The Winners and Losers of the 2025 Sao Paulo E-Prix

Formula E is officially back as Season 12 kicked off with the 2025 Sao Paulo E-Prix!

Credit: FIA Formula E

Winner: Jake Dennis

Credit: FIA Formula E

After not winning since early 2024, Jake Dennis returned to the top step of the Podium to start the season with a bang! Jake did what he needed to do to make it into the Duels Finals, and a 3-place grid drop for Pascal Wehrlein meant Dennis started the season opener from Pole! The Race itself was the usual Formula E chaos, but Jake stayed out of trouble, charging his way back into the Top 3 before a late Safety Car put the Brit in the best place to win once he activated his final attack mode! However, having said that, none of that means Dennis’ win wasn’t deserved, as he looked supreme throughout, making the moves when needed (as well as surviving the last lap shootout) to take a brilliant victory for both him and Andretti! If Andretti can consistently provide Jake Dennis with a strong car, he’ll be in the fight this year!

Loser: Felipe Drugovich

Credit: Autosport

From one Andretti to another, we really need to talk about what went wrong for Felipe Drugovich! After a difficult Qualifying, Felipe spent most of the Race outside of the points, but a smart use of attack mode promoted Drugovich into the points-paying places! However, a late-Race Safety Car seemingly put Drugo in a position to secure his maiden Podium in the series! However, a Red Flag cost Felipe dearly, with that meaning he had to cross the line in 5th! Unfortunately for Drugovich, things got even worse for him as he received a Post-Race penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement, meaning he dropped out of the points entirely at his Home Race! This was a really gutting outcome for Felipe Drugovich, but his time will come!

Winners: Envision Racing

Envision Racing deserve a massive shoutout for a positive opening weekend of the season! Whilst Qualifying didn’t go amazingly well, Envision avoided all of the chaos to come home P7 and P8, scoring 10 great points as Joel Eriksson started his first full season by beating veteran teammate Sebastien Buemi! I honestly don’t have too much to say about Envision, but a double points finish should always be celebrated!

Losers: Mahindra Racing

If Envision gained from the chaos, Mahindra Racing certainly lost out! After a positive showing in Pre-Season Testing, Mahindra entered Season 12 as a bit of a dark-horse, and things were looking good after both cars qualified inside of the Top 5! However, their Race was pretty much ruined at Turn 1 as Nyck de Vries made a massive error, taking both him and his teammate Edoardo Mortara onto the run-off area, dropping them down the orders, with both drivers also receiving a penalty for different reasons! Things then got even worse for Edo Mortara as he got taken out of the E-Prix completely, and amazing, after all of the chaos, de Vries was still able to finish 9th, bringing home 2 points (which I guess is at least something)! Still, Mahindra could’ve scored big points here, and the fact that the two teammates came together on the opening corner of the season is the last thing that Mahindra would’ve ever wanted to have happened!

Winner: Nick Cassidy

Credit: Stellantis Media

Citroen Racing as a whole is one of the biggest unknowns of Season 12; they have the lineup to compete at the front, but whether their car is competitive enough is another thing entirely! So, when Nick Cassidy could only manage 15th in Qualifying, things were looking difficult! However, Nick did another one of his great comeback drivers, avoiding all the chaos whilst also nailing the timing of his attack mode activations, meaning Cassidy was ultimately able to bring home a Podium finish in Citroen’s maiden Formula E Weekend! As far as starts could’ve gone, I don’t think Nick Cassidy could’ve asked for much more in his Citroen debut!

Loser: Dan Ticktum

Oh, what could’ve been for Dan Ticktum! Dan Ticktum seemed dialled in as soon as he entered Qualifying, making it all the way into the Semi-Finals of the Duels, before he was eventually promoted onto the Front Row of the Grid for the Race start! Sadly, for Dan, the terrible mistake by Nyck de Vries punctured the left-rear tyre of the Cupra Kiro, dumping Ticktum right to the back of the field! Oh, and to make things worse, Dan Ticktum received multiple other penalties for different infringements, and the sooner he moves on from this weekend, the better!

Winner: Oliver Rowland

Yesterday’s performance in Sao Paulo can firmly be put down as a Champions drive from Oliver Rowland! Qualifying wasn’t the best for the Brit, but Oliver Rowland showed his experience with a few pretty good moves before Nissan made the smart decision to go early with the attack mode in order to put Ollie out in front to manage his high battery temperatures! Now, this is where Rowland got a bit fortunate, as the timing of the Safety Car meant he found himself out in front with only the Andretti’s behind him still yet to activate their second Attack Modes! Eventually, Dennis got through for the win, but Rowland was able to come home in a very strong second place; a great start to his Championship defence!