VANDOORNE WINS RAIN-HIT ROUND 8 TOKYO E-PRIX AS NEOM McLAREN AND NISSAN DRIVERS SHARE THE PODIUM
Drivers from both the Nissan and NEOM McLaren Formula E teams have finished on the podium in Round 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as Maserati MSG Racing's Stoffel Vandoorne secured victory in the rain-affected Tokyo E-Prix.
The Belgian driver – who last won a race in Monaco 2022 – crossed the finish line to win Maserati MSG Racing's first race of the season after building a lead of over 30 seconds on Oliver Rowland of Nissan after exiting the PIT BOOST pit stops during Nissan's home race.
The team's plan was to jump for their mandatory PIT BOOST stop early by burning through their usable energy quick-fast, hoping for a subsequent stoppage to the race – made more likely in tricky, soaking conditions at Big Sight.
Duly, a Red Flag was flown with last year's Tokyo winner Maximilian Guenther suffering technical problems and his car requiring recovery, meaning Vandoorne's PIT BOOST stop effectively became a freebie, with the rest of the field yet to blink and the pack reset with a standing restart.
Polesitter Rowland had the measure of the pack early on, on outright pace alone, but Maserati MSG Racing's strategic ploy ultimately undid any hopes of the Brit reaching the top step of the podium.
20-year-old Taylor Barnard pulled off a storming move around the outside of Turn 16 – where he suffered a heavy shunt in Free Practice 1. The NEOM McLaren driver rounded out the top three and took his fourth podium in his maiden full season of Formula E.
Monaco winner Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing) came home fourth, with a season-best result for Dan Ticktum (CUPRA KIRO) fifth. Edo Mortara rounded out the top six with more strong points for a resurgent Mahindra Racing.
All that saw Rowland extend his Drivers' advantage to the widest margin in Formula E history at the halfway point of a campaign – 60 points over António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche). Nissan leads Porsche 144 points to 139 in the Teams' table and 225 points to 179 in the Manufacturers' standings.
Stoffel Vandoorne, No. 2, Maserati MSG Racing said:
'Super happy that our plan actually worked! It was a very bold and aggressive strategy decision to burn a lot of energy at the beginning so we could open our pit window early. Then obviously we were the first ones to pit and we got a bit lucky with the red flag, and the field got bunched up again. After the restart, it was very difficult to bring the car home – a lot of management to do, giving comms to the team and making sure I had enough energy to make it to the flag. I knew exactly what was going on, I knew that I would inherit the lead at some point and I just had to bring it home. I was probably a little bit too safe at some points, and made a couple of mistakes that shouldn't have happened. In the end we brought it home and I'm just super happy our plan paid off.'
Oliver Rowland, No. 23, Nissan Formula E Team said:
'We did everything we could, this is part of the game – it happens sometimes; we knew there was a risk that people would try to pit early – a bit like Nico [Mueller] in Monaco – but you obviously can't do it from the front. There's maybe some tweaking to do on the way we manage the pit stop stuff, but honestly from my side I felt like I got the most out of the car. I was super quick in the first half of the race, I struggled a little bit more in the last 10 laps, but I can't complain to be honest. The fact that it was only one that got away, I'm pretty happy. Tomorrow will be different without Pit Boost, I think qualifying will be quite important and then it'll just be about positioning yourself for the Attack Mode for the race. I haven't even thought about tomorrow yet!'
Taylor Barnard, No. 5, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team said:
'To be honest, FP2 this morning was great – it was not expected and I've not really driven that much in the rain. Of course that was my first session in the wet, so to be honest the turnaround from yesterday was incredible. We didn't really expect any racing this afternoon – the weather was really bad – so for it to dry off enough that we could race was really surprising, and to get another podium was incredible. I can't thank the team enough – it's nice to be back on the podium for sure.'
The championship continues tomorrow with Round 9 of the 2025 Tokyo E-Prix double-header starting at 9:05 AST.
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