Pascal Wehrlein took a dramatic victory in the Miami E-Prix, capitalising on a late safety car and red flag period that set up a frantic four-lap shootout to the finish.
The Porsche driver was in the right place at the right time when the red flag was shown on lap 21, sitting in second place with four minutes of Attack Mode still available.
His teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa, had just activated his final Attack Mode—worth six minutes of additional power—but the red flag nullified it, leaving the Season 6 champion at a disadvantage for the restart and ultimately costing him a potential race win.
Wehrlein made full use of his remaining Attack Mode following the restart, overtaking da Costa and controlling the final laps. Although Norman Nato crossed the finish line first on the road, the Nissan driver had failed to complete his full Attack Mode allocation and was handed a 10-second penalty, dropping him to sixth place.
Lucas di Grassi was promoted to second after post-race penalties were applied to five drivers who did not complete their Attack Mode usage. It marked the Brazilian’s first podium in two years and the first-ever podium for the Lola team in their debut Formula E season.
Da Costa, visibly disappointed, was forced to settle for third, knowing the red flag had effectively stripped him of a race win through no fault of his own.
Red Flag Chaos Turns Race on Its Head
The race was dramatically halted with just four laps to go after a multi-car incident at the chicane. Sebastien Buemi attempted an overtake on Maximilian Günther, resulting in contact that sent Günther into Jake Hughes and the barriers. A pile-up ensued, with Günther stranded between Mitch Evans and the stricken Hughes.
While Günther and Evans were eventually able to continue from the back of the field, the damage was done. The red flag reset the race, neutralising the energy strategies and compromising da Costa’s position.
Up until that point, da Costa had masterfully managed the race, staying in the top three and building a three-percent energy advantage over the field. He had used that to take the lead before the incident.
The restart featured a standing start and no additional laps added to the race distance, creating chaos. Fourteen drivers still needed to activate or complete their Attack Mode usage, and five had a full six minutes remaining—an impossible task with just four laps left.
Post-Race Penalties Shake Up Final Order
The five drivers penalised for incomplete Attack Mode usage were:
Norman Nato – Finished 1st on the road, classified 6th
Oliver Rowland – Dropped from points to 11th
Robin Frijns – Finished 3rd on the road, dropped to 7th
Taylor Barnard – Fell to 20th after initially finishing in the points
Sam Bird – Also dropped to 19th despite finishing in the top ten.
The penalties meant that Nico Müller finished the race in fourth for Andretti, with Edoardo Mortara promoted to fifth place.
Nato was classified sixth, ahead of Dan Ticktum, who had spent most of the race at the back of the field before using his final four-minute Attack Mode to cross the line in 11th—ultimately moving up to seventh after penalties were applied.
Frijns was relegated to eighth, with Jake Dennis in ninth, while Zane Maloney picked up his first point of the season for Lola Yamaha ABT by finishing tenth.
