Formula E: Werhlein secures back-to-back victories in Diriyah

Porsche’s Pascal Werhlein claimed two wins from two in the Diriyah E-Prix to announce himself as an early Championship favourite.

The German has hit the ground running with TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team this year, having finished second in the opening round in Mexico behind Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis.

Under the lights in Saudi, however, Werhlein had his work cut out from the start as he lined up ninth on the grid. Envision’s Seb Buemi secured pole – his first for his new team – ahead of NEOM McLaren Formula E Team’s Jake Hughes.

As the race got underway, Werhlein wasted no time in cutting through the grid and was quicky carving his way through the point scoring positions. Through the use of his Attack Mode’s, the German eventually navigated his way through to the top of the order, beating off stiff competition from Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis.

Both Dennis and Werhlein have looked strong in all of the races so far this season, with Dennis claiming the first win of the Gen3 era in the opening round in Mexico, ahead of Werhlein.

Any chance of a yo-yoing of positions from race to race were shut down by Werhlein on Saturday, however, as the German qualified in fifth to give himself a great chance of repeating his magic from the day before.

And sure enough, Werhlein – looking unbeatable with the 99X Electric Gen3 Formula E car – powered his way to the top of the grid, moving aside polesitter Jake Hughes, who enjoyed an impressive double-header in his rookie season.

Once again, it was Dennis who found himself trailing behind the Porsche, but the Brit will be delighted with two consecutive podium finishes. A good weekend for McLaren was capped by a podium of their own, with Rene Rast holiding to his third place in qualifying to secure a decent points haul.

The results following the weekend in Diriyah sees Werhlein at the top of the Drivers’ Standings on 68 points, with Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis just behind but within touching distance on 62 points. At this early stage of the season, it appears to be a two-horse race between Werhlein and Dennis, with Evision’s Seb Buemi in third place, over thirty points behind the leading pair.

Commenting on his first victory of the weekend, Werhlein said: “I’m so proud of these guys; incredible. It was unbelievable what a car I had underneath me today – to allow me to fight from P9 to P1.

“The race was just amazing. I knew that we had a good race car, but qualifying didn’t go by plan with ninth. I knew that we could make up some positions but I could never imagine that we would win the race. So strategy wise, it was perfect. The car felt amazing.”

“We always wanted to achieve those results,” Wehrlein said after his second victory of the weekend. “We had some highlights in the past, but this year we wanted to take a big step forward.

“I know that everyone in the team is working so hard, especially in the last couple of months. We have high ambitions, we want to win, we want to win the championship – and I know how much effort is going into this project.

“I’m quite often in Weissach pushing with everyone – especially also after the Valencia test, where we were not looking that strong. So, I know how many hours everyone has put in. I’m just so thankful to everyone.”