Until a rainy Saturday afternoon, Shanghai had been synonymous with victory – and even a 1-2 finish – for DS Penske, as both DS E-Tense FE25s, led by Maximilian Guenther, had triumphed in the first of the two races in 2025. But seasons come and go, and no two are alike; the Franco-American team was less fortunate in this opening round of the 2026 season. There was, however, one similarity when it came to the weather: threatening storms, once again forcing the organisers to alter the schedule for race day.
The Friday afternoon session took place in dry conditions, however, with the drivers working on different set-ups in preparation for a potentially wet race. “It’s always better to start at the front, but qualifying will be particularly important on Sunday, during the race with no mandatory pitstop for refuelling,” explains Guenther, who secured pole position at the Chinese venue in 2025. “On the other hand, if it’s wet, we’ll need to qualify as far up the grid as possible to stand a chance of scoring big points.”
Following a first practice session that was mainly used to test set-ups without any real focus on performance, it seems difficult to draw reliable conclusions from the timesheets, as some drivers did not activate 350kW mode. And when looking at the 300kW standings – the race power setting – it is clear, however, that Taylor Barnard was the fastest of the session.
A schedule disrupted by the weather forecast
The next day, from 6am, everyone was out on track. Given the weather forecast, race control decided to bring forward the entire day’s programme. Practice sessions were shortened by 10 minutes (30 minutes instead of 40), qualifying took place at 8am and the race was scheduled for 12pm instead of 3pm. The aim was to avoid the thunderstorms forecast for early afternoon. Given how clear the sky was at the start of the day, it looked like they’d made the right call. But the sunshine that greeted the early morning didn’t take long to fade.
Taylor Barnard, DS penske
Photo by: DPPI
By the time the first qualifying group – in which Taylor Barnard was taking part – got underway, the temperature was already hovering around 30C and the air was thick with humidity. “It’s certainly true that, as a Brit, the heat and humidity aren’t exactly my favourite things,” smiles the DS Penske driver, who nevertheless stood out from the crowd in even tougher conditions two weeks earlier in Sanya. “But Shanghai is a circuit I like, one I’ve prepared well for on the simulator, and I hope to reap the rewards of my hard work.”
Lacking grip on a track washed clean by the night’s torrential rain, the DS Penske driver missed out on the quarter-finals by just four thousandths of a second. In the second group, Guenther gave it his all at the wheel of his DS E-Tense FE25 and set the third-fastest time, securing his place in the final line-up.
The polesitter for the first race of 2025 would eventually qualify in fourth position on the 2026 starting grid, while Barnard would start from 10th place.
A race full of surprises
The Shanghai circuit, in its Formula E configuration, is 3.01km long with 12 corners. It is a fast track that does not particularly favour energy recovery and requires a solid energy strategy to compete at the front of the field. The Attack Mode activation zone is located at the exit of the hairpin, forcing drivers to veer significantly off the ideal line.
Maximilian Guenther, DS Penske
Photo by: DPPI
The start of the race was uneventful, but Barnard was forced into the pits following a puncture in the opening laps. Guenther, meanwhile, drove a smart race and remained in the top five for more than half the race. The Pit Boost stop, along with the Attack Mode strategy, shook things up before the rain made an appearance. The weekend’s first race therefore concluded on a waterlogged and very slippery track, with the German driver securing points in ninth place, while Barnard was unable to break into the top 10 after restarting from last place following his puncture.
This Sunday will see the second race of the weekend, with the weather expected to be unsettled, where strategies and set-ups will be key to a successful race – this time without a Pit Boost stop and with two Attack modes available to the drivers.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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