Wehrlein wins tactical Jeddah ePrix Race 1 from Mortara and Evans

Pascal Wehrlein won a highly tactical and entertaining Race 1 of the Jeddah ePrix, leading home Edoardo Mortara and Mitch Evans.

Following a delayed start, the action bubbled to a fascinating climax as teams left it late to deploy Attack Modes and Pit Boost.

It led to a frantic finish, Wehrlein coasting home with just 1% of energy remaining for his ninth win on his 100^th race start in Formula E.

What an impressive drive from @PWehrlein 💪#JeddahEPrix pic.twitter.com/zGVbj1awSJ

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 13, 2026

“It was a super nice-executed race,” said Wehrlein afterwards. “Waited a bit with the Pit Boost and then with the Attack Mode.

“I think that was the right strategy and then when we went into the Attack Mode after the Pit Boost, I tried to extend the lead, so no one was in the slipstream anymore and we managed that.

“In the end I could manage the pace, and it was a very enjoyable race. I had good fights and some tough ones, especially at the start but we went through it.

“The pace in the race was nice, and the energy management was there but was not massive, so we didn’t see those crazy races like we sometimes have in Berlin and Shanghai which are not so enjoyable. Super happy. It’s been a while and great to bounce back like that.”

THE TALE OF THE RACE – IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WATCH & WATCH

It was a delayed start, a technical issue leading to the unfortunate Nyck de Vries being pushed off the grid.

When the lights went out, it was Guenther who got the perfect start, leading the Nissan of Nato and Taylor Barnard’s Porsche. For Mortara, it was a horror, the Franco-Italian dropping several places from pole.

An early full course yellow brought about by Zane Maloney’s retirement bunched the pack up again. And when racing resumed in earnest, it was Guenther who led Nato away from Barnard, Wehrlein and Mortara.

This was a race with a six-minute Attack Mode, the new feature being introduced for the first time this season. For those lower down the pack, employing an early Attack Mode can be beneficial with the field bunched up.

The game of electric chess racing was a late burner, and it wasn’t until over half distance that Wehrlein hit the front and Guenther was the first to deploy his Attack Mode.

Pit Boost was another option, several ducking in to provide an extra 10% of energy increase, equivalent to 3.85kWh to the battery.

Oliver Rowland and Joel Eriksson are the first to activate PIT BOOST 🔋👀#JeddahEPrix @FortescueZERO pic.twitter.com/z79OekRjNe

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 13, 2026

But it was Guenther who made best use of that advantage, sweeping past Wehrlein and into the lead on lap 18, the latter pitting for his Pit Boost.

When the dust settled after the round of energy recharges and Attack Modes, it was Wehrlein who held the advantage in the race to the line.

It all means that going into Sunday’s Race 2, it’s Wehrlein who leads the championship standings by 16 points from Nick Cassidy and Mortara a point further back.

“I lost five places, so I guess we will have to investigate with the data,” said Mortara of his start. “Then I had cars all around me obviously banging doors, so not a nice moment but it got better after.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, whether we had two-wheel drive but for whatever reason the front wheel drive didn’t work correctly. Definitely not the best start but the team has done a tremendous job since the beginning of the year. So not the end of the world and we still finished P2.”

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