ePrix de Tokyo – Race 1: Stoffel Vandoorne outwits the traps to take the win
By stopping in his pits just before a red flag, the Belgian driver regained a victory that had eluded him for three years.
We have to go back to the Monaco ePrix 2022 during season 8, the season of his coronation, to find a victory by Stoffel Vandoorne in Formula E. At that time, the Belgian was driving for the Mercedes team. This time, it was under the Maserati colors that the former F1 driver won on the circuit laid out around the Tokyo Big Sight. The Monaco-based team particularly enjoys this circuit, as it was also a Maserati that won there last year with Maximilian Günther.
It was, moreover, the German driver who was the unfortunate protagonist of the race of the day. On a completely soaked track that had forced the race direction to cancel the qualifying session a few hours earlier, Günther had to leave his DS Penske at the side of the track due to battery problems on the 13th of the 35 scheduled laps, causing a red flag.
Only, that’s the thing. In a race where the Pit Boost was mandatory, which is now the case for every first ePrix race featuring two races, Vandoorne had made his stop just before the interruption. At the restart, despite being in last place, the one who races for Peugeot in WEC found himself in the lead when his opponents stopped in front of their garages.
Strategic move successful for the season 8 champion who still had to manage his lead on a very tricky track. Starting from pole, Oliver Rowland then set off in pursuit to make Nissan’s colors shine at home. The Englishman could have taken advantage of his opponent’s mistake, who made an error a few laps from the finish, but the native of Kortrijk had enough of a lead to cross the line in first position.
Behind Vandoorne and Rowland, it was Taylor Barnard, accustomed to podiums this season, who climbed onto the third step of the box. Resisting Sébastien Buemi’s comeback at the end of the race, the McLaren driver takes advantage of this result to find himself third in the championship between the two Porsche drivers.
Disappointment, however, for the two French drivers with an 8th place for Jean-Eric Vergne and 15th for Norman Nato.
The second race of the Monaco weekend will take place Sunday at 8 a.m. (French time).
