2022 Diriyah ePrix explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 1 of 16 of the 2021–22 Formula E season
Next Round:	2022 Mexico City ePrix
Country:	Saudi Arabia
Grand Prix:	Diriyah
Gp Suffix:	ePrix
Year:	2022
Official Name:	2022 Diriyah E-Prix
Location:	Riyadh Street Circuit, Diriyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Course:	Street circuit
Course Length:	2.495km (01.55miles)
Distance Laps:	41
Distance Length:	102.295km (63.563miles)
Weather:	Dry
Pole Driver:	Stoffel Vandoorne
Pole Country:	BEL
Pole Team:	Mercedes
Pole Time:	1:08.626
Fast Driver:	Nick Cassidy
Fast Team:	Envision-Audi
Fast Time:	1:09.207
Fast Lap:	18
Fast Country:	NZL
First Driver:	Nyck de Vries
First Country:	NLD
First Team:	Mercedes
Second Driver:	Stoffel Vandoorne
Second Country:	BEL
Second Team:	Mercedes
Third Driver:	Jake Dennis
Third Country:	GBR
Third Team:	Andretti-BMW

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 2 of 16 of the 2021–22 Formula E season
Next Round:	2022 Mexico City ePrix
Country:	Saudi Arabia
Grand Prix:	Diriyah
Gp Suffix:	ePrix
Year:	2022
Official Name:	2022 Diriyah E-Prix
Location:	Riyadh Street Circuit, Diriyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Course:	Street circuit
Course Length:	2.495km (01.55miles)
Distance Laps:	35
Distance Length:	87.325km (54.261miles)
Weather:	Dry
Pole Driver:	Nyck de Vries
Pole Country:	NLD
Pole Team:	Mercedes
Pole Time:	1:07.154
Fast Driver:	Sam Bird Stoffel Vandoorne
Fast Team:	Jaguar Mercedes
Fast Time:	1:08.723 (1:08.917)
Fast Lap:	24 (24)
Fast Country:	GBR
First Driver:	Edoardo Mortara
First Country:	CHE
First Team:	Venturi-Mercedes
Second Driver:	Robin Frijns
Second Country:	NLD
Second Team:	Envision-Audi
Third Driver:	Lucas di Grassi
Third Country:	BRA
Third Team:	Venturi-Mercedes

The 2022 Diriyah ePrix was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in the town of Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on 28 and 29 January 2022. It was the opening round of the 2021–22 Formula E season and the fourth edition of the Diriyah ePrix, and was held at night for the second time. Novelties for the event included the introduction of a knockout-style qualifying format, which replaced the series' long-standing four-group and superpole qualifying.^[1]

The first race was won by defending world champion Nyck de Vries, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Dennis rounding out the podium.^[2] Edoardo Mortara won the second race, ahead of Robin Frijns and Lucas di Grassi.^[3]

Background

Nyck de Vries entered the event as the series' reigning world champion, whilst his team Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team are the defending constructors' champions in what is set to be their last season in Formula E.^[4]

Regulation changes

The races were the first to see the new knockout-style qualifying format introduced for the season. Under the new format, the grid is split into two groups of eleven cars, each of which will have ten minutes to set the fastest time with the cars set to deliver 220kW of power. The fastest four drivers from each group then advance to a knockout-style tournament to decide the top eight, with the drivers being eliminated via quarter-final and semi-final heats to leave a two-car battle for pole position. The cars' usable power is upped to 250kW for the knockout stages.^[5]

Driver changes

Following the withdrawal of Audi from Formula E at the end of the 2020–21 season, former champion Lucas di Grassi moved to ROKiT Venturi, partnering the incumbent Edoardo Mortara and replacing Norman Nato, the series' latest race winner, who moved to Jaguar as a reserve driver.^[6] Long-time Nissan e.dams driver Oliver Rowland switched to Mahindra Racing to replace the outgoing Alex Lynn,^{[7] [8]} his space at Nissan being taken by former Andretti driver and three-time race winner Maximilian Günther.^[9]

