FE | Tokyo E-Prix 2025 | Race 1 | Vandoorne triumphs in tactical thriller - Motorsport

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Stoffel Vandoorne secured a sensational victory in a rain-affected and strategy-heavy first race of the 2025 FE Tokyo E-Prix. The Maserati MSG Racing driver made the most of an early PIT BOOST stop—completed just before a red flag neutralised the field—to leapfrog the competition and withstand late pressure despite a spin and minor contact. The Belgian’s masterclass in timing and recovery marked his first win of the season, ahead of polesitter Oliver Rowland and rookie Taylor Barnard, who delivered a stunning drive to round out the podium.

Rowland starts on pole after cancelled Qualifying

Continued rain, although much lighter than the earlier downpour that led to the cancellation of Qualifying, delayed the start of the first race of the 2025 Tokyo E-Prix. Nissan Formula E Team’s Oliver Rowland, who topped Free Practice 2 (FP2), secured pole position. He lined up ahead of Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara in second place and teammate Norman Nato in third. NEOM McLaren Formula E Team’s Taylor Barnard, despite suffering a heavy crash in FP2, qualified an impressive fourth.

Mortara’s Mahindra teammate, Nyck de Vries, started from the third row in fifth position, alongside Round 7 winner Sébastien Buemi of Envision Racing in sixth. Meanwhile, Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum claimed seventh, joined on Row 4 by DS Penske’s Jean-Éric Vergne in eighth. Vergne’s teammate Maximilian Günther qualified ninth, with Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns in tenth.

António Félix da Costa of TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team started eleventh, alongside NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird in twelfth. Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy lined up in thirteenth, with Maserati MSG Racing’s Stoffel Vandoorne beside him in fourteenth. Vandoorne’s teammate Jake Hughes occupied fifteenth position, while Lola Yamaha ABT Formula E Team’s Zane Maloney, who caused the final yellow flag of FP2 after colliding with the wall, qualified sixteenth.

Pascal Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche started from seventeenth, next to Maloney’s teammate Lucas di Grassi in eighteenth. Jaguar’s Mitch Evans qualified nineteenth, alongside Cupra Kiro’s David Beckmann in twentieth. Finally, Andretti Formula E Team’s Nico Müller and Jake Dennis rounded out the grid in twenty-first and twenty-second respectively.

A start under the Safety Car

At 15:15 local time (08:15 CET), ten minutes later than scheduled, the Safety Car led the field away. Although the rain had eased considerably, light drizzle continued to affect visibility and track grip. The slippery conditions created early challenges, with spray hindering the drivers’ view of the circuit. Forecasts, however, indicated that the rain would stop imminently and remain absent for at least two hours. This, combined with the mandatory PIT BOOST, presented a strategic opportunity—particularly for teams such as Andretti, whose drivers started from the rear of the grid.

After four formation laps behind the Safety Car, the race finally began with a standing start. Due to the extended Safety Car period, race control expected to add additional laps at the end of the session. An official announcement regarding this would follow after the chequered flag.

Rowland leads as Early ATTACK MODE usage sparks action

As the lights went green, Rowland launched cleanly into the lead. Into the first corner, Barnard, Mortara, and Nato went three-abreast, battling for position. Ultimately, Mortara emerged second behind Rowland, while Barnard slotted into third, ahead of Nato in fourth.

Immediately, Sébastien Buemi initiated an aggressive strategy. By activating his ATTACK MODE at the very start, he gained a burst of pace, which he used effectively to climb through the pack. He soon passed Nato for fourth and, by Lap 7, overtook Barnard to claim third. He then dispatched Mortara to seize second place.

Several other drivers opted for early ATTACK MODE activations, including de Vries, Frijns, Vergne, da Costa, Günther, Evans, and Vandoorne. These drivers attempted to capitalise on the enhanced power to move up the order. Among them, Buemi gained the most, although Mortara soon responded.

After deploying his own ATTACK MODE, Mortara rapidly closed the gap and reclaimed second place from Buemi, who could no longer defend without the additional power boost. With Rowland still in the lead, Mortara began to cut down the gap, eager to challenge for victory.

Günther brings out the red flag; Vandoorne gains an advantage with early PIT BOOST

On Lap 10, Taylor Barnard executed a bold move on de Vries, using his ATTACK MODE to snatch fourth place. Shortly thereafter, Vandoorne opted to pit on Lap 11, taking his mandatory PIT BOOST earlier than most. Although this dropped him to the back of the field, it placed him in a strong strategic position, especially as others had yet to complete their own stops.

Meanwhile, Günther ground to a halt at Turn 13 on Lap 14, triggering a yellow flag. Race control soon upgraded this to a red flag after declaring the vehicle a “Red Car.” Under these conditions, no driver could take their PIT BOOST. As a result, Vandoorne emerged as the chief beneficiary, having already fulfilled the requirement. When racing resumed, he stood to make significant positional gains as the rest of the field would still need to pit.

