Pascal Wehrlein left Shanghai with the Formula E championship lead after a chaotic double-header that swung the title race and delivered a landmark maiden win for Lola Yamaha Abt.
The Porsche driver did the early damage in the wet opener, Round 12, converting strong pace into his 10th career victory and ending a three-race run without points. The result sliced Mitch Evans' championship advantage from 19 points to just three.
"Fantastic race," Wehrlein said of the opener. "Execution was perfect and it was just enjoyable," praising a car he called "flawless."
Round 13 belonged to a familiar name in unfamiliar machinery. Lucas Di Grassi carved through from 18th on the grid to win, handing Lola Yamaha Abt its first Formula E victory and claiming his own first triumph since 2022. Jean-Eric Vergne and Joel Eriksson completed the podium. For Di Grassi, a former Formula E champion, it was a reminder of the racecraft that has kept him competitive deep into his career; for the revived British marque, it was a breakthrough result.
The bigger story was at the front of the standings. Evans, who arrived in China leading the championship, was hit by a technical problem before the start and failed to take the green light - gifting Wehrlein control of the title race even though the German could only manage fourth on a drying track.
"It was a bittersweet second race," Wehrlein said. "Once again, our pace in qualifying was strong. Still, we scored 12 important points for fourth place and 40 in total across the weekend. I would have taken that before coming here."
Porsche's factory boss was uneasy about the manner of the swing. "Looking at the title fight, we were very sorry that Mitch was unable to start the race," said Florian Modlinger, the team's director of factory motorsport. "That is not how we want to fight for the championship."
Team-mate Nico Muller, who ran near the front early before slipping back, summed up a weekend defined by shifting grip. "In qualifying, the car performed well in the wet conditions. That was a good step forward," he said. "Early in the race, Pascal and I were running first and second. However, as the track dried, we started to struggle."
Wehrlein now leads Evans by nine points with the season entering its final rounds. In the teams' standings the picture is reversed - Jaguar TCS Racing still holds the advantage over Porsche - setting up a multi-front fight for honours as Formula E heads towards its climax.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/wehrlein-seizes-formula-e-lead-as-di-grassi-wins-in-shanghai). Visit for full coverage.*