Antonio Felix da Costa became the sixth different winner in the first six races of the 2024 Formula E championship in the first race in Misano.
In a race dominated by pack racing, Da Costa took the lead late and held it over the final laps to win by under half a second from Oliver Rowland with Jake Dennis securing the final podium position in third.The relatively long straights of the Misano circuit meant all drivers had to employ heavy energy conservation tactics, leading to the field running almost as a single pack over the opening laps.
Nick Cassidy was forced to pit for repairs following contact through the chicane with Jean-Eric Vergne, before Pascal Wehrlein collided with Vergne on the following lap, breaking his front wing and causing minor damage to Vergne’s DS Penske. Vergne was handed a five second time penalty by the stewards for the collision with Cassidy.
Sam Bird chose to escape the “mess” as he called it by taking the lead, but he fell back into the pack where he eventually suffered a left-rear puncture, which forced him into the pits and out of contention.
In the closing stages of the race, Da Costa held the lead over Rowland and Vergne with the added advantage of having more usable energy than those behind him. Rowland closed up on the Porsche on the final lap but Da Costa took advantage of his slightly more energy to keep the Nissan at bay and take his first win of the season.
Rowland was under a second behind in second place, with Vergne crossing the line in third but losing the podium position to Dennis after his penalty. Maximilian Guenther finished fourth with Dan Ticktum securing his best finish in the championship in fifth.
Mitch Evans finished sixth for Jaguar with Sergio Sette Camara in seventh. Vergne was demoted to eighth after his five second penalty. Norman Nato finished in eighth place, while Stoffel Vandoorne secured the final point in tenth.
Edoardo Mortara was the first retirement after pulling off on the first lap. Cassidy retired despite rejoining the race following repairs, as did Bird. Jehan Daruvala pulled off the circuit on the final lap to be the final retirement.
Rowland now leads the championship with 73 points heading into Sunday’s second race, five ahead of reigning champion Dennis with Wehrlein dropping to third.
2024 Formula E Round 6 Misano – Race results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Porsche | Antonio Felix da Costa | Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 |
| 2 | 22 | McLaren | Oliver Rowland | Nissan e-4ORCE 04 |
| 3 | 1 | Andretti | Jake Dennis | Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 |
| 4 | 7 | Maserati | Maximilian Guenther | Maserati Tipo Folgore |
| 5 | 33 | ERT | Dan Ticktum | ERT X24 |
| 6 | 9 | Jaguar | Mitch Evans | Jaguar I-Type 6 |
| 7 | 3 | ERT | Sergio Sette Camara | ERT X24 |
| 8 | 25 | DS Penske | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS E-TENSE FE23 |
| 9 | 17 | Andretti | Norman Nato | Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 |
| 10 | 2 | DS Penske | Stoffel Vandoorne | DS E-TENSE FE23 |
| 11 | 23 | Nissan | Sacha Fenestraz | Nissan e-4ORCE 04 |
| 12 | 11 | Abt Cupra | Lucas di Grassi | Mahindra M9Electro |
| 13 | 51 | Abt Cupra | Nico Mueller | Mahindra M10Electro |
| 14 | 21 | Mahinda | Nyck de Vries | Mahindra M10Electro |
| 15 | 16 | Envision | Sebastien Buemi | Jaguar I-Type 6 |
| 16 | 5 | McLaren | Jake Hughes | Nissan e-4ORCE 04 |
| 17 | 94 | Porsche | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 |
| 18 | 4 | Envision | Robin Frijns | Jaguar I-Type 6 |
| RET | 18 | Maserati | Jehan Daruvala | Maserati Tipo Folgore |
| RET | 8 | McLaren | Sam Bird | Nissan e-4ORCE 04 |
| RET | 37 | Jaguar | Nick Cassidy | Jaguar I-Type 6 |
| RET | 48 | Mahinda | Edoardo Mortara | Mahindra M10Electro |
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Senproman
13th April 2024, 20:16
Sadly Da Costa gets disqualified. Sad to see as his charge through the field was outstanding.
