2023 Cape Town E-Prix

2023 Cape Town E-Prix
The Cape Town Street Circuit made its debut in 2023.
Race Information
Date	25 February 2023
E-Prix No.	105 (5 of 2022/23)
Official Name	2023 ABB Formula E Cape Town E-Prix
Location	Cape Town Street Circuit Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Format	100 km / 60 min
Lap length	2.921 km (1.815 mi)
Distance	30 (+2) laps / 93.472 km (58.081 mi)
Support Race
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Sacha Fenestraz
Team	Nissan Formula E Team
Time	1:07.848 (154.988 km/h)
Fastest Lap
Driver	Jean-Éric Vergne
Team	DS Penske
Fastest Lap	1:09.740 on lap 17
ePrix Result
First	Second	Third
António Félix da Costa	Jean-Éric Vergne	Nick Cassidy
Winner Team	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
Time	42:25.403 (132.199 km/h)
ePrix Guide
Previous		Next
2023 Hyderabad E-Prix		2023 São Paulo E-Prix
Post-Race Test

The 2023 Cape Town E-Prix, officially named the 2023 ABB Formula E Cape Town E-Prix, was the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Cape Town Street Circuit in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa on 25 February 2023. The race would be the first E-Prix to be staged in sub-Saharan Africa, after a previous attempt to host the Cape Town E-Prix in 2022 was abandoned due to funding issues.

Qualifying for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix saw Sacha Fenestraz secure his maiden pole position for Nissan, with the Franco-Argentine pilot setting the fastest ever lap in FE history to defeat Maximilian Günther in the Final. En-route to the Final Fenestraz would beat Jean-Éric Vergne and then Nick Cassidy, while Günther saw off challenges from compatriot René Rast in the Quarters and then Mitch Evans in the Semis.

Ahead of the race Mahindra Racing announced that they would withdraw both of their factory cars from the race, as well as the two ABT Cupra entered M9Electros on safety grounds, after finding an inherent fault in the rear-suspension of their cars. That decision would mean that Lucas di Grassi missed an E-Prix for the first time, ending his run of 104 consecutive appearances since the Series' inception. Elsewhere, Sam Bird would also be withdrawn from the race due to damage, the Brit having crashed heavily and broken the chassis of his Jaguar moments after Edoardo Mortara had hit the wall at turn nine during the Group stages of qualifying.

The start of the race saw Fenestraz immediately convert pole position into an early lead, while behind Cassidy fought with Günther for second, briefly getting ahead through turn two only for the #7 Maserati to muscle back ahead. Behind the start and the opening lap would be clean with the reduced field of seveteen cars, only for Pascal Wehrlein to catch himself out on the brakes for turn ten and slam into the back of Sébastien Buemi, removing himself from the race on the spot.

That, combined with debris and then Mortara limping to a halt at the chicane at the start of lap two saw the race neutralised by a Full Course Yellow, the moment at which Günther managed to jump ahead of Fenestraz almost unseen. The German pilot was later placed under investigation for overtaking under FCY conditions, replays showing that the #7 Maserati had overhauled the #23 Nissan as they both braked to reach the FCY speed through turn eight.

After three laps and a Safety Car period the race resumed, Günther bolting through turn eleven in order to hold his controversially claimed lead over Fenestraz, while Cassidy eyed up a move on the #23 Nissan for second. After a few laps running in order Attack Mode began to shuffle the field, with Fenestraz and Evans the first to arm the boost from the lead group, Günther following a lap later and remaining ahead of the #23 Nissan, while Cassidy took an alternative approach and used the space ahead of him to lay claim to the lead.

Cassidy held out for three laps before arming his first AM boost, and would hold onto the lead as Günther went for his second, dumping him back behind Fenestraz as the race hit half-distance before the German pilot's race came crashing down on lap 21 due to a slap against the wall at turn one. A FCY was thrown to cover the retrieval of the #7 Maserati, with that incident and others meaning that Cassidy now led from António Félix da Costa and Jean-Éric Vergne, the latter duo having jumped Fenestraz moments before the FCY was thrown as the Frenchman went for his second bite of AM.

The restart saw Cassidy do just enough to keep da Costa from attacking him, although it would be in vain as da Costa pulled out an audacious move down the inside of the #37 Envision through turn eight to grab the lead. Vergne followed him through a few moments later, Cassidy having to backoff and manage his energy, with da Costa then falling behind the #25 DS Penske when he needed two attempts to arm his second and final AM boost.

