The city’s century-old port-opening history stands in perfect contrast to its modern urban skyline. As a beacon of innovation, Shanghai once again hosted Round 13 of Formula E, where the future of motorsport roared into action. Today also marks the final appearance of the GEN3 Evo race cars on Shanghai’s circuit.

July 5th – From the banks of the Huangpu River to the grandstands of the Shanghai International Circuit, passionate Chinese motorsport fans flocked to the venue once again. Following the intense showdown on the opening day of the Shanghai event, Formula E swiftly moved into the second round of its double-header weekend, with today’s race marking the grand finale of the series’ 2025/26 season Chinese leg.

After the previous day’s race, teams and drivers gained deeper insights into the circuit layout, energy management and race strategy. As the season heads into its decisive stretch, round 13 carries massive weight in shaping the championship standings. The spectacular rain-soaked showdown in Shanghai today kept the grandstand crowds cheering nonstop throughout the race.

Round 2 of the Shanghai E-Prix held special meaning for many competitors. Lucas di Grassi of Lola Yamaha ABT, winner of the very first race in Formula E history, took his first Chinese triumph in 12 years ahead of hanging up his helmet. Jean-Éric Vergne of DS Penske crossed the line in P2, and Eriksson from Envision Racing rounded out the podium in third, sealing the maiden podium finish of his career.

Free Practice 3: Barnard Tops Timing Sheets in Rain

The schedule for the day mirrored that of yesterday, bringing another bustling early morning to the Shanghai International Circuit. Free Practice 3 got underway at 06:00 on July 5. Teams and drivers made the most of their final practice session of the double-header weekend to fine-tune their setups ahead of the races on the closing day of the Shanghai event.

Overnight rain left the track surface in tricky conditions. Drivers posted lap times around 1:20 for the opening half of the session, noticeably slower than their times from the previous day’s free practice and qualifying.

For Andretti’s Jake Dennis, however, wet weather was far from his biggest problem. The British driver spent an extended spell stuck in the pits after a loud grinding noise emanated from his car. The team later confirmed the issue stemmed from a failed driveshaft.

Dennis eventually returned to the track and quickly found his rhythm, wrapping up the session in fifth position. Meanwhile, his Andretti teammate Felipe Drugovich posted solid pace for most of Free Practice 3. Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Müller, both running Porsche powertrains, also turned in dominant performances.

At the chequered flag of FP3, Barnard of DS Penske conquered the tricky wet conditions at Shanghai International Circuit to top the timing sheets with a best lap of 1:16.902. Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche finished second, followed by Felipe Drugovich from Andretti, Nico Müller of Porsche, and Jake Dennis of Andretti in positions three to five respectively.

Qualifying: Every Group Delivers Thrilling Matchups, Drugovich Claims Maiden Formula E Pole Position

At 08:00 Beijing Time, sunlight filtered through breaks in the clouds over the Shanghai International Circuit. Amid a packed, bustling schedule, qualifying for the second race day got underway, with drivers locked in a fierce battle to secure pole position.

Group A qualifying kicked off first. Nico Müller of Porsche topped the group with a lap time of 1:16.615. Barnard from DS Penske carried forward his strong wet-race form shown in Free Practice 3 to take second place in the group.Pepe Martí of CUPRA KIRO advanced to the knockout stage for the first time in his career. Oliver Rowland, reigning Drivers’ World Champion from Nissan, claimed the final qualifying spot. Mitch Evans and his teammate António Félix da Costa both failed to progress to the knockouts, leaving them on the back foot in a race that could prove decisive to the Drivers’ World Championship standings.

Group B qualifying followed, and Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche, who claimed pole and race victory the previous day, maintained his dominant form. He set the fastest lap across both groups with a time of 1:16.030.

Norman Nato of Nissan and Felipe Drugovich from Andretti also advanced into the knockout stage. Vandoorne’s teammate Jake Dennis failed to qualify further; the British driver stated over team radio that his flying lap had been impeded by Sébastien Buemi of Envision Racing. Edoardo Mortara of Mahindra secured the final knockout berth.

The duels stage kicked off with the first quarter-final, pitting the two youngest drivers on the grid against one another: Pepe Martí of CUPRA KIRO and Barnard from DS Penske. By reaching the quarter-finals, Jiménez had already locked in a new personal-best starting grid position, surpassing his previous high of 10th. Nevertheless, Barnard delivered a stronger run and advanced to the semi-finals with a margin of over 0.5 seconds.

The second quarter-final duel featured Oliver Rowland of Nissan against Nico Müller of Porsche. As the track gradually dried, Rowland seized the opportunity to advance comfortably.

The third duel saw Felipe Drugovich from Andretti take on Norman Nato of Nissan. Vandoorne built an early advantage with a blistering opening sector and held the lead all the way to the line to secure his spot in the semi-finals.

The final quarter-final duel pitted two serious Drivers’ World Championship contenders against each other: Edoardo Mortara of Mahindra Racing versus Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche. Wehrlein delivered utterly dominant pace, carving out a gap of over 0.7 seconds within just the opening sector. He ultimately stretched his lead to more than one second to storm through to the semi-finals.

Next up were the semi-final duels. The first semi saw Oliver Rowland of Nissan go head-to-head with Barnard of DS Penske, marking their second knockout-stage clash since last season’s Monaco E-Prix. Barnard opened a comfortable gap starting from Sector 2 and beat his former mentor Rowland to reach the final.