Three drivers made their Formula E debuts at the event. Former Formula One driver Antonio Giovinazzi joined Dragon / Penske Autosport to partner Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara.^[10] Former Red Bull junior Dan Ticktum joined NIO to replace the outgoing Tom Blomqvist alongside Oliver Turvey.^[11] 2019 Indy Lights champion and former IndyCar driver Oliver Askew joined Andretti Autosport, no longer factory-backed by BMW, to partner Jake Dennis, who came third in the 2020–21 season as a rookie.^[12]

Classification

Race one

Qualifying

Group draw^[13]
Group A	ASK	SET	JEV	FRI	BIR	ROW	VAN	TUR	BUE	DIG	WEH
Group B	DEN	GIO	DAC	CAS	EVA	SIM	DEV	TIC	GUE	MOR	LOT

Overall classification

		Driver	Team
1	5	data-sort-value="VAN"	Stoffel Vandoorne	Mercedes	1:09.489		1:08.873	1:08.407	1:08.626	1
2	27	data-sort-value="DEN"	Jake Dennis	Andretti-BMW		1:09.284	1:08.749	1:08.379	1:08.926	2
3	17	data-sort-value="DEV"	Nyck de Vries	Mercedes		1:09.164	1:08.600	1:08.813		3
4	36	data-sort-value="LOT"	André Lotterer	Porsche		1:09.313	1:09.018	1:09.014		4
5	10	data-sort-value="BIR"	Sam Bird	Jaguar	1:09.407		1:08.919			5
6	37	data-sort-value="CAS"	Nick Cassidy	Envision-Audi		1:09.214	1:08.951			6
7	4	data-sort-value="FRI"	Robin Frijns	Envision-Audi	1:09.163		1:09.109			7
8	30	data-sort-value="ROW"	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra	1:09.549		1:09.329			11
9	11	data-sort-value="DIG"	Lucas di Grassi	Venturi-Mercedes	1:09.617					8
10	22	data-sort-value="GUE"	Maximilian Günther	e.dams-Nissan		1:09.471				9
11	94	data-sort-value="WEH"	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	1:09.710					10
12	48	data-sort-value="MOR"	Edoardo Mortara	Venturi-Mercedes		1:09.536				12
13	25	data-sort-value="JEV"	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS	1:09.811					13
14	9	data-sort-value="EVA"	Mitch Evans	Jaguar		1:09.587				14
15	7	data-sort-value="SET"	Sérgio Sette Câmara	Dragon-Penske	1:09.867					15
16	13	data-sort-value="DAC"	António Félix da Costa	Techeetah-DS		1:09.704				16
17	28	data-sort-value="ASK"	Oliver Askew	Andretti-BMW	1:09.891					17
18	29	data-sort-value="SIM"	Alexander Sims	Mahindra		1:10.039				18
19	3	data-sort-value="TUR"	Oliver Turvey	NIO	1:10.129					19
20	33	data-sort-value="TIC"	Dan Ticktum	NIO		1:10.507				20
21	23	data-sort-value="BUE"	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Nissan	1:10.185					21
22	99	data-sort-value="GIO"	Antonio Giovinazzi	Dragon-Penske		1:10.596				22
Source:^[14] ^[15]

Notes:

•  – Oliver Rowland received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding another driver in the pit lane.^[16]

