Da Costa takes revenge on his own Porsche team at the Misano E-Prix

His team Porsche even had a competitor test behind his back during the season, possibly to replace him at short notice. But with victory in the first Misano E-Prix, Antonio Felix da Costa managed to silence all his internal critics. Nissan driver Oliver Rowland finished second - and took the championship lead - and Jake Dennis finished third.

It remains contradictory for every driver: not trying to race as hard as possible, but saving energy to have enough later in the race to attack and finish the race. Especially on a track that, because of its characteristics, quickly consumes a lot of energy. And this weekend in Misano, this leads to seemingly strange situations. After all, it takes extra energy to drive in free air as the leader (about 15 per cent more) than to race behind another competitor.

Cassidy and Wehrlein with damage

Therefore, in the first race this weekend at the Italian circuit, none of the drivers wanted to drive first in the early stages, leading to a situation reminiscent of a peloton of cyclists: head-to-head positions were changed, sometimes with several cars side by side. This was not without risk, title contenders Nick Cassidy (second in the standings) and Pascal Wehrlein (first) noticed early on.

First, it was the New Zealander who rather opportunistically tried to pass Jean-Éric Vergne on the outside, but there was not enough space to do so. Cassidy hit the wall with his Jaguar and had to go into the pits to replace his front wing. This immediately spoiled a good final result in the race. Barely a lap later, Wehrlein also had to get a new nose, after the German driver had not paid attention and drove into the back of Vergne's DS Penske.

Frijns had problems, penalty for Vergne

With nobody really at full speed, Stoffel Vandoorne managed to drive all the way to the front from 18th. The Belgian drove at the front for a moment, only to drop back through the field completely. Robin Frijns was also competing at the front until the Dutchman suffered damage to the bodywork of his Envision Racing car and dropped far back. Gone was a top result for Frijns, just as Vergne could also whistle for a great result. He received a five-second time penalty for allegedly giving Cassidy too little space.

With about ten laps to go, the speed continued to increase, and the battles at the front became more intense. This included Oliver Rowland (Nissan), who has finished on the podium in the last three races, Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche), Max Günther (Maserati) and reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti).

Da Costa takes late win in Misano

Positions continued to be exchanged until Rowland managed to create a gap five laps from the end. The Brit appeared to be on his way to victory, but Da Costa managed to catch up and pass him in the closing stages thanks to two fastest laps in a row. In an exciting final phase, with Rowland three-tenths behind him, Da Costa managed to secure victory.

Nyck de Vries did not play a significant role with his Mahindra. The Dutchman finished in the rear.

The results of the first E-Prix in Misano