The all-electric racing series Formula E returned with a bang this weekend at Diriyah in Saudi Arabia with two races on consecutive days.
As Formula E so often does, the two races delivered excitement, drama and contentious decisions, with Alexander Sims ending the weekend as the somewhat unexpected championship leader.
Sims was flawless in qualifying in his BMW i Andretti car, taking pole on both days and delivering a lights to flag win on Saturday to take victory.
He came a cropper to some of Formula E’s old guard on Friday, but given the fact that this is just his second season in the sport and the fact he nearly lost his seat over the summer, this was an ideal start for the Englishman.
Elsewhere, Sam Bird did what Sam Bird does and won a race for the sixth season in a row, Mercedes were quick on their first ever Formula E weekend and Maximilian Gunther lost a podium on his debut weekend for BMW after a review by the stewards.
Sadly, it is now a long wait until the next race in Santiago on Saturday, January 18, 2020, but with two action-packed races in the books, there should be enough to keep the interest of fans piqued.
Below, I assess the five key talking points to come out of the first race weekend of the season and look ahead to the rest of the campaign.
5. New drivers impress on Formula E debut
A number of new drivers were racing in Formula E for the first time in Saudi Arabia and in two races that were packed with incident, they conducted themselves well.
Sadly for the likes of Nico Muller and Brendon Hartley at GEOX Dragon, they don’t quite look to have the machinery to compete at the top end, but nonetheless it was notable that Hartley was able to take two points on Saturday, despite incurring a penalty.
He was, of course, aided by the slew of penalties that were handed out at the end of that race, but he was able to out-qualify his teammate twice and can now look ahead to the Santiago ePrix knowing he is already on the board.
Muller is also a talented driver, but he didn’t have the best of weekends, unable to start the first race and then retiring from the second.
However, GEOX Dragon weren’t at the front of the field last season and will know that with two new drivers they may have to be patient.
Elsewhere, James Calado secured a seventh place finish in race two, and despite qualifying far down the grid, he was able to put in two quiet but effective race performances.
On both occasions, he impressed in wheel to wheel action and looks capable of being a useful support driver for Mitch Evans.
Finally, the most of impressive of the new drivers was Nyck de Vries, who scored points in race one after qualifying third in his first ever session.
If that wasn’t already impressive enough, he then drove from the back of the grid in race two and into the top 10, before picking up a five-second penalty for a technical infringement.
He was unable to recover for a second time, but it was a mighty performance from the Formula 2 champion.
4. Sam Bird has still got what it takes to win
On Friday, Sam Bird became the first and only driver to win a race in every season of Formula E’s existence after racing from fifth on the grid to take a spectacular victory.
Initially stuck behind Edoardo Mortara, Bird showed outstanding overtaking skill and a deep understanding of the strategy surrounding the Attack Mode rules in order to outfox the two Mercedes drivers and polesitter Alexander Sims.
For Bird, who had a disappointing season in 2018-19 by his own high standards, this was a timely reminder of his skills and a message to the rest of the grid about his intentions for the new season.
After the race, he spoke about the work he and the team put in during the offseason, and it certainly showed during race one.
Bird was once again in the thick of things in race two, before contact with Mitch Evans ended his race.
It was decided by the stewards that Evans was deserving of a penalty, and while it was a tight space in which to attempt an overtake, Bird could have perhaps given more room.
Many would have seen it as a racing incident, but the accident shouldn’t take away from how impressive Bird was looking.
At the point of the crash, he was again on for a podium, having already passed Evans and with Lucas di Grassi and Antonio Felix da Costa in his sights.
This crash won’t throw off Bird though, and he should now go into Santiago in January as one of the favorites for the race and the championship.
3. Porsche can deliver Andre Lotterer a win in Formula E
Andre Lotterer has been a consistent and fast racing driver for more than 20 years and for two years in Formula E.
Despite being the teammate of double champion Jean-Eric Vergne for the past two seasons, however, the 38-year-old German is yet to win a race in Formula E.
With five podium finishes in two seasons at DS Techeetah, Lotterer has been consistently in the mix for victories since he joined the series and took his first pole position for the Rome ePrix last season.
However, as the season drew to a close, Vergne won in Sanya, Monaco and Bern, while Lotterer failed to score points in any of the last four races.
By the end of the season, Lotterer was 50 points back from Vergne, having led the Frenchman with just five races to go.
This doesn’t make Lotterer a bad driver, however, and given how things unraveled so quickly at Techeetah, his decision to move to Porsche could be an inspired one.
After the first weekend, it certainly looks that way, with Lotterer finishing in second place in his debut Porsche outing.
This bodes very well for the German, especially after there was some doubt cast over the new team’s ability to compete straight away.
With Neel Jani as his teammate, Lotterer is now the guaranteed number one and team leader, so if Porsche can build on the speed they showed in Diriyah, he can finally deliver on the potential he has shown so far in Formula E with the win that he deserves.
2. Mercedes are ready to compete for titles straight away
Mercedes EQ Formula E Team had about as positive a first weekend as they could have possibly hoped for.
With Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries making it into Super Pole on Friday and Vandoorne securing podium finishes in both races, the signs are that they have a car that can compete and drivers who can deliver on that potential.
It should be noted that DS Techeetah and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler both had disappointing weekends, and this opened the door for Mercedes’ success, while Vandoorne put in a series of impressive qualifying displays with the now defunct HWA Racelab last season and still finished in 16th place in the driver standings.
However, with HWA, Vandoorne was unable to translate those qualifying performances into race results, with just one podium finish and only five top 10 finishes.
At the end of the first weekend of the 2019-20 season, however, Vandoorne sits in second place in the driver standings, and by coming through the field in race two, he showed that he can secure results from further down the grid, too.
De Vries was also impressive in his first Formula E outing and clearly learned from the mistakes he made in race one in terms of energy consumption.
This is positive news for Mercedes, which, unlike Jaguar or Porsche, look to have two drivers who can compete at the front end of the grid.
Of course, BMW showed impressive speed too, while in Bird and Robin Frijns, Envision Virgin Racing have drivers of the highest order. But after the first weekend, Mercedes cannot be ruled out.
1. Alexander Sims is coming of age as a powerhouse in Formula E
With three pole positions in a row and his first win under his belt, Alexander Sims is finally coming of age as a Formula E driver.
At 31 years of age, Sims has taken a while to reach this level, but at BMW, he is finally starting to fulfill the potential that has been evident since his days in the junior formulae.
Competing against Antonio Felix da Costa in his first season in Formula E was a tough challenge for Sims, but despite the fact that he finished in 13th place in the driver standings, he secured some impressive results.
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The season finished with his first pole position and podium in New York and it is clear that Sims has built on this momentum over the offseason.
Two pole positions in Saudi Arabia were clear evidence of this, while he impressed further by recovering from the disappointment of falling down the order in race one via a win.
His energy usage wasn’t quite right in race one, and with Bird and Lotterer lurking, he got his Attack Mode strategy wrong and paid the price.
It was quite reminiscent of how he lost the win to Robin Frijns in New York last season, but what he showed in race two is that he has learned.
Starting out lightning fast, no one else was able to get close to him, and when he was pegged back by safety cars, his restarts were perfect.
If any doubts persisted about Sims’s race craft after what unfolded on Friday, he will have gone some way to rectifying that on Saturday.
The BMW is clearly a strong car and Sims can get the most out of it.
Provided that he is able to handle the pressure and disadvantages that come with being in group one, he shouldn’t be ruled out from going the whole way.