DS Penske on the pace and in the points!

Formula E returned to Sanya for the first time since March 2019. On the championship’s previous visit to this street circuit, DS Automobiles had claimed victory. Six years later, the French manufacturer returned to Hainan Island as the most recent winner, now teaming up with its partner Penske Autosport.

Situated at the southern tip of the island, Sanya is a popular seaside resort which, for the occasion, hosted a temporary 2.52 km circuit featuring 12 corners. Whilst Formula E was already familiar with the venue, this round marked the first appearance of the Gen3 Evo single-seaters on this circuit – and therefore the debut of the DS E-Tense FE25s.

Although the layout was not entirely new to the teams, the preparatory work carried out beforehand on the simulator played a vital role in the build-up to the weekend. This was an exercise particularly appreciated by Taylor Barnard, who spends many hours using this digital tool ahead of each race. Alongside Maximilian Günther, the Briton was now set to build on the progress glimpsed during the two races held in Monaco, where DS Penske had shown encouraging potential.

The return to China also took place against a backdrop of particularly open statistics. Since 2014, Formula E has visited four Chinese cities – Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sanya. In the eleven races held in the country, the championship has crowned ten different winners.

Scoring points despite the conditions

In Sanya, the heat and humidity are significant factors affecting the performance of both drivers and cars. It is also important to explore the various strategies – at 300 kW and 350 kW – ahead of both qualifying and the race, which is the only opportunity to score points this weekend in the heart of this Chinese seaside resort, as all subsequent rounds will be double-headers.

This is how one might interpret Taylor Barnard’s 6th position and Maximilian Günther’s 13th fastest time, just 8 tenths off the benchmark time in the first practice session. This balance was evident during qualifying, with Barnard setting the second-fastest time in his group, allowing him to progress to the quarter-finals. Qualifying 5th on the starting grid, but ultimately starting 15th following a penalty, the young British driver nevertheless demonstrated his potential. Max Günther, who was also penalised after replacing a drivetrain component, started 19th, almost at the far end of the bridge that serves as the unique setting for the starting grid.

Taylor Barnard, DS Penske Team

Photo by: DPPI

Armed with bold strategies and conserving as much energy as possible during the first third of the race, the two DS Penske drivers had the potential to break into the top 10 by using their Attack modes wisely. However, the Sanya circuit is bumpy, featuring a 90° corner as well as a hairpin. A layout that is ‘prone’ to collisions… Several cars collide, and a red flag (race interruption) is waved with 17 laps to go. At this point, Max Günther and Taylor Barnard have climbed back up to 12th and 13th positions, and all hope is still alive.

A restart is signalled behind the safety car, and the final stages of the race unfold at a frenetic pace. The DS Penske cars are among those with the most energy available. Furthermore, the drivers of the two DS E-Tense FE25s each had 8 minutes of Attack Mode left to use, compared with a maximum of 4 minutes for their rivals. But just as Taylor Barnard was preparing to mount a proper charge, thanks to his extra power, a Nissan went off the track, triggering another neutralisation, this time in the form of a Full Course Yellow. The young British driver lost precious time – more than three minutes! – which could have enabled him to reach the top five, where he had qualified, or even to make it onto the podium.

Taylor Barnard, DS Penske Team

Photo by: DPPI

When the race resumed, Max Günther activated his final Attack mode, but many other drivers ahead of him did the same. He nevertheless managed to gain a few places. Given the pit stops, race control added two laps, allowing everyone to make the most of their energy performance. But it was a final Full Course Yellow that froze the positions, and in the end Günther and Barnard finished in 5th and 9th places respectively. A remarkable comeback for the German driver, who had started 19th, and inevitably a slight disappointment for his British team-mate, who was deprived of three minutes of Attack Mode that could have made all the difference! But both the pace and the strategy were sound, and that is what we should take away from this race, as we look ahead to the next ones.

The next round of the Formula E World Championship will also take place in China, with two races at the Shanghai circuit on 4 and 5 July.

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– The Autosport.com Team