The other semi-final was an all-Porsche powertrain showdown between Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche and Felipe Drugovich of Andretti. Felipe Drugovich ultimately defeated the factory Porsche driver Wehrlein to progress to the pole shootout final.

The pole shootout final arrived, and Barnard fell just short against a red-hot Felipe Drugovich in the fight for pole position. The 26-year-old Drugovich claimed the maiden pole position of his Formula E career by a substantial margin of nearly 0.5 seconds, also securing the 16th FE pole in Andretti’s team history.

Race Report: Di Grassi Claims Chinese Win After 12 Years, Envision Racing Takes Home Podium on Home Soil

The grand finale of two consecutive days of intense on-track action began at 12:05 on July 5. The circuit remained slippery, so the race started behind the Safety Car as a precaution. Race control later elected to deploy a standing start for the running.

However, Mitch Evans’ car was absent from the grid; his machine failed to take the start, leaving him stranded in casual clothes inside the Jaguar TCS Racing pits.

Nico Müller relayed over team radio that despite the extremely slippery surface, the track remained drivable. After completing their tyre warming laps, the drivers returned to their respective grid slots, and the proper racing action got underway on Lap 4.

Barnard, Jiménez, Mortara and De Vries activated their four-minute Attack Mode simultaneously. The two Porsche-powered machines triggered their Attack Mode on the following lap, with Müller alone opting for the six-minute duration.

Once Attack Mode was engaged, the two Porsche-powered drivers surged straight to the front of the pack. A minor contact occurred between Jiménez and Müller, yet neither sustained any meaningful damage. Wehrlein then received team orders not to mount an attack on Müller, despite the German holding a longer Attack Mode window.

The top four positions were all occupied by Porsche powertrain machinery: Porsche factory pair Wehrlein and Müller led the field, with Andretti’s Felipe Drugovich and Jake Dennis sitting third and fourth respectively.

There was also a dramatic incident between Oliver Rowland and António Félix da Costa. The two cars made contact, damaging the front wing on da Costa’s machine. Rowland stated over team radio that da Costa had collided with his vehicle. Race control later issued a warning to da Costa for the incident, and the loose front wing proceeded to rub continuously against his tyres for the remainder of his run.

Buemi then pulled off a brilliant overtake, using Attack Mode to pass his teammate Eriksson and Müller back-to-back. Moments later, Eriksson also got past the Porsche machine and quickly surged to the overall race lead, with his stablemate Buemi still running behind Wehrlein.

Shortly afterwards, Maloney’s car ground to a halt, triggering yellow flags that quickly escalated to full-course yellows. The Barbadian driver was forced to retire, with his machine stranded on the main straight.

The race suspension cost multiple drivers their remaining Attack Mode time, including Eriksson and Vergne, who held the top two positions at that point. Di Grassi climbed up to third and still retained four minutes of unused Attack Mode, making him the sole driver inside the top ten with leftover boost time in hand.

Once the full-course yellow period concluded, Di Grassi drove through the Attack Mode activation zone and began piling pressure onto Vergne and Eriksson ahead of him.

Struggling with low remaining energy, Eriksson was overtaken by Vergne late in the race, who briefly moved into the race lead. Nevertheless, Di Grassi, still running with active Attack Mode, possessed a clear pace advantage. As the final lap got underway, di Grassi swept past Vergne on the main straight to claim victory in Race 2 of the Shanghai E-Prix.

As the winner of the inaugural race in Formula E history, Di Grassi claimed victory on Chinese soil once again after a 12-year gap ahead of his retirement. Vergne of DS Penske took second place. Eriksson from Envision Racing finished third, securing the first podium of his career in his rookie season.

Against a backdrop of changeable weather and a packed schedule, Round 13 of Season 12 has drawn to a successful close, marking the end of Formula E’s Chinese campaign for this season. From the warm, long-awaited cheers lining the Haitang Bay Circuit in Sanya to the roaring crowds filling the grandstands at Shanghai International Circuit, Chinese fans have stood firmly alongside Formula E with unwavering passion. Your presence makes every return more meaningful; your devotion turns every race into an unforgettable memory. Thanks to your tremendous support, this chapter of Formula E in China will stand out as an exceptionally special one.

Formula E will head to Tokyo, Japan on July 25–26 for the penultimate race weekend of the season. New challenges and storylines are set to unfold along Tokyo’s neon-lit city streets, which will host a night race for the very first time. Let’s look forward to the next round!

Post-Race Interview

Di Grassi: "This feels incredible. I won the first race held in China, and now I’ve won my last one here too. It was such a tough race, and we took some big risks out there. The battles with Vergne and Eriksson were absolutely thrilling. This moment is the perfect reward for all our hard work. I honestly didn’t think I’d still be standing on the top step winning races at this stage of my career."

Vergne: "It feels good, though it’s a shame we couldn’t take the win. This season has been tough, so scoring second place was far from easy. We took a gamble on tyre pressure, and Di Grassi did the same. I’m glad everything unfolded today just as we planned."

Eriksson: "It was a grueling race, and we started right at the back of the grid. We were so close to even more at the end. There were loads of fantastic battles out there. I’m absolutely over the moon to claim this precious home podium in Shanghai for the team and secure my first-ever career podium. We had such strong pace at the start, the team gave me an amazing car. The full-course yellow didn’t go our way, which was a bit unlucky, but we showed what we’re capable of today."

Standings / Points Table