Jean-Éric Vergne Wins Hyderabad Thriller as Jaguar Suffer Complete Nightmare

Jean-Éric Vergne delivered one of the greatest defensive displays of his motorsport career, to claim his first victory of the Gen3 era at the inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix, which played host to the fourth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Evans Blinks First

As the inaugural Formula E race in India got underway, it was polesitter Mitch Evans who made the perfect start, with all of the drivers having remarkably made it through the opening corners without any collisions. Nick Cassidy was the first of the front drivers to pull off a great move towards the end of the opening lap, as the New Zealander dived down the inside of Sam Bird at Turn Three to move up to sixth.

For the top five it was as they were, whilst behind, Edoardo Mortara hit Cassidy at Turn Three, with the Swiss driver having failed to slow his car down in time for the corner. Mortara’s front-wing was broken as a result, dropping him to virtually the foot of the field after having to pit for a change. Interestingly, the field remained somewhat close together behind Evans, with the top twelve having all been within close proximity of one another.

As the race hit the sixth lap, neither Jake Dennis nor Pascal Wehrlein had made much progress towards the front, suggesting that it was going to be a bad day in regard to extending their lead at the top of the championship. At the front and the action suddenly went up a notch, as Evans dropped to fourth whilst activating his first Attack Mode, whilst at the same time Sébastian Buemi pulled off a great move on Vergne for what became the race lead. Evans quickly got back into third, though, as he pushed to make the most of his Attack Mode.

Bird Error Causes Jaguar Nightmare

On Lap Nine, Vergne moved back into the lead as Buemi opted to activate his first Attack Mode, which he managed to do whilst remaining ahead of Evans. It was yet more misery for Evans a lap later, as Vergne also managed to activate his first Attack Mode and remain ahead of initial race leader Evans, further suggesting that blinking first isn’t the correct strategy this season. Vergne’s decision to activate his first Attack Mode allowed Buemi to retake the lead; however, he immediately applied the pressure on the Swiss driver.

It was truly a frenetic start to the race in Hyderabad, as at the front, Buemi managed to remain in the race lead for the entirety of Vergne’s opening Attack Mode. At the back of the pack and Kelvin van der Linde‘s truly miserable weekend ended in frustrating fashion, with the South African having pulled into the pits to retire from the race.

Back at the front, though, and there was suddenly an absolutely huge moment on Lap Thirteen, as Bird took out three cars at Turn Three, including, his Jaguar TCS Racing team-mate! The Formula E veteran simply failed to slow his car down, resulting in him ploughing straight into a helpless Sacha Fenestraz, Maximilian Günther and, of course, Evans. The Brit immediately got onto the radio to apologise, before entering the pits to retire from the race.

It marked Jaguar’s worst nightmare, at what is effectively a home race for the side, with their title partner being based in India. To no surprise, all the drivers involved dropped to the back, whilst also elevating Cassidy up to third and remarkably Dennis up to fifth place. Incredibly, no Safety Car was needed for any damage, meaning the racing was able to resume, something Vergne took full advantage of on Lap Fifteen, as he regained the race lead at Turn Three with an excellent move.

Dennis Charges Whilst Cassidy Applies The Pressure

Whilst Vergne was completing the move, Buemi quickly decided to activate his second Attack Mode, which elevated his team-mate to second and astonishingly Dennis to third, in what was quickly becoming a bonkers E-Prix. Cassidy’s pace was electric (excuse the pun), with the Envision Racing driver having opted to take his second Attack Mode a lap later, which he managed to do whilst remaining ahead of his team-mate.

With all the battling taking place behind Vergne, the double Formula E Champion was able to build a lead of just over a second, giving him a bit of a breather. Dennis became the next runner in the front group to take his second Attack Mode which dropped him behind Buemi and into fourth, whilst his German title rival was starting to make some progress. Wehrlein had made it up to ninth by Lap Twenty, with the Drivers’ Championship leader having began to use his usual tactic of using his energy management advantage to make progress.

Back at the front and Cassidy had closed right in on Vergne by Lap Twenty-One, with the New Zealander having also had two-percent more energy that the French driver, giving him a key advantage. On Lap Twenty-Three, Cassidy found himself as close as possible behind Vergne, thanks to a Safety Car having been released following a crash for rookie sensation Jake Hughes at Turn Four. The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver crashed into the barrier on the inside of Turn Four, as a result of his mirror having bizarrely gotten stuck behind his steering wheel.

