FE | Race 1 | Monaco E-Prix | Rowland claims victory after dramatic race - Motorsport

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Taylor Barnard led the FE Monaco E-Prix race from pole, fending off Oliver Rowland early on. Rowland briefly fell back but fought back to take the lead after a series of strategic ATTACK MODE activations and pit boosts. Nyck de Vries moved up to P2 after overtaking several rivals, while Dennis slotted into third before being handed a five-second penalty for overspeeding under yellow. Cassidy surged through the field using an early ATTACK MODE, while Barnard’s race unravelled after hitting the barriers. Müller emerged as a strong contender following a well-timed pit stop but dropped back due to high energy use and late-race pressure. As the final lap approached, Rowland held a comfortable lead over de Vries, easing to his second win of the season. De Vries finished second, with Dennis third despite his penalty. Mortara snatched fourth from Mueller at the line, sealing a dramatic end to a strategic and incident-filled race.

Barnard claims pole after Rowland crash

Taylor Barnard secured his second FE pole position for the Round 6 Race at the Monaco E-Prix, one year after his series debut. In Group A, Oliver Rowland led with a 1:28.713, followed closely by Jake Dennis, Nyck de Vries, and Pascal Wehrlein. Meanwhile, Dan Ticktum topped Group B with a 1:28.661, advancing alongside Mitch Evans, Barnard, and Robin Frijns.

The quarter-finals began with Dennis defeating De Vries by 0.214 seconds. Rowland then eliminated Wehrlein with a strong lap. Barnard narrowly beat Evans in a closely fought duel, while Ticktum edged out Frijns to complete the semi-final line-up.

In the first semi-final, Rowland maintained a lead throughout his lap to dispatch Dennis. Barnard and Ticktum battled fiercely, with Barnard overturning an early deficit to win by 0.171 seconds.

During the final, Barnard took command early as Rowland hit the wall exiting Sainte Devote. With a clean lap, the McLaren rookie sealed pole position, earning himself a starting position ahead of his mentor Rowland and Ticktum.

Full qualifying results placed De Vries fourth, followed by Wehrlein, Frijns, Dennis, and Evans. Mortara and Günther completed the top ten, while notable names such as Da Costa, Vergne, and Cassidy failed to reach the Duels.

Barnard takes an early lead after strong start off the line

As the minutes ticked down, the drivers, lined up on the grid, completing their burnouts ahead of the race start. For Barnard, who will be chasing his maiden win, a strong start was crucial. He managed this, pulling ahead as Rowland slotted into second. De Vries, who started fourth, got past Ticktum, claiming P3. However, despite his strong start, Rowland’s race was soon under threat. He was on the radio, complaining about a weird noise.

Throughout the grid, there were some changes in position, most typically between the drivers starting alongside each other. Unlike other series, like Formula 1, overtaking was possible around the Monte Carlo Circuit. Despite this, the narrow track and close walls remained a threat.

After a fairly uneventful first lap, Barnard remained in the lead, and Mueller returned to the pit lane. This was not part of his pit stop strategy. The driver appeared to have suffered some minor damage. Fortunately, he returned to the grid, albeit at the back of the pack. Up front Barnard retained his lead. However, into Lap 4, the threat from Rowland increased, however, with the veteran driver setting the fastest lap.

Cassidy, down in P16, and Maloney, near the tail of the pack in P20 opted to deploy their ATTACK MODE early, hoping to make up track position in the earliest stages of the race. For Cassidy, the strategy worked well, helping the driver make his way up to P10. Maloney was less successful, getting up only to P18 into Lap 6. Maloney did move up to P17 soon after, with Cassidy getting up to P6 as his ATTACK Mode period ended. Meanwhile Ticktum, who started up in P3 found himself struggling, falling down to P8, as Beckmann deployed his ATTACK MODE. Ticktum, did however, put up a fight, reclaiming a place from Frijns. The ATTACK MODE proved more powerful than many teams expected. For those fighting for a place in the midfield, a successful strategy could help their fight for points.

Da Costa out after crash into the barriers

On Lap 8, Race Control briefly showed the yellow flag. While it was soon removed, da Costa crashed at the same corner, bringing out a full-course yellow. He had been somewhat of an innocent victim as the drivers went three-in-one. It was a disappointing outcome for Portuguese driver. Beckman also suffered some damage.

There had been fierce action on track before da Costa’s incident. Ticktum especially had been particularly aggressive, getting into a scrap with Frijns. Cassidy continued his march forward, making his way up to P6, though putting himself as an energy deficit.

