time, it was unclear if Qualifying was even going to go ahead, as the weather still proved difficult. The start time was pushed back and the plans for qualifying were changed, as we saw no duels, only group stages. Jaguar driver Nick Cassidy was able to capitalise on his placement in Group A, taking pole position under marginally better conditions than Group B. Due to the uneven nature of the track, however, no pole position points were awarded to the Kiwi.
Cassidy made the most of his starting position in the wet conditions and delivered a flawless drive to the top step of the podium. This allowed once again for a celebration with his team to the song Love Story by Taylor Swift. A song he famously likes and has celebrated to on multiple occasions after his wins in season 10.
Saturday’s dry race belonged to the DS Penske outfit. The German driver Maximilian Günther delivered a commanding drive from pole, fending off stiff competition to lead home the team’s first-ever one-two finish, with teammate Jean-Éric Vergne slicing through the final corners to grab second.
"Amazing! A 1-2 for the team, I'm so happy", he was quoted by Formula E. "A real masterclass this race, I think the strategy, the pace, the execution, the moves - everything was nice. I knew when I put the overlap on Oli [Rowland] and had more energy, I just had to go and get my head down and try to be secure, which we managed."
Günther’s margin of victory, a little over seven seconds, underscored the fantastic execution by team and driver. "Winning with seven seconds is pretty awesome," he said in the post-race press conference. "I just realised that [Jev was in P2] the moment I crossed the line, the team told me and the cheer on the radio was massive. Incredible job from Jev to recover from the midpack to the podium."
However, Sunday Günther's fates changed: A technical issue forced the German into retirement, cutting short what could have been a second strong performance.
Taylor Barnard (NEOM McLaren) was another standout on Saturday. After spending much of the race buried in the midfield fighting, he surged forward with sharp racecraft, including a breathtaking move around Oliver Rowland towards the end of the race.
"Honestly, my main emotion is that I’m a bit confused", Barnard was quoted by Formula E. "I was quite good on energy, but I didn’t understand how the race was playing out. I was really struggling with energy on the last couple of laps. Still, super happy to get another podium."
Another notable name from the Saturday Shanghai race: Dan Ticktum.
The CUPRA KIRO Race Co. driver stormed nearly all the way from the back, from P21, to P4, making him the biggest mover of the whole field. There were even times a podium seemed feasible for the Brit. In an Instagram story, Ticktum summarised: "Probably should have had P2 today, but still, positive day in the office and a wet one tomorrow."
Sunday’s conditions were a consistent concern. Drivers were vocal about the track being undrivable after Free Practice. Ticktum commented on the English broadcast: "I think racing can't happen like this, I'm afraid. Hopefully it dries up… I'm not hopeful, if I'm brutally honest."
And even after the race eventually did happen, there were still voices saying that it should have been called off. Even though the birthday boy, Taylor Barnard, finished the race as the only Nissan-powered car in the points in position 10, he could be heard on the radio telling his engineer that "this race should never have happened."
Despite the disruption, Formula E managed to stage an eventful and decisive race.
As we wave the eventful Shanghai ePrix 2025 goodbye, after it delivered one of the most dramatic weekends of the season, both in terms of weather and wheel-to-wheel action, all eyes now turn to Jakarta in three weeks.
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