RACE REPORT: 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix
Race Results
| 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix |
| Jake Dennis | P1 |
| Felipe Drugovich | P4 |
Race Notes
- After a seven-year hiatus, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returned to Sanya, China for a singleheader race on the southern tip of Hainan Island. The Andretti duo of Jake Dennis and Felipe Drugovich took to the track yesterday for the opening Free Practice 1 session, finishing an interrupted red-flagged session in second and 17th, respectively. The Brit backed up his pace in Free Practice 2 this morning, placing third as teammate Drugovich took the checkered in sixth.
- The Andretti duo both progressed into the Duels from their qualifying groups and were able to go all the way to the Final Duel. Facing off against each other in a guaranteed front-row lockout outcome, Dennis took the pole position honors as Drugovich lost time in Turn 1.
- The Qualifying result marks Andretti Formula E’s first front-row lockout in Formula E, 15th Pole Position, 30th front-row start, 50th Duels appearance and 63rd session topped.
- Both Andretti drivers was able to maintain their starting positions in the opening laps of the E-Prix and control the pace of the race out front.
- The duo were shuffled back by Lap 14 due to drivers behind taking early Attack Modes, however it gave an opportunity for the duo to conserve energy to utilize later in the race.
- The race was red-flagged on Lap 20 due to a multi-car pileup at Turn 9 though fortunately, both Dennis and Drugovich had taken their first Attack Modes on Lap 16 and were able to make their way back to the original starting positions of first and second, respectively, before the race was halted.
- The No. 27 and No. 28 were able to hold their positions on-track after the standing restart to the race, led out by the Safety Car, and by saving their second Attack Modes for the closing stages of the E-Prix, both drivers were able to make their way back through the field.
- Dennis took the checkered in first and teammate Drugovich crossed the line in third on the road, though was elevated to second due to a five-second penalty for Jaguar’s António Félix da Costa in front.
- Unfortunately, a post-race five-second penalty demoted the Brazilian to fourth.
- Today’s result marks the team’s 13th victory and 42nd podium. With Dennis leading 18 laps, it takes the team’s total tally to 479 laps led and marks the 40th race led by the Indianapolis-based squad.
- The 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix saw one Safety Car period, two Full Course Yellows and one Red Flag, though no laps were added to the race distance.
- The victory from Round 11 elevates the Andretti Formula E team two positions in the Teams’ Championship standings from sixth to fourth thanks to a 40 points haul.
Jake Dennis
No. 27 Andretti Porsche 99X Electric
P1
| Started | P1 |
| Standings | P5 (94 points) |
Qualifying
- Dennis’ morning practice pace carried through into Qualifying with the Brit finishing fourth in his group to progress into the Duels.
- The No. 27 driver advanced all the way into the Final Duel and claimed the Julius Baer Pole Position, bettering Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum and teammate Drugovich in the Quarter, Semi-Final and Final Duels.
- Claiming the best starting position in Sanya marks Dennis’ eighth pole position, 18th front-row start, his 33rd Duel appearance and 35th session that he has topped.
Race
- Leading the field on lights out, Dennis was able to maintain the lead of the E-Prix up until Lap 9 when he tactically relinquished track position to Porsche’s Wehrlein in order to save energy having led the opening phase.
- Dropping as far back to sixth due to other drivers activating their first Attack Mode, the Brit took his extra 50kWh of power on Lap 16 and regained the lead of the race by Lap 20.
- Taking the field to green again after the red-flagged race restart, drivers behind deployed their second Attack Modes earlier than Dennis once again. Taking his final Attack Mode on Lap 32, the No. 27 driver was able to re-take the lead for the third and final time and bring home his Porsche 99X Electric in first place at the checkered.
- On his 90th career start, Dennis’ result marks his eighth win in Formula E, his 25th podium, 40th top-five finish and having led 18 laps, takes his total laps led tally to 279.
“What a day for Andretti! These days don’t come around very often in motorsport. To have achieved pole position and the race win is a very special moment for me and everyone who has worked towards it. We’ve scored great points with Felipe’s result too and it was great to have him just behind me during the race. We were able to support each other and come away with this great achievement for the team. We’ve all worked so hard for this and we fully deserve the result today.”
Felipe Drugovich
No. 28 Andretti Porsche 99X Electric
P2
| Started | P2 |
| Standings | P12 (50 points) |
Qualifying
- Like his teammate, Drugovich progressed into the Final Duel beating Citroën’s Nick Cassidy and Jaguar’s Mitch Evans before facing off against Dennis in the fight for pole.
- The Brazilian lost time into Turn 1 and fought to make up for it over the rest of the lap, compromising his run by going deep into Turn 4 and consequently missed out on pole.
- Today’s qualifying result equals Drugovich’s best-ever qualifying result, his second front-row start, fifth Duel appearance and second session topped in Formula E.
Race
- Drugovich was able to lead a similar race to teammate Dennis, maintning position for the opening phases of the E-Prix and mirroring his teammates first Attack Mode strategy on Lap 16, regaining second position by the Red Flag procedure.
- With cars behind taking earlier second Attack Modes, the Brazilian driver saved his extra power activation for the closing stages and made his way from eighth to third by Lap 35.
- A five-second penalty for Jaguar’s da Costa in second promoted the No. 28 driver a position, earning him back-to-back second-place podium finishes.
- Unfortunately, a post-race five-second penalty for causing a collision with Porsche’s Wehrlein at Turn 9 demotes Drugovich to fourth.
“A really solid day for the team. A one-two in qualifying and a one-two in the race but a post-race penalty denied us of the result. Qualifying was pretty straightforward, the car felt great and we always wanted to be starting near the front. The race was another story. We tried to stick to our plan but it didn’t really work out. We got separated a few times in the race, and it almost worked out in the end thanks to the great strategy we had. The focus now turns to Shanghai to try and get back on the podium.”
Roger Griffiths
Team Principal
“What a great day for the Andretti Formula E team here in Sanya! We knew how strong the Porsche package car can be in the high ambient conditions, so to deliver a one-two in qualifying was a fantastic feeling. As both drivers progressed through their Duel knockouts, we quickly realized there was a possibility of Felipe and Jake facing off against each other in the Final Duel. We wish it would have been a little bit closer between the two drivers had it not have been for Felipe’s mistake, but nonetheless it’s a great feeling to lockout the front-row.
We went into the race with a strong plan and knew that we needed to control the pace. If we didn’t do that, we could see it getting away from us. Both drivers worked extremely well together and we didn’t react to other Attack Modes but instead stuck to our strategy. Jake kept his focus through all of the interruptions and once we retook the lead after the second Attack Mode, we knew there was no turning back from getting the victory. Having significantly closed the gap to the leaders in the Championship, he could well be on for a late-title charge.
The fact that we lost the second place with Felipe after a very strong race is a hard one to take. We lost a bit of a fairy tale ending to the weekend and it’s not great for the Championship. It’s certainly not good for us and Felipe, but we’ll take it on the chin and move on. We still achieved great points from the race and we’ll be back in China in two weeks’ time eager to get back onto that podium.”
