How DS Penske picked up points

The 2025-26 Formula E season began in Sao Paulo in much the same way as it kicked off last year: at a frenetic pace, with the safety car intervening, then a complete interruption of the race that reshuffled the deck.

Amidst the turmoil, the 10 teams gave it their all for the final year of Gen3, determined to make their mark. For DS Penske, the work began long before the team arrived in Brazil, in the offices in Satory, France, and at the Penske simulator near London, UK.

A big fan of video games, new recruit Taylor Barnard spent long sessions with his engineers virtually analysing every corner of the Sao Paulo track. “He’s really impressive, and has helped us approach this circuit in a new way,” his entourage told us in the paddock.

On this very bumpy circuit, mastering the braking zones is almost a science, and every reference point counts. But the discipline remains unpredictable, and the slightest hiccup can turn everything upside down, as we saw on Saturday afternoon.

At DS Penske, Saturday’s one-hour practice session, following the cancellation of Friday’s session due to a radio problem, revealed some doubts about certain elements of the transmission of the two DS E-Tense FE25s.

The technicians then urgently replaced mechanical parts and, in qualifying, the two DS E-Tense FE25s adopted a measured pace.

In Group A, Maximilian Gunther fell just short of the quarterfinals, but his car’s performance was encouraging. Barnard, who had set a very fast lap, looked set to reach the final stages, before running slightly too wide in the last corner, which caused his car to flirt with a wall – costing him precious hundredths of a second.

The science of racing

Qualifying 12th and 16th on the starting grid, Barnard and Gunther remain hopeful, remembering what happened here a year earlier.

“It’s always better to start at the front, but this circuit is special. I remember that last year, it was the driver who started last (Mitch Evans) who won,” recalls Barnard, who himself finished on the podium in 2024 after starting from 17th position.

For Gunther, who finished 11th last year, the goal is also clear: get into the top 10 quickly and stay there.

At the start, in sweltering heat of around 30C air temperature and nearly 50c on the track, the two DS Penske cars fought to maintain position. As the laps went by, they took turns in the points, thanks to a good race strategy and refined energy management.

The artificial intelligence-based race analysis system even issued an alert, flagging Barnard as a ‘driver to watch’, as he had a higher energy level than his rivals while maintaining a steady pace. And history would prove it right: as the finish line approached, Barnard activated his second attack mode and remained the only one still benefiting from extra power.

Maximilian Guenther, DS Penske

Photo by: DPPI

From then on, he could hope to finish in the top five, but everything changed.

A mistake by a Cupra driver caused a red flag, which brought the young Briton’s climb to a halt, with two and a half minutes left to continue his progress. Back on the pit straight but still at the wheel of their cars, the drivers imagined the positions would remain unchanged, with no restart.

However, the race directors restarted the race for two more laps. Now in eighth and ninth place, the two DS Penske drivers still had a chance, even though Barnard’s attack mode time had expired and could not be recovered. In the end, Gunther salvaged a remarkable sixth place after climbing up from 16th on the grid.

Barnard, meanwhile, suffered a second stroke of bad luck: in addition to being deprived of the benefit of his attack mode, his 12V battery failed and he eventually dropped back to 13th. A frustrating but encouraging result for this young driver, considered by many to be a prodigy in the discipline.

The next round of the Formula E World Championship will be held in Mexico City on 10 January.

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– The Autosport.com Team