Race

		Driver	Team		Time/Retired		Points
1	17	data-sort-value="DEV"	Nyck de Vries	Mercedes	41	52:14.642	3	25
2	5	data-sort-value="VAN"	Stoffel Vandoorne	Mercedes	41	+0.636	1	18+3
3	27	data-sort-value="DEN"	Jake Dennis	Andretti-BMW	41	+8.802	2	15
4	10	data-sort-value="BIR"	Sam Bird	Jaguar	41	+14.925	5	12
5	11	data-sort-value="DIG"	Lucas di Grassi	Venturi-Mercedes	41	+15.152	8	10
6	48	data-sort-value="MOR"	Edoardo Mortara	Venturi-Mercedes	41	+16.015	12	8
7	37	data-sort-value="CAS"	Nick Cassidy	Envision-Audi	41	+17.265	6	6+1
8	25	data-sort-value="JEV"	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS	41	+25.076	13	4
9	28	data-sort-value="ASK"	Oliver Askew	Andretti-BMW	41	+25.699	17	2
10	9	data-sort-value="EVA"	Mitch Evans	Jaguar	41	+27.320	14	1
11	94	data-sort-value="WEH"	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	41	+28.781	10
12	22	data-sort-value="GUE"	Maximilian Günther	e.dams-Nissan	41	+30.536	9
13	36	data-sort-value="LOT"	André Lotterer	Porsche	41	+31.521	4
14	29	data-sort-value="SIM"	Alexander Sims	Mahindra	41	+34.572	18
15	7	data-sort-value="SET"	Sérgio Sette Câmara	Dragon-Penske	41	+36.781	15
16	4	data-sort-value="FRI"	Robin Frijns	Envision-Audi	41	+39.953	7
17	23	data-sort-value="BUE"	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Nissan	41	+41.334	21
18	33	data-sort-value="TIC"	Dan Ticktum	NIO	41	+49.222	20
19	3	data-sort-value="TUR"	Oliver Turvey	NIO	41	+50.965	19
20	99	data-sort-value="GIO"	Antonio Giovinazzi	Dragon-Penske	41	+1:16.527	22
Ret	30	data-sort-value="ROW"	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra	7	Collision	11
Ret	13	data-sort-value="DAC"	António Félix da Costa	Techeetah-DS	0	Collision damage	16
Source:^[17]

Notes:

•  – Pole position.
•  – Fastest lap.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Nyck de Vries	25
	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	21
	3	Jake Dennis	15
	4	Sam Bird	12
	5	Lucas di Grassi	10

Teams' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Mercedes	46
	2	Venturi-Mercedes	18
	3	Andretti-BMW	17
	4	Jaguar	13
	5	Envision-Audi	7

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Race two

Qualifying

Group draw^[18]
Group A	DEV	DEN (3)	DIG (5)	CAS (7)	ASK (9)	WEH (11)	LOT (13)	SET (15)	BUE (17)	TUR (19)	ROW (21)
Group B	VAN (2)	BIR (4)	MOR (6)	JEV (8)	EVA (10)	GUE (12)	SIM (14)	FRI (16)	TIC (18)	GIO (20)	DAC (22)

Overall classification

		Driver	Team
1	17	data-sort-value="DEV"	Nyck de Vries	Mercedes	1:07.939		1:06.871	1:06.835	1:07.154	1
2	48	data-sort-value="MOR"	Edoardo Mortara	Venturi-Mercedes		1:07.724	1:07.014	1:06.987	1:07.159	2
3	4	data-sort-value="FRI"	Robin Frijns	Envision-Audi		1:07.757	1:07.207	1:07.184		3
4	11	data-sort-value="DIG"	Lucas di Grassi	Venturi-Mercedes	1:08.083		1:07.580	1:07.216		4
5	36	data-sort-value="LOT"	André Lotterer	Porsche	1:08.224		1:07.285			5
6	25	data-sort-value="JEV"	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS		1:07.968	1:07.539			6
7	30	data-sort-value="ROW"	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra	1:08.101		1:07.780			10
8	13	data-sort-value="DAC"	António Félix da Costa	Techeetah-DS		1:07.806	No time			7
9	27	data-sort-value="DEN"	Jake Dennis	Andretti-BMW	1:08.419					8
10	29	data-sort-value="SIM"	Alexander Sims	Mahindra		1:08.011				9
11	94	data-sort-value="WEH"	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	1:08.454					11
12	5	data-sort-value="VAN"	Stoffel Vandoorne	Mercedes		1:08.257				12
13	28	data-sort-value="ASK"	Oliver Askew	Andretti-BMW	1:08.626					13
14	22	data-sort-value="GUE"	Maximilian Günther	e.dams-Nissan		1:08.339				14
15	23	data-sort-value="BUE"	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Nissan	1:08.829					15
16	9	data-sort-value="EVA"	Mitch Evans	Jaguar		1:08.368				16
17	3	data-sort-value="TUR"	Oliver Turvey	NIO	1:08.943					17
18	33	data-sort-value="TIC"	Dan Ticktum	NIO		1:08.753				18
19	7	data-sort-value="SET"	Sérgio Sette Câmara	Dragon-Penske	No time					19
20	99	data-sort-value="GIO"	Antonio Giovinazzi	Dragon-Penske		1:08.811				20
21	37	data-sort-value="CAS"	Nick Cassidy	Envision-Audi	No time					22
22	10	data-sort-value="BIR"	Sam Bird	Jaguar		1:13.910				21
Source:^[19] ^[20]