As drivers crawled around the track, Maloney, who seemed to have been improving his odds after his deployment of the ATTACK MODE, returned to the pit lane, suffering a potential technical issue. After a lengthy delay, he returned to the track, falling down to order to the back of the grid. With the race still neutralised into Lap 10, the drivers faced the addition of laps. However, on lap 11, the yellow flag ended, allowing a return to racing conditions.

Barnard retained his lead ahead Rowland. However, Dennis capitalised on a slow moment by de Vries. The Dutch driver had a slow re-start, missing out on the opportunity to fight his way him. Dennis, however, was put under investigation for overspeeding under the full course yellow.

Meanwhile, there was some action at the front. Rowland challenged his former mentee, sending the younger driver off the track. While Barnard emerged in front, he could not hold the lead for long as Rowland launched another challenge. This was successful as Barnard went off the track. The NEOM McLaren driver was required to hand the race lead back to Rowland to avoid penalisation for gaining an advantage off the track. This opened the door for Dennis to challenge for position. However, Barnard did well to keep ahead, as a battle between the top three emerged. Rowland, however, retained his lead, as the pit window opened. Cassidy was the first into the pit lane, followed by Mueller, as the drivers recharged.

Evans’ race meets a premature end as Mueller benefits from well-timed pitstop

On Lap 14, however, Race Control showed another yellow flag as Mitch Evans stopped on track. Evans’ race was brought to a premature end, and Mueller capitalised on a well-timed pit stop.

Having lost position to Barnard before the full course yellow, Rowland, now in P2, deployed his ATTACK MODE. With almost all of the drivers, including the race leader in the Pit Boost window, a challenging few laps awaited. After taking the lead from Barnard, the Nissan driver sought to build up a gap ahead of his rivals.

On Lap 16, both Barnard and Dennis pitted for their energy boost. The emerged P14 and P15 respectively, as Rowland continued to extend his gap our front. He did, however, pit at the end of Lap 18. He was joined by de Vries, Wehrlein, Ticktum, Gunther, di Grassi, and Bird, as Beckmann took the lead of the race.

However, as neither he nor Hughes in P2 had taken their Pit Boost, Mueller appeared to be the biggest winner. Now up in P3 with no need to pit and two ATTACK MODE deployments remaining, he could have a much better race than expected. However, his energy use could be a problem. He took the lead as Beckmann and Hughes pitted. Cassidy, who also pitted early, found himself in P2, though without any remaining ATTACK MODE. Rowland had made his way up to P3, with De Vries in P4, Dennis in P5, and Barnard, who started on pole, in P6.

A shake-up at the front

On Lap 21, Mueller deployed his first ATTACK MODE, hoping to increase his gap with Cassidy. However, with Cassidy having only 26% energy remaining, the driver faced a limited battle for position. Rowland, with more energy in his reserves than either of the leading drivers continued to gain, aiming to reclaim the lead that he had briefly held. Beckmann, down in P17, was put under investigation of a Pit Boost procedure infringement.

Into Lap 23, Rowland re-claimed P2, turning his sights on Mueller. While the latter deployed his last remaining ATTACK MODE, he could have a contentious end to the race. Whether he or Rowland, who reserved that last ATTACK MODE for the last laps of the race, got it right was a matter to be decided at the finish line. De Vries, also using his attack mode, got past Rowland for P2, as Barnard went into the barrier. Though he recovered, albeit falling down the order to P17, the NEOM McLaren driver’s race appeared over.

As action heated out up on track, Rowland finally deployed his ATTACK MODE. However, he faced a challenging fight, having fallen down to P5, behind Mortara. De Vries, who took the lead found, found himself under pressure from Dennis, as Rowland made his way up to P2 on Lap 26. As he challenged de Vries for the lead, the latter found himself a sitting duck against Rowland with his ATTACK MODE. With Dennis handed a five-second penalty for his earlier infringement, Mueller found himself in-line to achieve a podium at his teammate’s expense.

Rowland takes second victory after dramatic race

With the lap extended by one lap, a dramatic conclusion played out. Rowland, now properly in the lead, with a significant gap to de Vries, was told to reduce the pressure on his car. With almost 1.5 seconds between him and de Vries in P2, the win seemed almost certainly his. On penultimate lap, Rowland appear set for the win, with de Vries in P2. Dennis, though set to cross the line third, found himself needing his teammate to mitigate the damage to his result. Mueller sought to keep a more than five-second gap between Dennis and Mortara.

Into the final lap, the race settled, with Rowland cruising to the win. De Vries secured P2 with Dennis in P3. Mortara, however, pipped Mueller at the end to claim P4.