Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday 31 January 2022 – Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is officially underway after two rounds of fantastic racing at the Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia.
The double header raised the curtain on the new campaign which sees 22 drivers from 11 teams battle it out across 16 rounds for the right to be named world champion.
The first two rounds of races took place on Friday and Saturday with Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries and ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara taking opening weekend race wins.
De Vries took the chequered flag on Friday night after a superb race which saw teammate Stoffel Vandoorne and Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis also on the podium.
Nyck de Vries had said: “The result might be the same, but the way we achieved it felt very different – obviously starting with [Friday] tapping the wall in lap one didn’t help. It put myself and the team on the backfoot, then you have to rebuild your confidence and the conditions were very slippery, very different to last year. There is always a lot of track evolution, so you have to build it up in FP2 and then straight into qualy. So I was actually very happy with what we achieved in qualifying, and then I knew we had a strong race car to capitalise on our qualifying position. We had great pace, the team did a great job and I was a bit fortunate with Stoff missing his ATTACK MODE, but at the end of the day it was faultless from our garage and we managed to win the first race. I am very pleased with the way we managed to win the race and start the season strong.”
With the added knowledge of race one under the belt, it was Mortara who shone under the lights on Saturday night. He took the race win ahead of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns and teammate Lucas di Grassi who finished in second and third place respectively.
After the second race concluded, Edoardo Mortara had said: “What a day – especially after the mistake that I made in qualification [on Friday]. I am very glad to bring this win for the team. A one-three finish is amazing.
“It was a very strategic race, very difficult for the nerves because I didn’t have a lot of energy but neither did my colleagues around me. They were playing strategy, trying to attack me and make me consume, so I tried to keep my head cool and it worked.”
Those two rounds of racing mean the early Championship leader is Edoardo Mortara on 33 points, ahead of Nyck de Vries on 29 points, with Stoffel Vandoorne following close behind on 28 points. ROKiT Venturi Racing heads the Teams’ running over Mercedes-EQ with Avalanche Andretti third.
This is the fourth season Formula E has been held in Saudi Arabia, after a 10-year deal was signed to host races in the Kingdom – the first of which being in 2018.
Fans were once again treated to the thrilling spectacle of these rounds being the only ones held under lights on the Formula E calendar, as Diriyah was lit up by LEDs.
This combined with the races being hosted at a UNESCO World Heritage Site make for a unique racing experience set in one of the world’s most stunning sporting locations.
Along with the excitement on the track, there was plenty of interest off it too – with the likes of Champions League winning footballer Didier Drogba and supermodel Adriana Lima in attendance at one of Saudi Arabia’s must-see sporting events of the year.
Whilst in the Kingdom, Formula E also held a number of community events including a special track and a garage tour for guests from the The Society of Autism Families (SAF) as part of the organisations ongoing work to builds positive lasting legacies in host cities through local engagement and partnerships with charities, as part of their ongoing work aid local communities and drive sustainability.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship now moves to Mexico City for Round Three to be held on Saturday February 12.
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