Notes:

•  – Oliver Rowland received a 3-place grid penalty for causing a collision in race one.^[21]
•  – António Félix da Costa had his quarter-final duel lap time deleted for missing his slot.^[22]
•  – Sérgio Sette Câmara had all his qualifying lap times cancelled for impeding another driver.^[23]
•  – Nick Cassidy did not take part in qualifying as his team could not repair his car in time following an accident in free practice. He was allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.^[24]

Race

		Driver	Team		Time/Retired		Points
1	48	data-sort-value="MOR"	Edoardo Mortara	Venturi-Mercedes	35	47:02.131	2	25
2	4	data-sort-value="FRI"	Robin Frijns	Envision-Audi	35	+0.451	3	18
3	11	data-sort-value="DIG"	Lucas di Grassi	Venturi-Mercedes	35	+0.912	4	15
4	36	data-sort-value="LOT"	André Lotterer	Porsche	35	+1.125	5	12
5	27	data-sort-value="DEN"	Jake Dennis	Andretti-BMW	35	+1.646	8	10
6	25	data-sort-value="JEV"	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS	35	+3.166	6	8
7	5	data-sort-value="VAN"	Stoffel Vandoorne	Mercedes	35	+3.568	12	6+1
8	30	data-sort-value="ROW"	Oliver Rowland	Mahindra	35	+4.235	10	4
9	94	data-sort-value="WEH"	Pascal Wehrlein	Porsche	35	+4.962	11	2
10	17	data-sort-value="DEV"	Nyck de Vries	Mercedes	35	+5.294	1	1+3
11	28	data-sort-value="ASK"	Oliver Askew	Andretti-BMW	35	+6.732	13
12	13	data-sort-value="DAC"	António Félix da Costa	Techeetah-DS	35	+8.693	7
13	23	data-sort-value="BUE"	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Nissan	35	+9.015	15
14	22	data-sort-value="GUE"	Maximilian Günther	e.dams-Nissan	35	+9.464	14
15	10	data-sort-value="BIR"	Sam Bird	Jaguar	35	+11.690	21
16	37	data-sort-value="CAS"	Nick Cassidy	Envision-Audi	35	+13.973	22
17	7	data-sort-value="SET"	Sérgio Sette Câmara	Dragon-Penske	35	+14.521	19
18	3	data-sort-value="TUR"	Oliver Turvey	NIO	35	+15.005	17
19	33	data-sort-value="TIC"	Dan Ticktum	NIO	35	+16.744	18
20	99	data-sort-value="GIO"	Antonio Giovinazzi	Dragon-Penske	35	+17.681	20
21	9	data-sort-value="EVA"	Mitch Evans	Jaguar	35	+29.872	16
Ret	29	data-sort-value="SIM"	Alexander Sims	Mahindra	29	Accident	9
Source:^[25]

Notes:

