Former Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne spectacularly claimed his first Formula E victory in three years. The Belgian took advantage of a daring strategy during a chaotic and soaking wet opening race of the Tokyo E-Prix weekend. Oliver Rowland solidified his championship lead with a second-place finish. Dutch drivers Nyck de Vries and Robin Frijns finished eighth and tenth respectively.
The opening race in the Japanese capital started with considerable chaos – the qualification was cancelled due to heavy rainfall, resulting in the starting order being determined based on the times in the second free practice. Although the rain subsided just before the start, the conditions were far from ideal. The race began after a fifteen-minute delay behind the safety car, after which a standing start was chosen in lap five. Polesitter Oliver Rowland maintained the lead.
Brilliant Gamble by Vandoorne
In the opening laps, Rowland steadily built a lead, but in lap thirteen, a dropout by Maximilian Günther threw a spanner in the works for the Brit. The red flag was waved, just as Stoffel Vandoorne was the only driver to have deployed his Pit Boost. The gamble by the Belgian driver – who races for Maserati – paid off brilliantly.
After the interruption, the race resumed with a standing restart, with Rowland again getting off to a strong start. However, Vandoorne managed to eventually extend his lead to a whopping twenty-five seconds. Rowland finished behind his Belgian competitor, thereby further increasing his lead in the championship. The 20-year-old Taylor Barnard from McLaren completed the podium – his first in Formula E. For Vandoorne, it was his first victory since the E-Prix of Monaco in 2022.
