ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Tokyo Round 8/9

The Tokyo Games will be held for the second time

The 8th and 9th rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the world championship for electric formula cars, were held on a special urban course around Tokyo Big Sight for two days on Saturday, May 17th and Sunday, May 18th, 2025.

The Tokyo E-Prix will be held for the second consecutive year following its inaugural event in 2024. This time, it was held as a double-header format with races held over two consecutive days, and featured a race featuring the latest electric racing car, the GEN3 Evo.

The Formula E-only street circuit, measuring approximately 2.582 km in length, was built in the Ariake district of Tokyo Bay.

It seems that there were various events held at the venue other than just watching the race, so it was not only for motorsport fans who just wanted to enjoy the race, but also for their families and friends to enjoy it.

The car was pink at last year's Tokyo Games.This year, the color is this. Do you know what color it is? ↓

As some of you may have already guessed, this color is matched to the Taycan Turbo GT's "Purple Sky Metallic" color.

In this race, a Taycan Turbo GT of the same color was running as a safety car, so it was great to see the unity.

ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Tokyo Round 8

Now, let's take a quick look at the details. Unfortunately, it rained on the 8th round on the 17th (Sat), and the qualifying race was canceled due to the rain not stopping.

However, the rain stopped considerably just before the main event, and there was almost no rain during the event, which was good (although the road surface was wet, of course).

The drivers for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team this year are Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein.

With the qualifying race cancelled, the grid was determined based on the results of Free Practice 2, meaning that they started from 11th and 17th place, and unfortunately Da Costa and Wehrlein finished in 7th and 13th place respectively.

ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Tokyo Round 9

The next day, Sunday the 18th, we were blessed with good weather (thank goodness!) and Pascal came in second place.

Unfortunately, Antonio had to retire early on due to contact with another car, but Daniel Ticktum in a Porsche 99X Electric WCG3 CUPRA Kilo customer car came in third.

In addition, former Formula E world champion Jake Dennis of Andretti, another Porsche customer team, achieved the impressive feat of finishing in fourth place.

As a result, in the 9th round, three drivers using Porsche components finished in the top four.

The standings in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after 9 of the 16 races are as follows:

Formula E, a new way to enjoy it

I think it's true that there are a certain number of people who have a negative view of Formula E, saying things like, "Racing with electric cars?"

It's true that compared to F1, the sound is more electric, "whirling," and for people who are used to watching F1 and other gasoline-powered races, this may not be a race that interests them very much.

In fact, to be honest, until I saw the Formula E Tokyo event for the first time last year (although I watched it on TV), I also wondered, "What is a race with electric cars like?"

However, when I watched Formula E for the first time last year, I learned that there is a rule called Attack Mode, and that the outcome of the race is largely determined by a "strategic battle of wits" that is different from normal car races, such as how to strategically consider the remaining battery life, and I began to understand how fascinating it is.

A futuristic electrical sound and various lighting that shines on the body of the car.

Everything has a futuristic feel to it, and the outcome of the race is determined not only by the driver's pure skill, but also by the various strategies and tactics of the team as a whole, which I found really fascinating to learn.

*Of course, I fully understand that there is strategy and tactics involved in regular races, but there are also tactics that are different from those.

Even if you are not yet interested in Formula E, I would be happy if you could try watching it while thinking, "Maybe it's interesting?" and "What are the rules?", and set aside your negative feelings for once.

I would like to continue to support Porsche in various races!

Source:
◆(Official) Two Porsches score points in wet race in Tokyo
◆(Official) Porsche Works' Wehrlein and CUPRA Kilo's Ticktum on the podium
◆2025 Tokyo E-Prix

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