•  – Fastest lap.
•  – Pole position.
•  – Mitch Evans received a post-race drive-through penalty converted into a 24-second time penalty for failing to activate the second of the two mandatory attack modes.^[26]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
5	1	Edoardo Mortara	33
1	2	Nyck de Vries	29
1	3	Stoffel Vandoorne	28
1	4	Lucas di Grassi	25
2	5	Jake Dennis	25

Teams' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
1	1	Venturi-Mercedes	58
1	2	Mercedes	57
	3	Andretti-BMW	27
1	4	Envision-Audi	25
2	5	Porsche	14

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

|- style="text-align:center"|width="35%"|Previous race:
2021 Berlin ePrix|width="30%"|FIA Formula E World Championship
2021–22 season|width="35%"|Next race:
2022 Mexico City ePrix|- style="text-align:center"|width="35%"|Previous race:
2021 Diriyah ePrix|width="30%"|Diriyah ePrix|width="35%"|Next race:
2023 Diriyah ePrix|- style="text-align:center"

Notes and References

1. Web site: Formula E season 8 set to kickoff with new, 'knockout' qualifying format. Electrek. Borrás. Jo. 2022-01-24. 2022-01-25.
2. Web site: Mercedes takes crushing 1-2 in Formula E opener. The Race. 28 January 2022.
3. Web site: Diriyah E-Prix: Mortara beats Frijns to win as De Vries struggles. Autosport. Boxall-Legge. Jake. 29 January 2022.
4. Web site: Mercedes announces withdrawal from Formula E at end of 2022. 2021-08-18. 2022-01-27. Kew. Matt. Autosport.
5. Web site: FIA approves radical Formula E qualifying format shake-up. 2021-10-15. 2022-01-27. Kew. Matt. Autosport.
6. Web site: Di Grassi joins Venturi for 2022 Formula E season. 2021-09-15. 2022-01-27. Kew. Matt. Motorsport.com.
7. Web site: Smith. Sam. 23 June 2021. Mahindra Secures Rowland For Next Formula E Season. The Race. 23 June 2021.
8. Web site: Lynn moved to IMSA from Formula E to "write your name in history". 20 November 2021. 2022-01-27. Newbold. James. Autosport. en.
9. Web site: 2021-09-02. 2022-01-27. Smith. Sam. Nissan signs Guenther to replace Rowland in Formula E. live. The Race. https://web.archive.org/web/20210902070232/https://the-race.com/formula-e/nissan-signs-guenther-to-replace-rowland-in-formula-e/ . 2 September 2021 .
10. Web site: Giovinazzi moves to Formula E after losing Alfa Romeo F1 seat. 16 November 2021. 27 January 2022. Thukral. Rachit. Motorsport.com. en.
11. Web site: 25 November 2021. Formula 2 race winner Dan Ticktum will move to Formula E in 2022 with NIO 333. 25 November 2021. Thukral. Rachit. Autosport. en-GB.
12. Web site: American Oliver Askew completes Avalanche Andretti Season 8 driver line-up. 24 November 2021. 24 November 2021. FIA Formula E. en.
13. Web site: Doc 9 - Qualifying Groups. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-28.
14. Web site: Doc 34 - Final Classification Qualifying after Duels. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-28.
15. Web site: Doc 35 - Final Starting Grid. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-28.
16. Web site: Doc 30 - Decision No. 6. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-28.
17. Web site: Doc 43 - Final Classification Race. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-28.
18. Web site: Doc 48 - Qualifying Groups. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
19. Web site: Doc 64 - Final Classification Qualifying after Duels. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
20. Web site: Doc 65 - Final Starting Grid. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
21. Web site: Doc 39 - Decision No. 8. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
22. Web site: ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on Twitter. Twitter. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
23. Web site: Doc 60 - Decision No. 14. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
24. Web site: Doc 54 - Decision No. 11. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
25. Web site: Doc 73 - Final Classification Race. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.
26. Web site: Doc 69 - Decision No. 16. FIA Formula E. 2022-01-29.