Mercedes driver Vandoorne wins second Formula E race in Rome

Stoffel Vandoorne won the Sunday race at the Rome E-Prix. The Mercedes driver confidently prevailed against Alexander Sims and Pascal Wehrlein in yet another entertaining Formula E race. The German inherited his first podium for Porsche following the disqualification of Norman Nato. Edoardo Mortara finished fourth ahead of Maximilian Günther. Once again, several accidents occurred on the spectacular street circuit of Rome.

As on Saturday, the field started the race behind the safety car, much to the dismay of many fans - partly due to the partly wet track, and partly to avoid early mass collisions with subsequent race interruptions on the narrow course. After one lap, the race commenced at full speed.

Pole-sitter Nick Cassidy briefly set the pace but then made a crucial mistake: while braking downhill on the way to turn 3, his wheels locked, causing the Virgin driver to spin, slide into the run-off area, and continue the race in 10th place. Norman Nato took over the lead in Rome.

More Bad Luck for Virgin

While Pascal Wehrlein had to fend off Stoffel Vandoorne in second place, his Porsche teammate Andre Lotterer received the next piece of bad news for the weekend: a 10-stop-and-go penalty because the team had replaced too many parts on his car. In the third lap, Pascal Wehrlein took the lead from Nato with a bold maneuver. Vandoorne also passed the Venturi car a few corners later.

Then the shock for Virgin: Oliver Rowland pushed Cassidy in the battle for 7th place, sending him into the TecPro barrier. The New Zealander fell to the back of the field and had to pit with a flat rear right tire and without a front wing. The race control investigated the collision and issued a 10-second time penalty to Rowland. Meanwhile, Robin Frijns received a 5-second penalty for leaving more than ten car lengths of space behind the safety car.

After nearly 15 minutes, Vandoorne took his first of three mandatory attack modes. Behind him, Nato lost further positions - first to Rowland, then to Alexander Sims and Max Günther.

Full-Course Yellow Helps Vandoorne, Wehrlein Misses Restart

While Wehrlein also engaged the attack mode, an accident occurred between Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi. The Swiss driver attacked his old rival at high speed, who defended late, and presumably, contact ensued. Di Grassi hit the wall hard with the left front and rolled to a stop. Because his car had to be recovered, the race control called a full-course yellow. Initially good for Vandoorne, who thus remained in the lead and would stay there.

Wehrlein completely missed the restart: when the race resumed at speed, Sims immediately overtook him and took second place. This allowed Vandoorne to gain a 2.5-second lead. Günther squeezed past Nato shortly after and took fourth place. However, the Frenchman regained the position shortly after. In front of him, both Sims and Wehrlein activated their second attack mode simultaneously. Nyck de Vries braked too late and fell from 9th to 11th place.

Wehrlein was stuck behind Sims and couldn’t pass. Thus, Vandoorne could extend his lead to more than five seconds by mid-race. Exciting duels took place at the end of the top 10. For instance, Mitch Evans fought with Buemi and eventually passed him. Then Sims, Wehrlein, Nato, and Günther all activated their last attack mode simultaneously. Edo Mortara advanced to fifth place as a result.

Numerous Accidents Cause Turbulent Final Phase

Antonio Felix da Costa quietly but steadily moved up and took seventh place from Rowland - downhill with FANBOOST. Wehrlein was also informed via radio that he still had a FANBOOST available. However, attack mode no longer played a role in the leading group in the final third of the race, as all drivers had already completed their three activations. Instead of attacking Sims, Wehrlein had to look backward and let Nato pass. The German was now only in fourth place.

While Günther couldn’t get past Mortara, Rene Rast fought his way forward with bold maneuvers. The Audi driver was already in eleventh place at this point. However, he overdid it, lightly hitting the wall and breaking his rear right wishbone. In the fast downhill curve 1, he eventually lost control of his Audi and crashed into the wall. A black day for the Ingolstadt team. The race control called the safety car onto the track, neutralizing the gaps as well.

With just one lap remaining, the race resumed at full speed. It got exciting once more. Mortara spectacularly slid but managed to catch his car just in time. Then de Vries, Bird, and Rowland collided directly behind him - all three drivers retired. Vandoorne did well and brought the victory - his second in Formula E - home confidently for Mercedes. Sims finished second, Nato initially third. Wehrlein made another attempt but only finished in fourth place.

Post-Race Disqualification for Norman Nato

Shortly after the race, Nato was disqualified for using too much energy in the last lap - a bitter blow for the rookie and his Venturi team. Wehrlein thus moved up to the podium.

In the overall standings, Jaguar can celebrate a double lead in the drivers' standings after four rounds: Bird leads the championship despite his retirement, followed by teammate Evans. Robin Frijns is third, ahead of the two Mercedes drivers Vandoorne and de Vries. Behind them is Wehrlein, the best German, tied in sixth place. In the team standings, Mercedes has reclaimed second place. Jaguar still leads the standings.

The next Formula E race starts in just two weeks: on April 24 and 25, the first E-Prix on Spanish soil will take place in Valencia - also a double-header with two races.