RACE REPORT: 2025 Tokyo E-Prix I
Race Notes
- The 2025 Tokyo E-Prix doubleheader weekend got underway yesterday, with Jake Dennis and Nico Mueller taking to the track for Free Practice 1. The session was briefly halted after NEOM McLaren Formula E team’s Taylor Barnard lost control and hit the wall at the newly reconfigured high-speed Turn 16, bringing out a red flag. Despite the interruption, both Andretti Formula E drivers had a productive outing, with Dennis finishing tenth and Mueller close behind in 12th.
- Track action resumed today in wet conditions as drivers tackled a tricky Free Practice 2 this morning. Like yesterday, the practice session was interrupted by a red flag as CUPRA Kiro’s David Beckmann came to a stop in the run-off at Turn 15. After the session was resumed, Mueller took the checkered in 21st with teammate Dennis just behind in 22nd.
- Due to the rain intensifying after Free Practice 2, Qualifying for Round 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was cancelled, making it the first non-Free Practice session to be cancelled in Formula E history. As a result, the E-Prix starting grid order was set with the results of the morning’s Free Practice 2 session
- The E-Prix started under safety car conditions for four laps, with the field eventually conducting a standing start on Lap 5.
- Both Andretti Formula E drivers held position at the opening stages of the race, with Dennis’ strategy opting to use his energy as quickly as possible while teammate Mueller opted to save energy for later on in the race
- On Lap 13, the E-Prix was red-flagged when DS PENSKE driver Maximilian Günther came to a stop at Turn 15 when his car displayed the red light
- Following the Red Flag, Dennis entered the pit lane to take his PIT BOOST as the grid was reforming with the team under the assumption that the pit lane was open based on messages received on the timing screens. After exiting, the team was informed by race control that the No. 27 had entered the pit lane while it was closed. As a result, Dennis was shown the black flag, and a disqualification was issued by the stewards.
- On the other side of the garage, Mueller was able to execute a clean race and, through strategic use of his Attack Modes and a late PIT BOOST, the Swiss gained nine positions to take the checkered in 12th.
- After the opening race of the Tokyo E-Prix doubleheader weekend, the Andretti Formula E team dropped one position to seventh in the Team Championship Standings.
Race Results
Jake Dennis
No. 27 Andretti Porsche 99X Electric
DSQ
| Started | P22 |
| Standings | P9 (44 points) |
Qualifying
- With Qualifying cancelled, Dennis inherited his starting grid position from the morning Free Practice 2 classification.
Race
- During the opening stages of the E-Prix, Dennis held position and used energy to try and catch the pack ahead.
- After the Red Flag on Lap 13, Dennis entered what the team assumed to be an open pit lane as the grid was reforming to take his PIT BOOST.
- After leaving the pit lane, the team received a message from race control that the No. 27 had entered the pit lane while it was closed. Subsequently, Dennis received a black flag, and a disqualification was issued by the stewards.
“Pretty difficult day in general for the team. We had our first running in wet conditions in Free Practice 2 this morning, which ended with both cars being towards the back. That meant after Qualifying was cancelled, both Nico and I started on the back row. We had a pretty clear strategy going into the race, which looked like we almost optimized perfectly, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out. We ended up pitting when the pit entry was closed, even though the team had received a message indicating that the pit lane was open, which led to the decision of a black flag. It’s a bit of a shame, but I think the strategy was worth pursuing, and we almost made it work which would’ve resulted in an easy podium. We’ll refocus and go again tomorrow for some hopefully dry running.”
Nico Mueller
No. 51 Andretti Porsche 99X Electric
P12
| Started | P21 |
| Standings | P16 (24 points) |
Qualifying
- Mueller inherited his 21st-place grid position from the morning Free Practice 2 classification.
Race
- During the opening stages of the race, Mueller saved energy and took his Attack Mode on Lap 11 for four minutes.
- At the halfway mark of the E-Prix, Mueller was up to 13th after the first cycles of PIT BOOST had started.
- Taking his second Attack Mode on Lap 19, the Swiss driver was able to use the extra 50kWh of power to get up into podium position, running third by the time his Attack Mode ran out.
- On Lap 26, Mueller took his PIT BOOST and emerged back into the race in 13th.
- During the closing stages of the race, the No. 51 was able to make up one position and take the checkered in 12th, advancing nine positions from his starting place of 21st.
“Obviously a difficult day with Qualifying getting cancelled and us having not spent our time in Free Practice 2 focusing on pure lap time given that we were expecting to qualify later on. But, it was also clear we didn’t have great pace in practice, otherwise we would have automatically been further forward. Nonetheless, I think we maximized what we had in the race and took every opportunity to gain places. Moving from 21st to 12th was pretty much the maximum we could have achieved today. I think we can be happy with our execution, but there’s lots still to learn for tomorrow.”
Roger Griffiths
Team Principal
“It’s been a difficult day for the Andretti Formula E team in Tokyo. The weather has played a huge part in the outcome of our race, particularly in regard to the cancelled qualifying session. It seems we spent this morning’s practice session focused too much on trying to find the right balance with the car, rather than setting some competitive lap times. As a result, we had to do something creative, and we had a plan that was split across the two cars.
We saw an opportunity with Jake for his PIT BOOST and believed that we entered an open pit lane based off the timing screen messages. However, it transpires that perhaps the pit lane wasn’t open, though all the information that the team had received to make a decision indicated otherwise. While we feel the penalty is particularly harsh for the situation, we accept it, and we move on from it. On the other side of the garage with Nico, 12th was a decent recovery from the back of the grid. We didn’t quite make it into the points, but we learned a lot out there and got more miles under his belt. Tomorrow is another day, and we look to be more competitive in drier conditions, so the focus now switches to that.”
