Will Porsche continue their dominance at the Sao Paulo ePrix?

After a one-month break, Formula E drivers return to the track for the Sao Paulo ePrix. Pascal Wehrlein still leads the standings on behalf of Porsche, but the German saw the competition closing in on the last few races. You can read about this and more in GPblog's preview.

Sao Paulo ePrix

The Sao Paulo ePrix will be organised for the first time in 2023. There was earlier talk of a race in Rio de Janeiro, but it never got off the ground in the end. The same was true of the Ibirapuera Park race, which Lucas di Grassi tried to make a case for. In 2022, Sao Paulo and the FE finally agreed for the first race in Brazil.

The deal with the Sao Paulo Street Circuit is for five seasons, with the possibility of adding another five. The circuit has many straights and only 11 corners. So overtaking is unlikely to be a problem on the 2.9-kilometre circuit.

Formula E in 2023

The first five races were won by four different drivers. Only Wehrlein won two races at Diriyah, while the other races were won by Jake Dennis, Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa. Vergne is the only non-Porsche driver in that list. Wehrlein and Da Costa drive for Porsche's factory team, while Dennis also drives a Porsche car on behalf of Andretti. It says enough about the German marque's dominance in the FE.

However, after a splashy start for Porsche, things did not go as well in the last two races in India and South Africa. With Antonio Felix da Costa still winning a race, but Dennis did not score any points, Lotterer did not get beyond two ninth-place finishes and Wehrlein did not finish in addition to a fourth-place finish. As a result, the competition, led by Vergne, moved closer.

In the standings, Wehrlein still leads with 80 points, ahead of Dennis' 62. Vergne is now on P3 with 50, followed by Da Costa with 46. Envision drivers Nick Cassidy (43) and Sebastien Buemi (41) have also moved closer, while McLaren drivers René Rast (38) and Jake Hughes (28) are mostly still struggling to turn qualifying sprints into a good race.

The Sao Paulo ePrix also marks the return of Robin Frijns, who broke his hand and wrist during the first ePrix in Mexico. The Dutchman missed the four races that followed for his new team Abt Cupra, but is now back in action. He does not seem to have missed much, as Nico Muller and Frijns' replacement Kelvin van der Linde did not yet reach points. This leaves the team as the only one without points in the constructors' standings.

Timetable ePrix Sao Paulo 2023 [UK Times]

Friday 24 March

First free practice: 19:25-20:15

Saturday 25 March

Second free practice: 10:25-11:15

Qualifying: 12:40-13:55

ePrix: 17:03-18:30

Where can you follow the ePrix in Brazil?

In the United Kingdom, Formula E is shown on Channel 4. Around the world, you can watch most of the coverage on Formula E's YouTube channel if there is no live broadcaster. 

GPblog will again provide Formula E coverage this weekend. There will be extensive summaries of all sessions and the first reactions after the race.