Into the added pair of laps due to the SC period at the start and da Costa was now right on the tail of his former teammate, the Portuguese ace seeking any chance he could to force a move, although Vergne placed his car beautifully to block the #13 Porsche. Not to be deterred, da Costa pulled off another epic move through turn eight in order to seize the lead again, lunging his way down the inside of Vergne through the left-hand kink on the penultimate tour in what was a contender for overtake of the season.

That settled the race, with da Costa resisting Vergne's half-hearted attempts to reclaim the lead on the final tour to secure his maiden victory with Porsche, and secure the German marque's fourth win of the campaign as a powertrain supplier. Fenestraz was set for third until he found the barriers on the final tour, handing the final podium spot to Cassidy, with René Rast in fourth ahead of Buemi, who had battled his way back up to fifth from last. Dan Ticktum was next up having held off Stoffel Vandoorne throughout the race, Norman Nato claimed eighth ahead of André Lotterer, while Jake Hughes secured the final point ahead of a recovering Evans, who had dropped to the back after serving an early drive-through penalty.

Background

Two weeks after the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship staged its inaugural race in India and the Hyderabad E-Prix, the series would find itself once again unpacking in a brand new venue in uncharted territory. After three years of planning and one aborted attempt, FE would find itself in the shadow of the Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, for its first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, in what was the first FIA World Championship level single-seater race in South Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix. A late addition to the 2022/23 calendar, the E-Prix FE would use the Cape Town Street Circuit constructed specifically for the Series, which at 2.930 km was one of the longest ever circuits used by the series, and touted as one of the fastest.

Wehrlein's Wonder

Pascal Wehrlein had luck and potentially fate to thank for a miraculous afternoon in Hyderabad, for the German racer had seen his early lead in the Championship jump to eighteen points despite having spent the early stages of the Hyderabad E-Prix well outside the points. Indeed, fortune had instead departed Wehrlein's main rival Jake Dennis in the latter stages of the race, to Wehrlein's benefit, although the Brit was still in a very comfortable second place, with Hyderabad winner Jean-Éric Vergne holding half of Dennis' points in third. Vergne himself was level with Sébastien Buemi on 31 points after the opening four rounds, but ahead courtesy of his victory, while Nick Cassidy was up to fifth, level on 28 with Sam Bird.

In the Team's Championship fortune had also favoured the Porsche team, with the German manufacturer's factory squad having leapt onto 101 points and a healthy lead at the head of the herd, despite having spent a lot of the race with both of their cars only in the minor points or outside them. Instead, Porsche had opened up a 23 point advantage over their customers Avalanche Andretti amid the Hyderabad chaos, while behind Envision Racing had moved back up to third, nineteen off the American entry. McLaren had made way for Envision and dropped to fourth after their first FE non-score, while Jaguar Racing completed the top five in-spite of the Hyderabad horror show they had endured.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2023 Cape Town E-Prix is displayed below:

2023 Cape Town E-Prix Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Car
1	Stoffel Vandoorne	DS Penske	DS	E-Tense FE23
3	Sérgio Sette Câmara	NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team	NIO	333 ER9
4	Kelvin van der Linde	ABT Cupra Formula E Team	Mahindra	M9Electro
5	Jake Hughes	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	Nissan	e-4ORCE 04
7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati	Tipo Folgore
8	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra Racing	Mahindra	M9Electro
9	Mitch Evans	Jaguar TCS Racing	Jaguar	I-Type 6
10	Sam Bird	Jaguar TCS Racing	Jaguar	I-Type 6
11	Lucas di Grassi	Mahindra Racing	Mahindra	M9Electro
13	António Félix da Costa	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche	99X Electric
16	Sébastien Buemi	Envision Racing	Jaguar	I-Type 6
17	Norman Nato	Nissan Formula E Team	Nissan	e-4ORCE 04
23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan Formula E Team	Nissan	e-4ORCE 04
25	Jean-Éric Vergne	DS Penske	DS	E-Tense FE23
27	Jake Dennis	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche	99X Electric
33	Dan Ticktum	NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team	NIO	333 ER9
36	André Lotterer	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Porsche	99X Electric
37	Nick Cassidy	Envision Racing	Jaguar	I-Type 6
48	Edoardo Mortara	Maserati MSG Racing	Maserati	Tipo Folgore
51	Nico Müller	ABT Cupra Formula E Team	Mahindra	M9Electro
58	René Rast	NEOM McLaren Formula E Team	Nissan	e-4ORCE 04
94	Pascal Wehrlein	TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	Porsche	99X Electric
Source:

Qualifying

Qualifying for the 2023 Cape Town E-Prix would be conducted according to the knockout format, introduced ahead of season eight. The field would be split into two groups of eleven drivers, based on Championship position, with each group then getting ten minutes on track to complete as many laps as they wished at 300 kW. The fastest eight overall would then proceed to the knockout phase, now running at the maximum 350 kW qualifying mode, with the fastest from group A against the fourth fastest from group A and so on, until four drivers were left.