In a separate, largely unseen incident, Jake Hughes returned to the pit lane missing his front wing, suggesting contact or off-track damage. This development added further unpredictability to an already complex and evolving race narrative.

A standing re-start after the Red Flag delay

Once Günther’s car had been removed from the track, Vandoorne, following instructions from Race Control, circulated the Tokyo circuit to regain the lead lap after falling off due to his early PIT BOOST stop. After completing the lap, he re-entered the pit lane and took position at the back of the grid. Race Control soon confirmed that racing would resume at 15:52 local time.

The race restarted under Safety Car conditions, as teams aimed to burn enough energy to enter the PIT BOOST window. At the end of the lap, Dennis entered the pit lane and took his PIT BOOST. The remainder of the grid launched from the standing start. Rowland retained his lead, with Mortara and Buemi holding second and third respectively, despite some pressure between them. Barnard maintained fourth, ahead of de Vries in fifth and Nato in sixth.

Meanwhile, Race Control announced that Dennis was under investigation for entering the pit lane while it was closed, raising the possibility of a penalty for the Andretti driver.

On Lap 16, Evans took his PIT BOOST, which dropped him to the rear. At this point, Rowland and Mortara, both in podium contention, entered their PIT BOOST window. While Mahindra opted to pit de Vries, Nissan kept Rowland out, instead deploying his ATTACK MODE to build a gap over Mortara. On Lap 18, Barnard and Nato took their PIT BOOST. Barnard rejoined in 18th, just ahead of Evans, while Nato dropped to 21st, behind de Vries. However, neither driver suffered a net loss in position. Replays then revealed a collision between de Vries and Evans at the pit exit, although both escaped serious damage.

Dennis shown the black flag; Evan retired

On Lap 20, Race Control issued a black flag to Dennis for entering the pit lane illegally during the restart. This resulted from a misinterpretation of the regulations, which clearly prohibit pitting between the final lap under the Safety Car and the standing restart. Three laps later, Evans retired, likely due to damage sustained during his earlier contact with de Vries.

Rowland and Mortara take PIT BOOST

By Lap 24, with the pit window nearing its close, both Rowland and Mortara completed their PIT BOOST stops. Rowland rejoined in eighth, regaining the net race lead. Mortara returned in tenth, just behind Barnard, although he still had ATTACK MODE remaining and could potentially recover his position. Buemi also completed his stop and rejoined just behind Mortara. The pair came close on re-entry, but avoided contact as Mortara held track position.

A lap later, Ticktum briefly led the race before taking his PIT BOOST, with Müller and Hughes following suit. Wehrlein pitted at the start of Lap 27. At the same time, Race Control handed Bird a five-second time penalty for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions. Cassidy, now in the lead, was the final driver yet to take his PIT BOOST. Vandoorne, who had taken his stop before the red flag, now inherited the net lead. Despite spinning and making light contact with the wall, he recovered to the front as Cassidy completed his own PIT BOOST stop. Nevertheless, the incident cost Vandoorne five seconds.

By Lap 29, Vandoorne deployed his ATTACK MODE, using the additional power to extend his advantage. Although Rowland also had ATTACK MODE available, he chose not to deploy it immediately. Meanwhile, Barnard, holding third, came under pressure from both Mortara and Buemi, each with several minutes of ATTACK MODE still available. Mortara, with six seconds remaining, remained a strong podium contender. Vandoorne, however, looked increasingly certain to take the victory.

ATTACK Mode and the battle for the podium

On Lap 30, Mortara activated his ATTACK MODE, rapidly closing in on Barnard. Rowland, briefly overtaken by Barnard, reclaimed second using his own ATTACK MODE. With no ATTACK MODE remaining, Barnard became increasingly vulnerable to Mortara and Buemi. Race Control then confirmed the addition of three extra laps to compensate for the earlier neutralisation.

Buemi capitalised on the opportunity, passing Mortara to take fourth. Over team radio, Buemi questioned whether Mortara had activated ATTACK MODE, noting his sudden drop in pace. It quickly became evident that Mortara was suffering from a technical issue, which curtailed his challenge.

With Mortara slipping to fifth, the fight for the final podium place was now firmly between Buemi and Barnard. Ticktum, just over a second behind Mortara, also posed a threat. As the race entered its final three laps, Mortara struggled to defend, and further positions were at risk. Further down the field, Vergne overtook Frijns for ninth and began closing in on de Vries for eighth.

Vandoorne seals victory at the Tokyo E-Prix

Ultimately, Vandoorne claimed a remarkable victory, having leveraged his early PIT BOOST to perfection and survived a late scare to maintain control. Rowland, despite coming perilously close to running out of energy, clung on to finish second. Barnard, recovering impressively after his heavy crash in FP2, completed the podium in third.

Buemi finished fourth, narrowly missing out on a top-three result. Ticktum claimed fifth, ahead of a disappointed Mortara, whose earlier promise faded due to technical difficulties. Da Costa finished seventh, while de Vries held off Vergne for eighth. Frijns rounded out the points in tenth.