Third win in a row and fourth in five races for Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa – team-mate Pascal Wehrlein without a front wing in P4
In the battle for the world title in the 2024 Formula E season, no preliminary decision was made on Sunday. Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) came out on top in the 14th of a total of 16 races this season, Race 2 of the double-header in Portland (USA)
Leader of the standings Nick Cassidy (Jaguar) only finished 13th after an incident and second in the standings Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) finished fourth without a front wing.
For Felix da Costa, who had already triumphed on Saturday, it is now his third win in a row. Before the Portland weekend, the Portuguese driver had also won Race 2 in Shanghai (China). And together with his victory in the second Berlin race, he now has four wins in five races
Jean-Eric Vergne with pole record
Jean-Eric Vergne (DS-Penske) came out on top in qualifying. For the Frenchman, it was the 17th pole of his Formula E career. No one else has achieved so many since the electric racing series was founded in 2014.
Antonio Felix da Costa started from the front row alongside pole-setter Vergne. Championship leader Nick Cassidy began his planned redemption after the drama of Saturday’s race from sixth on the grid. It was not to be
WE GO GREEN IN PORTLAND
Vergne and da Costa both get away well at the start, with the @PorscheFormulaE driver taking the race lead at Turn 1! @Hankook_Sport PortlandEPrix pic.twitter.com/2XaBHRYWTA
– Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 30, 2024
At the start, Antonio Felix da Costa managed to out-accelerate pole setter Jean-Eric Vergne and was the first to turn into the chicane. Then the tactical driving began again immediately, even though the race distance was set at one lap less than on Saturday, namely 26 laps.
Nevertheless, saving energy was once again the order of the day. Once again, numerous drivers took turns at the front over the course of the race. Nico Müller (Abt-Cupra) led at the one-third mark, while Robin Frijns (Envision) was ahead at the two-thirds mark. But both were just snapshots
Numerous collisions in the pack
Compared to Saturday’s race, the pack racing on Sunday was much less clean. There were numerous collisions and front wings flying off.
After 18 laps, the safety car was deployed because there were too many parts on and around the track. As a result of the safety car phase, the race distance was extended by one lap. In the end, it was 27 laps, just like on Saturday.
With three laps to go, Antonio Felix da Costa led ahead of Mitch Evans (Jaguar) and Robin Frijns. The Dutchman got past the New Zealander, but once again there was nothing he could do against the Portuguese driver in the lead
Cassidy without points – Wehrlein and Evans now equal on points
So Felix da Costa ultimately won ahead of Frijns and Evans. Pascal Wehrlein lost his front wing in an early collision in the pack. Surprisingly, however, he continued without coming into the pits. And although he covered most of the distance without a front wing, Wehrlein finished fourth, just behind the top three. Pole-sitter Jean-Eric Vergne completed the Top 5.
Abt Cupra driver Nico Müller, Norman Nato (Andretti), Maximilian Günther (Maserati), Sebastien Buemi (Envision) and Jake Dennis (Andretti) finished in the second half of the top 10. Championship leader Nick Cassidy came into the pits for a repair stop shortly before the halfway point. In the end, he finished 13th and therefore scored no championship points
Traffic jam in the pits!
Cassidy, Dennis, de Vries and Collet all head back to the pit lane after sustaining damage in the melee.@Hankook_Sport PortlandEPrix pic.twitter.com/Oh20lIV3CN
– Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 30, 2024
Two races before the end of the season, Nick Cassidy is still leading the overall Formula E standings in 2024, but only with a twelve-point lead over Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans, who are tied on points.
Following his hat-trick, Antonio Felix da Costa is 21 points behind Wehrlein and Evans and therefore 33 points behind championship leader Cassidy. This means he still has a chance of winning the title.
The 2024 Formula E calendar now only includes the two races of the double-header in London. The races will take place on the outdoor/indoor track at the ExCeL Center in the UK capital on the weekend of July 20/21.