Those four would move on to the Semi-Final, with the winner of A1/A4 taking on the victor of A2/A3, while the triumphant driver of B3/B2 would take on B4/B1's winner. The winners from those duels would then go into the final, with the winner of that duel taking pole, while the runner-up would start from second, before any grid penalties were applied.

Post Qualifying

The final qualifying result for the 2023 Cape Town E-Prix are outlined below:

2023 Cape Town E-Prix Qualifying Results
Final
Heat	Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Grid
I	Win	23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan	1:07.848	—	1
	Lose	7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati	1:08.270	+0.422s	2
Semi-Finals
Heat	Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Grid
I	Win	23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan	1:08.357	—	F
	Lose	37	Nick Cassidy	Envision Racing	1:08.465	+0.108s	3
II	Win	7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati	1:08.212	—	F
	Lose	9	Mitch Evans	Jaguar Racing	1:08.568	+0.356s	4
Quarter Finals
Heat	Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Grid
QF 1	Win	37	Nick Cassidy	Envision Racing	1:08.446	—	SF
	Lose	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	1:08.598	+0.152s	6
QF 2	Win	23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan	1:08.467	—	SF
	Lose	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	DS Penske	1:08.520	+0.053s	5
QF 3	Win	9	Mitch Evans	Jaguar Racing	1:08.429	—	SF
	Lose	16	Sébastien Buemi	Envision Racing	1:11.937	+3.508s	7
QF 4	Win	7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati	1:08.740	—	SF
	Lose	58	René Rast*	McLaren	1:08.962	+0.222s	10*

Group Stage
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Grid	Group
1st*	58	René Rast	McLaren	1:08.844	—	QF 4	GB
2nd	23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan	1:08.994	+0.150s	QF 2	GA
3rd	37	Nick Cassidy	Envision Racing	1:09.007	+0.163s	QF 1	GA
4th	9	Mitch Evans	Jaguar Racing	1:09.025	+0.181s	QF 3	GB
5th	16	Sébastien Buemi	Envision Racing	1:09.040	+0.196s	QF 3	GB
6th	7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati	1:09.050	+0.206s	QF 4	GB
7th	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	1:09.100	+0.256s	QF 1	GA
8th	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	DS Penske	1:09.139	+0.295s	QF 2	GA
9th	33	Dan Ticktum	NIO 333 Racing	1:09.171	+0.327s	8	GA
10th†	10	Sam Bird	Jaguar Racing	1:09.217	+0.373s	WD†	GB
11th	17	Norman Nato	Nissan	1:09.263	+0.419s	9	GA
12th‡	27	Jake Dennis	Avalanche Andretti	1:09.265	+0.421s	14‡	GB
13th	13	António Félix da Costa	Porsche	1:09.441	+0.597s	11	GA
14th	5	Jake Hughes	McLaren	1:09.493	+0.649s	13	GA
15th	1	Stoffel Vandoorne	DS Penske	1:09.500	+0.656s	12	GB
16th	36	André Lotterer	Avalanche Andretti	1:09.975	+1.131s	15	GA
17th	3	Sérgio Sette Câmara	NIO 333 Racing	1:10.083	+1.239s	16	GA
Group B 110% Time: 1:15.728
NC§	48	Edoardo Mortara	Maserati	1:15.775	+6.931s	17	GB
WDƒ	4	Kelvin van der Linde	ABT Cupra	Withdrawn			GB
WDƒ	8	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra Racing	Withdrawn			GB
WDƒ	11	Lucas di Grassi	Mahindra Racing	Withdrawn			GB
Group A 110% Time: 1:15.893
WDƒ	51	Nico Müller	ABT Cupra	Withdrawn			GA
Source:

• * Rast served a three place grid penalty for .
• ^† Bird was withdrawn from the race due to damage sustained during qualifying.
• ^‡ Dennis served a three place grid penalty for impeeding Vandoorne during qualifying.
• ^§ Mortara failed to set a time within 110% of the fastest during qualifying, but was permitted to start at the stewards' discretion.
• ^ƒ Mahindra Racing and ABT Cupra withdrew their cars on safety grounds due to a fault discovered on their Mahindra M9Electros.

Race

Result

The final classification of the 2023 Cape Town E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.

