The first race of the Saudi Arabia E-Prix double-header at Jeddah was one to forget for Monaco Increase Management’s driver Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche), who was immediately hit from behind by Mitch Evans (Jaguar) during a frenetic opening lap in an incident in which his right rear tyre suffered a puncture.

The German, who was looking forward to a competitive race after qualifying well and starting from the front row of the grid, was forced to pull into the pits at the end of the first lap to change the tyre and he came out again in 19th place.

Despite leaving his two Attack Modes and mandatory new-for-2025 Pit Boost until the final stages, the 2024 champion was unable to move much further up the field following his pit stop and he eventually took the chequered flag in a disappointing 15th place.

Pascal will now get a second chance to fight for the win tomorrow as Round 4 follows exactly the same schedule as today, Free Practice and Qualifying in the early afternoon and the 31-lap race at 18:05 CET.

Photos: Courtesy of Porsche