Diriyah– Season 7 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship ended with a double-header in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, as Mercedes racer Nyck de Vries controlled the first round of Formula E’s first-ever night race in Diriyah on Friday and SAM BIRD of the Jaguar team emerged on top of the second round on Saturday.
Formula E’s first-ever night race witnessed the participation of twenty-four drivers from 12 teams lined up for the first E-Prix in a delayed start to the 2020-21 campaign.
The two-night races, the first-ever in the all-electric racing series, took place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia – from 26-27 February 2021.
In the first round, Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-Benz EQ) led from start to finish to become the first winner of the World Championship era of ABB Formula E, also claiming his first victory in the series.
Edoardo Mortara (RoKiT Venturi Racing) came in second, following a thrilling double-overtake, while Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) took the last podium spot.
Meanwhile, the Brit Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) took his first win of the season and his first for his new team after a race-long fight with Robin Frijns of Envision Virgin Racing.
Bird’s victory in the second of two back-to-back Diriyah E-Prix maintained his record of having won a race in every season of ABB Formula E. Frijns came in second, ahead of Season 4 and 5 champions Jean-Eric Vergne, of the DS Techeetah team.
Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, attended the second race of the Diriyah Formula E Race 2021.
The event is being held at Diriyah for the third consecutive year and marks the opening of the seventh season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
On arrival to the race track, the Crown Prince was received by Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal.
Saudi Arabia is hosting Formula E’s first all-electric night race as part of the 2020/21ABB FIA Formula E World Championship calendar. Always focused on innovative, sustainable solutions, Formula E will light the track with low-consumption LED technology powered by fully renewable energy.
Set for a spectacular doubleheader in the dark, the first sport to have net-zero carbon since inception used its platform to share a positively charged call-to-action, reminding fans that even the most intense and unpredictable racing can take place without the environment paying the price.
Lighting the track with the latest low consumption LED technology has reduced energy consumption by up to fifty percent compared to non-LED technologies. The remaining energy needed to power the floodlighting has fully renewable provided by high-performing low-carbon certified hydrogenated vegetable oil made from sustainable materials.
The full 2021 calendar is still to be completed, although, after the Saudi Arabia double-header, races are due to take place in Rome, Italy (10 April), Valencia, Spain (24 April), Monaco (8 May), Marrakesh, Monaco (22 May), and two in Santiago, Chile (5 and 6 June), with organizers also hoping for an additional six races.