2023 Cape Town E-Prix Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	13	António Félix da Costa	Porsche	32	42:25.403	1:09.810	25
2nd	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	DS Penske	32	+0.281s	1:09.740	19
3rd	37	Nick Cassidy	Envision Racing	32	+1.808s	1:10.249	15
4th	58	René Rast	McLaren	32	+2.208s	1:09.946	12
5th	16	Sébastien Buemi	Envision Racing	32	+2.656s	1:10.152	10
6th	33	Dan Ticktum	NIO 333 Racing	32	+3.209s	1:10.079	8
7th	1	Stoffel Vandoorne	DS Penske	32	+4.210s	1:10.027	6
8th	17	Norman Nato	Nissan	32	+8.582s	1:10.490	4
9th*	36	André Lotterer	Avalanche Andretti	32	+8.755s	1:10.322	2
10th	5	Jake Hughes	McLaren	32	+10.475s	1:10.248	1
11th	9	Mitch Evans	Jaguar Racing	32	+14.183s	1:09.951
12th	3	Sérgio Sette Câmara	NIO 333 Racing	32	+14.914s	1:10.788
13th	27	Jake Dennis	Avalanche Andretti	32	+38.846s	1:10.060
NC†	23	Sacha Fenestraz	Nissan	32	Not Classified	1:10.139	3
Ret	7	Maximilian Günther	Maserati	20	Accident	1:10.247
Ret	48	Edoardo Mortara	Maserati	1	Retired	1:33.486
Ret	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	0	Collision	—
WD	10	Sam Bird	Jaguar Racing
WD	4	Kelvin van der Linde	ABT Cupra
WD	8	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra Racing
WD	11	Lucas di Grassi	Mahindra Racing
WD	51	Nico Müller	ABT Cupra
Source:

• * Lotterer served a five second time penalty for .
• ^† Fenestraz was unable to be classified as he finished the race in the pitlane.

Milestones

• First Cape Town E-Prix to be staged.
• Lucas di Grassi failed to start an E-Prix for the first time.
• Maiden pole position for Sacha Fenestraz.
  • Fenestraz also set the fastest lap in FE history (154.988 km/h).
• Eighth win for António Félix da Costa.
  • This was also the fastest ever E-Prix in FE history (132.199 km.h).
• Porsche Formula E Team earned their fourth victory.
  • Porsche earned their fifth win as a powertrain supplier.

Standings

With the two main pretenders failing to score it was status quo in the Championship hunt after the Series' maiden voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, with Pascal Wehrlein having retained his eighteen point lead at the head of the field. Likewise, Jake Dennis had held on to second place, although the gap between himself and third placed Jean-Éric Vergne had been cut to twelve points after the Frenchman's second place finish. António Félix da Costa had also made a step up the order after his first win of the campaign, jumping to fourth just four behind Vergne, while Nick Cassidy had ascended to fifth ahead of teammate Sébastien Buemi.

In the Teams' Championship it was still seemingly the Porsche Formula E Team's Championship to loose, the German marque's factory squad having extended their advantage over the rest of the field to 42 points with da Costa's first triumph for the team. However, the Porsche duopoly at the head of the hunt had been broken, for Envision Racing had sneaked ahead of Porsche's customers Avalanche Andretti to secure second, four ahead of the American squad. Behind, McLaren had held fourth after a double points score, DS Penske were up to fifth ahead of the factory Jaguar Racing team, while ABT Cupra had remained pointless having had to withdraw from the Cape Town round.

 

2022/23 Drivers Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Pascal Wehrlein 80 ◄0 2nd Jake Dennis 62 ◄0 3rd Jean-Éric Vergne 50 ◄0 4th António Félix da Costa 46 ▲5 5th Nick Cassidy 43 ◄0 6th Sébastien Buemi 41 ▼2 7th René Rast 38 ▲1 8th Sam Bird 28 ▼2 9th Jake Hughes 28 ▼2 10th Lucas di Grassi 18 ◄0 11th André Lotterer 18 ◄0 12th Mitch Evans 14 ◄0 13th Stoffel Vandoorne 11 ▲3 14th Norman Nato 11 ▲1 15th Sérgio Sette Câmara 10 ▼2 16th Dan Ticktum 9 ▲3 17th Oliver Rowland 8 ▼1 18th Sacha Fenestraz 7 ▼1 19th Edoardo Mortara 3 ▼1

2022/23 Teams Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Porsche 126 ◄0 2nd Envision Racing 84 ▲1 3rd Avalanche Andretti 80 ▼1 4th McLaren 66 ◄0 5th DS Penske 61 ▲1 6th Jaguar Racing 42 ▼1 7th Mahindra Racing 26 ◄0 8th NIO 333 Racing 19 ◄0 9th Nissan 18 ◄0 10th Maserati 3 ◄0 11th ABT Cupra 0 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

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