Jean-Eric Vergne wins spectacular Saturday race of Formula E in Rome

Jean-Eric Vergne won the Saturday race of Formula E in Rome. In a spectacular third race of the season, the DS-Techeetah driver in the brand-new car was ultimately the only driver from the front group who neither had an accident nor suffered a technical problem or made a mistake. After an accident involving the two Mercedes drivers shortly before the end, the race finished behind the Safety Car. Sam Bird finished second ahead of his Jaguar teammate Mitch Evans. The best German was Rene Rast in sixth place.

After light rain minutes before the race, the start of the Rome E-Prix took place behind the Safety Car – to the disappointment of many fans. Parts of the track were completely dry, while there was some water on the asphalt in other areas. Nevertheless, it was a questionable decision by the race management. The field rolled off slowly. After four minutes, the message finally came that the Safety Car would return to the pit lane at the end of the lap. Thus, the race began with 40 minutes remaining.

Andre Lotterer immediately put pressure on the leader Stoffel Vandoorne after the flying start. Sam Bird already gained a place against Sebastien Buemi. Then the first major uproar: Lotterer attacked Vandoorne late on the inside and forced the Belgian off, who had to drive into the runoff area. However, Vandoorne had closed the door quite late.

Heaven & Hell for Oliver Rowland

Lotterer also missed the corner and blocked it for all other cars behind. Both could continue but lost many places: Lotterer continued as seventh behind his Porsche teammate Pascal Wehrlein. Vandoorne was now twelfth but quickly fought his way forward again.

Oliver Rowland thus took the lead in Rome, followed by Lucas di Grassi. Jean-Eric Vergne, Robin Frijns, and Nyck de Vries lined up behind. While Edo Mortara served a drive-through penalty and later retired, Alexander Sims with his Mahindra dropped to the back of the field and eventually retired.

Bad news also for Rowland: The leader received a drive-through penalty for exceeding the maximum allowed power during acceleration - presumably because his wheels had spun on a puddle. Di Grassi took the lead but faced immediate attacks from Vergne. The Brazilian defended the first attack on the inside. Then Sergio Sette Camara temporarily stopped but continued shortly after. It started to rain more heavily.

Exciting Duels in the Leading Group

Despite this, things calmed down after the turbulent early phase. Di Grassi set the pace, but the whole field was very close together. In positions 5 to 8 were the two Porsches and the two Jaguars. Bird eventually overtook Lotterer. Then Vergne, the first driver from the leading group, took his first Attack-Mode and dropped back but stayed ahead of Bird. Shortly after, the Frenchman also overtook Wehrlein.

Then Frijns and de Vries drove through the Attack Zone - Vergne was back in second place. Di Grassi responded and took his Attack-Mode. Lotterer, meanwhile, received a five-second time penalty for the collision with Vandoorne at the start. Frijns, in Attack-Mode, attacked Vergne twice but couldn't pass. Di Grassi took the chance and passed Frijns as well as de Vries. Vergne soon took his second Attack-Mode.

Di Grassi followed and dropped behind rival Vergne. De Vries took the lead. Further back, Bird showed a great overtaking maneuver against Frijns. De Vries took his next Attack-Mode and dropped back to third place. Bird continued to gain ground and was now fourth. Then, another setback for BMW: Jake Dennis retired with a damaged car.

In the battle for victory, di Grassi attacked Vergne in his last seconds with Attack-Mode, but the Frenchman could fend off the Brazilian. De Vries, however, lost out: The Mercedes driver had to let Bird pass, who showed another great maneuver. The Jaguar driver was now third.

Dramatic End for Lucas di Grassi & Mercedes

With six and a half minutes remaining, the seemingly decisive attack came: Di Grassi took heart and forced his way past Vergne - cheers in the Audi garage. However, Vergne did not give up. Then the shock for Audi: Lucas di Grassi slowed down with a driveshaft problem and dropped back before finally retiring.

Vandoorne tried to avoid the slow Audi but lost grip over a bump and crashed into the wall. The second Mercedes of de Vries was also affected and had to retire. Vergne took the lead ahead of Bird and his teammate Mitch Evans.

First, the race management called Full-Course-Yellow, but then the Safety Car came onto the track. As the few remaining minutes elapsed, Vergne was finally waved as the race winner. Behind him, Bird, Evans, Frijns, and Buemi crossed the finish line. The two Germans, Rene Rast and Pascal Wehrlein, finished in sixth and seventh positions. Alex Lynn, Max Gunther, and Nick Cassidy completed the top 10 - the first Formula E point for the rookie in Virgin.

With second place, Sam Bird took the lead in the drivers' championship. Behind him are Robin Frijns and Nyck de Vries. Jaguar extended their lead in the teams' championship and are already 34 points ahead of DS Techeetah, who climbed to second place thanks to Vergne's win. The next race of the season is already scheduled for Sunday at 1 pm - once again on the spectacular street circuit of Rome.