Heartbreak for Dennis

The race resumed on Lap Twenty-Six with Vergne having his mirrors full of Envision Racing’s livery, as Cassidy and Buemi ran second and third behind the DS Penske driver. Just behind the leading trio and it was heartbreak for Dennis, who was hit heavily by René Rast, ripping his rear-fins off in the process. Both drivers immediately entered the pits due to severe damage, with Rast’s front-wing having been completely destroyed.

It was a breathtaking race, with Oliver Rowland having suddenly found himself in fourth at Mahindra Racing‘s home race; however, he did have a five-second time penalty looming over him. At the front and Vergne was defending for his life, with the Frenchman having had three-percent less energy than Cassidy in second, meaning the veteran was under immense pressure. Vergne’s pace clearly wasn’t strong, with a huge train of cars having been visible behind him.

Delight For Vergne But Agony For Buemi

As Vergne started the penultimate lap he was putting on a complete defensive masterclass, with Cassidy having had four-percent more energy. In a flash, the final lap wa suddenly upon the remaining drivers, as Vergne’s battery suddenly hit one-percent, whilst Cassidy still had four! The New Zealander couldn’t find anyway past the French driver, though, with Vergne having held on to claim his first win of the season in emphatic fashion. Cassidy crossed the line in a well-deserved second, whilst his team-mate crossed the line in fourth.

Remarkably, António Félix da Costa claimed fourth with Wehrlein in fifth, with the German having inherited several places due to some of the top six having been awarded a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. It was the result that DS Penske had been searching for so desperately, with the Frenchman having finally gotten his and the team’s season properly underway.

Whilst nobody could argue with the top two, there was late drama after the chequered flag had flown for Buemi. The Swiss driver was awarded a dramatic seventeen-second penalty for using too much power at certain stages of the race, meaning Da Costa was promoted to the podium, his first for Porsche. It also meant Wehrlein was elevated to fourth place, marking an excellent recovery from so far down the grid. The penalty dropped Buemi from third, to fifteenth, bringing an end to his consecutive points scoring run.

After the end of a dramatic E-Prix, Wehrlein extended his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship to eighteen points over Dennis, whilst Vergne remarkably jumped from outside the top ten to third. In the Constructors’ Championship and TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team also extended their lead to twenty-three points, following Avalanche Andretti Formula E‘s agony. Whilst he retired from the race, Evans did claim three points for pole position, whilst Norman Nato gained an additional point for claiming the fastest lap of the race.

With so much action and drama having unfolded, the all-electric series will likely need the upcoming two-week break to recover from all the madness, before the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix.

Hyderabad E-Prix Round 5: Race Full Results

POS.	NO.	DRIVER.	NAT.	TEAM.	TIME/GAP.
1	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	FRA	DS Penske	46:01.099
2	37	Nick Cassidy	NZL	Envision Racing	+0.400
3	13	António Félix da Costa	POR	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	+1.859
4	94	Pascal Wehrlein	GER	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	+2.855
5	3	Sérgio Sette Câmara	BRZ	NIO 333 Racing	+3.523
6	8	Oliver Rowland	GBR	Mahindra Racing	+7.138
7	17	Norman Nato	FRA	Nissan Formula E Team	+7.318
8	1	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	DS Penske	+7.564
9	36	André Lotterer	GER	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	+8.703
10	48	Edoardo Mortara	CHE	Maserati MSG Racing	+9.073
11	51	Nico Mueller	CHE	ABT CUPRA Formula E Team	+10.622
12	23	Sacha Fenestraz	FRA	Nissan Formula E Team	+11.635
13	7	Maximilian Günther	GER	Maserati MSG Racing	+15.446
14	11	Lucas di Grassi	BRZ	Mahindra Racing	+15.999
15	16	Sébastian Buemi	CHE	Envision Racing	+17.735
16	27	Jake Dennis	GBR	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	+1:10.562
17	58	René Rast	GER	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	DNF
18	5	Jake Hughes	GBR	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	DNF
19	10	Sam Bird	GBR	Jaguar TCS Racing	DNF
20	33	Dan Ticktum	GBR	NIO 333 Racing	DNF
21	9	Mitch Evans	NZL	Jaguar TCS Racing	DNF
22	4	Kelvin van der Linde	ZAF	ABT CUPRA Formula E Team	DNF