Five Key Moments from the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix

Lucas vs. Lotterer‍

When Lucas di Grassi joined our ranks in November, we were confident that he would make an impact and from the get-go in Diriyah, the Brazilian didn’t disappoint.

Lining up in eighth on the grid for Race One, Lucas showed just what experience is worth in Formula E and with a lightning start, immediately began to climb the order.

Overtaking Maximilian Günther, Robin Frijns and Nick Cassidy on lap one alone, Lucas was in a prime position to challenge and soon found himself at the heart of the action.

Sharing the same piece of road with André Lotterer, Jake Dennis and Sam Bird in the battle for third, he capitalised upon the situation ahead of him with fast adaptability.

With Lotterer struggling for energy, Lucas launched his attack and in a daring move, overtook the Porsche driver into Turn One to take home 10 points on his ROKiT Venturi Racing debut.

Edo Passes Cassidy

As Formula E’s reigning vice World Champion, Edoardo Mortara performs with class every weekend and in Race One, the street circuit specialist showed supreme pace behind the wheel.

After qualifying in 12th, the Swiss-Italian set his full focus solely on the top 10 and overtook Oliver Rowland and Pascal Wehrlein as soon as the race got underway to slot into the points.

Despite navigating Diriyah’s twists and turns with damage to his steering, he continued to make progress and by next passing Frijns and Lotterer, was sitting in a competitive seventh.

With the laps winding down, Edo was closing the gap to Cassidy and carefully measured up the Envision driver with mere minutes of racing remaining.

On the final lap, he decided to strike and in a last-gasp manoeuvre, overtook the New Zealander to take sixth place and eight points, gaining six positions overall for Monaco’s only racing team.

The Duel for Pole

After getting our first taste of Formula E’s new qualifying format on Friday, we approached Saturday with a fresh understanding and unleashed the true pace of our Season 8 challenger.

From Groups A and B, both Edo and Lucas advanced to the next stage for the first time this season and geared up for their first-ever qualifying duels of the year.

In the quarter-finals, Lucas faced Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa while Edo battled against Lotterer, and by beating both drivers, the duo progressed to the semi-finals.

At this stage, Lucas, unfortunately, lost out to reigning champion Nyck de Vries, but by defeating Frijns, Edo faced the Mercedes-EQ driver in the final.

The pole position fight was mighty and although Edo missed out on the top spot by 0.005 seconds, we were in a good position for Race Two, lining up second and fourth on the grid.

Dominance in the Desert

From the front row in Race Two, Edo was in a prime position to challenge for silverware, and by securing a clean start, remained a threat throughout the 45-minute + one lap affair.

By carefully following leader de Vries, Edo settled into a consistent rhythm before rolling the strategy dice by activating his first use of Attack Mode on lap eight.

Maintaining position, he soon activated his second use of the power boost device on lap 15 but despite falling to fourth, was soon on a charge.

Making the most of his power advantage over the field ahead, Edo first passed Frijns, then de Vries and then team-mate Lucas who was at the head of the field.

In the face of mounting pressure from behind, Edo crucially remained cool, calm and collected and successfully navigated a final lap restart following a late Safety Car to take his first win of Season 8.

This marked Edo’s third victory in Formula E to date and by bagging 25 points alongside his eight points from Race One, he also took the lead in the World Drivers’ Championship.

Double Podium Performance

In only his second start for ROKiT Venturi Racing, Lucas also shined bright under the Saturday night lights of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From the second row, like Edo, he too secured a clean start and after holding fourth in the opening stages, activated his first Attack Mode on lap eight.

His second use of the power boost device followed in quick succession on lap 13 and with 250kW at his disposal, Formula E’s most experienced driver carved through the field.

Lucas first overtook Frijns before passing Edo– who armed his second use of Attack Mode – only to next duel with and defeat de Vries to ascend to the lead.

While Edo made his way back through to first, Lucas slipped to third when Frijns re-overtook, moments before deployment of the Safety Car which prevented him from reclaiming second.

By taking third, however, Lucas notched his 36th podium in Formula E and first for ROKiT Venturi Racing which, combined with Edo’s victory, places the Monegasque marque at the top of the World Teams’ Championship.