Historic double for DS Penske

Max Gunther took pole position and went on to win a smart race, while Jean-Eric Vergne started 10th and finished second. DS Penske couldn’t have hoped for a better result in the first race of the Formula E weekend in Shanghai. 

After his grand slam (pole position, victory and fastest lap in the race) in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Gunther was hungry for more success and big points when he arrived in China. Among the favourites for the weekend, his team-mate Vergne also had some trump cards to play, as a regular on the front row of the starting grid. The Parisian driver holds the record for the number of pole positions in Formula E (17), the penultimate one dating back to Shanghai in 2024. 

As always, this year’s first practice session on Friday afternoon was used to fine-tune the two driving modes (300 kW and 350 kW) and is not necessarily indicative of each driver’s level. Nevertheless, it should be noted that both DS Penske drivers were comfortable and in the top 10 without pushing too hard, regardless of the programme chosen. This session was quite important for everyone, as it was the first time the Gen 3 EVOs had been driven on this track, where the kerbs at Turns 11 and 12 have been modified to improve the flow of traffic. 

In Formula E, anything is possible 

Saturday morning dawned grey but dry, with temperatures still above 20C. In practice, Gunther put his DS E-Tense FE25 in fourth, less than two tenths of a second off the benchmark time. Verge was only two tenths behind, and qualifying looked wide open. Then Gunther set the tone by taking the lead. He was the only driver to break the 1m10s barrier, relegating his closest rival to almost three tenths behind. In Group B, Vergne put in a good lap but missed out on the quarter-finals by just eight thousandths of a second. It was a very short margin that cost him dearly, but his pace boded well for the race.  

In his first duel, Gunther faced championship leader Oliver Rowland. The statistics favoured the British Nissan driver, but the German DS Penske driver took advantage of the perfect set-up of his car and joined Nick Cassidy (Jaguar) in the semi-finals. The young New Zealander was also unable to stop Gunther in his tracks. In the final, the DS Penske driver overtook Taylor Barnard’s McLaren to secure his second podium finish of the season. “I’m really happy,” said Gunther, holding the pole position trophy in his hands. ”This pole is good for confidence, these three points come at just the right time, and I’d like to thank the team for giving me such a good car to achieve this. I know that this afternoon’s race will be difficult and full of surprises, with the Pitboost procedure on top of that, but starting from the front opens up several strategies for us.”

Gunther masterful, Vergne imperial 

When the lights went out, Gunther didn’t get off to the best start, losing a few positions but quickly regaining the lead. Vergne, who started 10th on the grid, held his position, caught in a battle involving two other competitors, fortunately without any serious damage to his DS E-TENSE FE25. On lap 14, many drivers opted to pit to recharge their batteries. Gunther was among them, but Vergne opted for a different strategy and stayed on track for one more lap. Upon their return to the track, both DS Penske drivers quickly activated their first Attack Mode. With 12 laps to go, the pressure was mounting as victory began to loom for Gunther, who had taken the lead. Vergne was still in the top 10, lying in wait. Thanks to an Attack mode, Barnard (McLaren) came out of nowhere and surprised the leaders. But that was without counting on the determination and perfect strategy of Gunther and his engineer, who had decided to wait until the last moment to activate a final Attack Mode. With four laps to go, the German driver was firmly in the lead, four seconds ahead of Barnard. That’s when the emotional rollercoaster began in the DS Penske garage. The last two laps were dizzying, then euphoria took hold of the black and gold team as Vergne moved up from sixth to fifth, then fourth, before making a final pass on Ticktum and Barnard to take second place at the last moment. 

Maximilian Guenther, DS Penske

Photo by: DPPI

“Earlier, I noticed that in some corners several drivers were braking later and using a lot of energy,” said the French driver, who has extensive experience in this championship, which he has already won twice.

“I chose to protect my position efficiently, and this strategy allowed me to have reserves to attack hard in the last two laps. I’m really happy with this result because yesterday in practice I wasn’t comfortable in the car, but since this morning I’ve felt much better.” 

Vergne and Gunther thus secured a historic 1-2 for DS Penske, the first in the Gen3 era for DS Automobiles. It was a perfect result for the Franco-American team, allowing Gunther and Vergne to move up to fifth and sixth in the drivers’ championship, DS Penske to return to third in the Teams’ Championship, and Stellantis to be third in the Manufacturers’ Championship. 

The weather forecast for Sunday’s second race of the weekend is rainy. This could disrupt the set-ups and potentially reshuffle the deck for a very different race, without Pitboost but still with two Attack modes.