Antonio Felix da Costa secures victory at the Misano E-Prix

Antonio Felix da Costa emerged victorious in the first race of the Misano E-Prix marking the the sixth different driver to win in the first six races of the 2024 Formula E championship.

Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa won the Misano E-Prix opener, making him the sixth different winner in as many races, demonstrating the close battle for top honours as every driver rallies to claim the 2024 Formula E championship.

In a race that saw a lot of close racing, Da Costa seized the lead in the closing laps despite qualifying a lowly 13th and defended it to prevail over Oliver Rowland by less than half a second with Jake Dennis finishing third to round out the podium.

Energy management was critical given Misano’s tight layout as air resistance always results in the leader losing efficiency, while those in the slipstream gain an advantage. Drivers constantly battled for the ideal position, resulting in a closely packed race.

Jean-Eric Vergne forced Nick Cassidy to pit for repairs after they made contact through the chicane. On the following lap, Pascal Wehrlein came into contact with Vergne, shattering his front wing and causing minor damage to Vergne’s DS Penske. Vergne later received a five-second time penalty from the stewards for the Cassidy incident.

Sam Bird proceeded to take the lead after making an effort to break free of the “mess,” as he put it. However, he eventually dropped to the bottom of the pack and eventually suffered a left-rear puncture that forced him into the pits and retired from the race.

Having a greater energy reserve compared to the runners behind him, Da Costa maintained his lead over Rowland and Vergne in the final stages of the race. On the last lap, Rowland attempted to pull closer to the Porsche, but Da Costa used his slightly more energy to hold off the Nissan and win the race for the first time this year.

Rowland came in second place just under a second behind the winner, while Vergne crossed the finish line in third place but lost his podium spot to Dennis following his penalty. Maximilian Guenther finished fourth while Dan Ticktum secured his highest FE finish by placing fifth.

Jaguar’s Mitch Evans finished sixth as Sergio Sette Camara placed seventh, while Vergne dropped to eighth place following his five-second penalty. Norman Nato finished ninth while Stoffel Vandoorne claimed the final point in tenth place.

The first driver to retire from the race was Edoardo Mortara, who withdrew after the first lap. Later Bird and Cassidy both retired after making repairs and resuming the race while Jehan Daruvala turned out to be the final retirement after pulling off the track on the very last lap.

Although the Porsche charger was the star of the race event at Misano, the championship showdown remains fascinating to observe. Leading the standings with 73 points is Oliver Rowland, closely followed by reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti) with 68 points.

The 2024 Formula E season is expected to feature an exciting battle for the championship title among several formidable competitors and unpredictable races.

2024 Misano E-Prix Race 1 Results

Pos	Name	Car	Laps	Laps Led	Total Time	Fastest Lap	Pitstops	Pts
1	António Félix da Costa	Porsche 99X Electric Gen3	28	8	40m04.766s	1m19.766s	0	25
2	Oliver Rowland	Nissan e-4ORCE 04	28	4	+0.410s	1m19.730s	0	19
3	Jake Dennis	Porsche 99X Electric Gen3	28	0	+3.413s	1m19.883s	0	15
4	Maximilian Günther	Maserati Tipo Folgore	28	0	+4.198s	1m20.750s	0	12
5	Daniel Ticktum	ERT X24	28	0	+4.964s	1m20.680s	0	10
6	Mitch Evans	Jaguar I-Type 6	28	1	+6.083s	1m20.364s	0	11
7	Sérgio Sette Câmara	ERT X24	28	0	+7.936s	1m20.838s	0	6
8	Jean-Eric Vergne	DS E-TENSE FE23	28	7	+7.969s	1m20.719s	0	4
9	Norman Nato	Porsche 99X Electric Gen3	28	0	+7.998s	1m20.101s	0	2
10	Stoffel Vandoorne	DS E-TENSE FE23	28	2	+8.049s	1m20.928s	0	1
11	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan e-4ORCE 04	28	0	+8.178s	1m20.736s	0	0
12	Lucas Di Grassi	Mahindra M9Electro	28	0	+8.377s	1m20.568s	0	0
13	Nico Müller	Mahindra M9Electro	28	0	+8.721s	1m20.559s	0	0
14	Nyck de Vries	Mahindra M9Electro	28	0	+13.461s	1m21.374s	0	0
15	Sébastien Buemi	Jaguar I-Type 6	28	3	+13.857s	1m21.728s	0	0
16	Jake Hughes	Nissan e-4ORCE 04	28	0	+14.115s	1m22.156s	0	0
17	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche 99X Electric Gen3	28	1	+5.378s	1m19.920s	0	0
18	Robin Frijns	Jaguar I-Type 6	28	0	+18.770s	1m23.463s	0	0
	Jehan Daruvala	Maserati Tipo Folgore	27	0	DNF	1m21.322s	0	0
	Sam Bird	Nissan e-4ORCE 04	25	2	DNF	1m21.673s	0	0
	Nick Cassidy	Jaguar I-Type 6	23	0	DNF	1m21.097s	0	0
	Edoardo Mortara	Mahindra M9Electro	0	0	DNF	0s	0	0