However, good to see Oli being the bride and not just the bridesmaid after several non-win podiums.
Nick T.
13th April 2024, 20:17
Out of curiosity, is there a single reader here who watches Formula E? Raise your hand if you do. I’m really interested to see.
Nick T.
13th April 2024, 20:19
Seems there’s one on the board from above (they posted while I was posting this).
Terrion (@terrion)
13th April 2024, 20:55
I don’t enjoy formula e as much as during the first 2 generations, but I still watch every race!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
13th April 2024, 21:31
I don’t watch it but I have to admit the headline is shocking for someone who only ever watched f1 and especially in times like this: 6 different winners in 6 races?? In f1 we get 5 different winners in 2 years!
In this case we’d have verstappen, perez, sainz, leclerc, russell since early 2022, which would be 2 years.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
13th April 2024, 21:33
I mean, I used to watch it much like I watch a lot of other types of racing. I am a fan of racing after all and not just of F1, but it’s behind a paywall that I’m no longer having access too and I’m not about to get a Discovery+ subscription just to watch Formula E, it’s not that interesting.
That said, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on much. I never did get invested in it on any levels. The driver field is alright, but end of day I feel the best drivers are in F1, IndyCar, and I’d even put F2 over the FE field, so there’s that. The teams aren’t exactly speaking to my imagination either, especially after most of the works outfits left. I’m okay with just reading the written report here, it’s fine.
senproman
13th April 2024, 21:46
@sjaakfoo
F1 and Indycar I can agree with, but some notable F2 names like Jehan Daruvala are not finding it easy in F2.
The better of the FE drivers I’d put just below the region of journeyman F1 drivers – almost good enough to be on merit, just not quite at the same level as those that beat them to the seats, and without the same funding to get into the sport via other means.
senproman
13th April 2024, 21:48
Sorry, obvious correction.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
14th April 2024, 2:05
I have not watched it much recently (for rather dubious personal reasons that I have detailed elsewhere) but I do like it. Admittedly it is an adjustment though, and takes me a while each time to get back into it. I think perhaps that it just due to the sound/noise. But once I get into the ‘racing’ it’s often quite entertaining.
S
14th April 2024, 7:03
I watch it, along with many other series, and usually get more enjoyment from FE than from F1.
Compared to FE’s actual on-track competition, F1 is like watching an accountant file paperwork.
I love the noise of real racing cars and FE lacks in that department – but F1 doesn’t have any real racing cars either, and the soundtrack is no better since the hybrids were introduced.
Once you get over the idea that it’s different and accept what FE actually is, it can actually be quite enjoyable. It isn’t and will never try to be like F1 – and thank goodness for that.
Minardi (@gitanes)
13th April 2024, 23:29
Why they insist on making these energy saving races is beyond me. What a waste of the first 75% of the race. The most boring oval race ever in Indycar would be better than this garbage. The cars themselves could put on a great show on tracks like Misano if they were allowed to.
senproman
14th April 2024, 3:56
@gitanes
Nothing like the tyre saving antics in F1 then?
In F1 the tyre saving happens and everyone is 1+ seconds apart.
At least in FE the energy saving happens and everyone is still close and so have to show their skill in managing racing intimately with others, even if the reason is slightly artificial.
Minardi (@gitanes)
14th April 2024, 4:55
But no one in F1 is giving up multiple places on purpose. Not that I am fan of tyre saving either but sorry these FE races recently I find to be farcical.
S
14th April 2024, 7:06
F1 has their strategy, FE has theirs.
F1 is all about energy-saving and management too – and will be even more so with the next set of technical regs.
What FE is showing is that, just like F1, the intention and spirit of the rules/competition is now starting to take a back seat to the data and planning teams can do to improve their result.
It’s happening in every racing series now to some degree – this is simply the modern approach to motorsport.