Tag Heuer Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa secured his second victory of the season in Round 12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, leading Neom McLaren’s podium debutant Jake Hughes and Andretti’s Norman Nato. They finished second and third, respectively. Rounding off the top five were Jaguar TCS drivers Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans, respectively.
In Round 12, polesitter Hughes had his eyes on more than a maiden podium for the first half of the encounter. But a deft move by da Costa for the lead on Nato on Lap 16 and enough energy reserve ensured a trouble-free run for the Portuguese driver to the end of the 28-lap race. Despite his best efforts in the final few laps, the Brit was unable to overtake da Costa and had to settle for second place. Frenchman Nato, though he led the race early on, had to settle for the final step on the podium.
Despite a late-race contact that dislodged his front wing, Cassidy, along with his teammate Evans, managed to run a strategically-sound race. The fourth and fifth place finishes in Round 12, along with their top-three finish in the preceding Round 11 (Evans won the race and Cassidy secured third place) earned the team valuable championship points over the weekend and even allowed Cassidy to preserve his championship lead. Cassidy’s key championship rival, Pascal Wehrlein, fell short of luck in the second race of the doubleheader as a pit stop to replace a punctured tyre cost him dearly, resulting in a 20th-place finish and no points. He separated the Jaguar drivers with P2 in Round 11.
The only Indian on the grid, Jehan Daruvala, continued with a lacklustre performance, with the Maserati MSG driver finishing 17th overall in Round 12.
At the end of the Shanghai doubleheader (Rounds 11 and 12), Cassidy continues to be on top of the leaderboard, with 167 points. Behind him are Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein (142 points) and Jaguar’s Evans (132 points).