De vries wins chaotic Tokyo E prix as Dennis Grabs championship lead

De vries wins chaotic tokyo e prix as dennis grabs championship lead

Nyck de Vries came out on top of a wild second Formula E Tokyo E Prix, winning a last lap fight for victory while Jake Dennis moved into the championship lead heading into the London finale. Porsche also had reason to celebrate, securing the constructors’ title with two races still to run.

The race was shaped entirely by rain that fell before the start. Although the weather stayed dry once the lights went out, the wet track combined with a night race meant the asphalt took far longer than usual to dry, setting up an unpredictable evening in Japan.

Da costa’s early lead unravels

Antonio Felix da Costa looked to have the race under control early on, building a healthy gap over the chasing pack within the opening laps. As the track gradually dried, however, the field closed back up and the advantage he had built began to disappear.

With just a handful of laps remaining, an incident involving Joel Eriksson, Edoardo Mortara, Da Costa and Zane Maloney brought out the red flag and neutralised the race. When it resumed behind the safety car, race control allowed just one lap of green flag racing for the win.

A red flag that fell at the perfect time for de vries

The timing could not have worked out better for de Vries, who had been struggling for pace in the closing stages before the red flag intervened. With only one lap to defend his position, the Mahindra driver held on to take his second win of the season.

The shift in conditions through the race rewarded a patient approach. Drivers who pushed hard during the wet opening phase ultimately paid for it later, while those who managed their setup and energy more cautiously early on, including de Vries and Dennis, came out ahead over the full race distance.

Dennis takes the championship lead despite missing out on victory

In a frantic final lap of attacking from the whole field, Dennis could not find a way past either de Vries or Nick Cassidy, settling for third place. Given how poorly his closest title rivals fared, that result was still enough to hand him the championship lead with only the double header finale in London left to run.

Oliver Rowland finished fourth to keep an outside chance of defending his Formula E world title alive, now sitting fourth in the standings and 14 points behind Dennis. Jean Eric Vergne crossed the line fifth for Citroen, though he remains under investigation for failing to return to the pits when the red flag was shown.

Norman Nato took sixth for Nissan ahead of Sebastien Buemi, Nico Muller, Taylor Barnard and Max Guenther. It was a night to forget for former championship leader Pascal Wehrlein, who pushed too hard in the opening phase and slipped back through the field to finish 15th. The result drops him to third in the standings, though the constructors’ title already secured for Porsche softens the blow for the German manufacturer.

Tokyo e prix race two results