Wehrlein waltes to win - Closing in on standings lead in 2026 Shanghai E-Prix Round 12

04.07.26

Pascal Wehrlein secured a commanding victory for Porsche Formula E Team in Round 12 of the 2026 Shanghai E-Prix. A strategically timed PIT BOOST before the inclement weather closed in allowed the German driver to end a three-race pointless streak in definitive fashion.

The polesitter won the battle for track position, as drivers and engineers pushed for the front with rain on the horizon. Heading through the PIT BOOST window, he emerged out front before a Safety Car was required as the rain fell hard on Lap 19.

"The deployment of the Safety Car is always dictated strictly by safety criteria, and Marek Hanaczewski, our FIA Race Director, made the right call today," said Pablo Martino, FIA Head of Formula E. "With heavy rain hitting a large part of the track towards the end of the race, it was crucial to allow drivers to adapt to the changing track surface safely before restarting the race once the downpour had eased."

The 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Champion extended his advantage following the restart, crossing the finish line ahead of António Félix da Costa (Jaguar TCS Racing) and Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E). The result marks Wehrlein's 10th career victory in the series.

Felipe Drugovich finished fourth, as the Andrettis played the team game to secure P3 and P4 through the final few laps. Mahindra's Nyck de Vries executed a remarkable recovery, advancing from 16th on the grid to finish fifth, followed by Citroën Racing's Jean-Éric Vergne in sixth.

Envision Racing’s Joel Eriksson secured points for the Chinese teams in seventh, while Championship leader Mitch Evans finished eighth, seeing his 19-point pre-race advantage reduced to just three points as the title race intensifies.

In the ABB FIA World Teams' Championship for Teams, Jaguar TCS Racing retains the lead with 243 points over Porsche's 219. Porsche continues to head the ABB FIA World Championship Manufacturers' standings with 364 points to Jaguar's 309. Round 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues tomorrow, Sunday 5 July, in Shanghai before heading to Tokyo for Rounds 14 and 15 on Saturday 25 and 26 July 2026.

Pascal Wehrlein, No. 94, Porsche Formula E Team said: “Fantastic race. Obviously it’s a crucial part of the season. I couldn’t be happier about today - it was flawless and the car was amazing. We didn’t make any mistakes and execution was perfect and it was just enjoyable. I did my pace, I did my race, I didn’t try to be too much in the slipstream and get into the chaos behind. We were super efficient and big thanks to the team. It was amazing, five more to go and we’ll give it our all.”

António Félix da Costa, No. 13, Jaguar TCS Racing, said: “That’s a solid day in the office! We did a good quali in the top five and were fighting for a win there. When the rain came we didn’t quite have enough, and it was a big question mark before this race to set up the car for the wet or the dry as we knew some rain was going to come. We kind of went half-way there and we’re not sure what the others did. We looked okay in the wet, the energy advantage we built against [Pascal] Wehrlein we weren’t able to use in the wet - everything just goes flat out and they had a bit more pace. Well done to Pascal and Porsche.”

Jake Dennis, No. 27, Andretti Formula E said: “Great points. I didn’t know how to feel about the rain - it made it a little bit more difficult but ultimately third and fourth for the team is a great result. It’s all coming together and we’re back in the title. We were relatively good out there, some work to do for tomorrow but overall not too bad. We didn’t know if the rain was going to come or not, but we made the right call. We led a few laps, Pascal obviously led a few more than us but ultimately I think we optimised everything and third place was probably the best we were going to do even without the rain.”