Monaco E-Prix 1: Nyck de Vries wins thanks to a well-thought-out strategy

By anticipating his pit stop, the Dutchman overtook pole-sitter Dan Ticktum, who was penalized at the end of the race, and won the first of the two races held under the Rock.

Dan Ticktum had done the first part of the job wonderfully by securing a second pole position in Formula E In the streets of Monaco, but in the Principality, starting at the front is no guarantee of victory. The Briton suffered in the first part of the race, losing his leading position more energy than his pursuers, despite the safety car being deployed after a collision between Nick Cassidy's Citroën and Jake Dennis's Andretti, which forced the latter to retire.

🟡 SAFETY CAR 🟡

Dennis and Cassidy come to blows! #MonacoEPrice #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/BJfbiF6nJz

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 16, 2026

Around the halfway point of the race, the drivers headed into the pits and Nyck de Vries Mahindra seized the opportunity, anticipating its pit stop and allowing it to take the lead after Dan Ticktum's pit stop. Initially behind Mitch Evans' Jaguar, Nyck de Vries quickly unleashed his attack mode to regain the lead and never relinquish it.

De Vries takes the lead! ⚡️#MonacoEPrice #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/By8O5aeFDW

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 16, 2026

He thus secured his first victory of the season after scoring points only once in the last five races. Behind the Mahindra driver finished Mitch Evans' Jaguar, which held off a late charge from Dan Ticktum. Evans takes the championship lead from Pascal Wehrlein. The driver Porsche was first involved in contact with his teammate Nico Müller, who broke his front wing in the process by braking too late at Rascasse.

Teammates collide! 😬

Both Porsche drivers have sustained damage after making contact.#MonacoEPrice #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/0HYmxuYUtK

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 16, 2026

Wehrlein, for his part, stopped on lap 22 of 29, attempting a strategic move that backfired, and finished last. His recovery was thwarted by a collision two laps from the finish between Dan Ticktum and Antonio Félix da Costa. While attempting to overtake da Costa at the tunnel exit, the Portuguese driver clipped the pole-sitter's Cupra Kiro, who forcefully closed the door. After the race, Ticktum was deemed responsible for the collision and penalized, dropping back to 12th position. The race, which was placed under a Full Course Yellow, restarted with less than a lap remaining, without any significant overtaking.

Starting from the back of the grid, Pepe Martí (Cupra Kiro, 3rd) and Felipe Drugovich (Andretti, 4th) made a very good move. Also noteworthy was the recovery of Sébastien Buemi, 5th ahead of his Envision teammate, Joel Eriksson. However, it was a tougher day for the Citroën drivers: Nick Cassidy finished 12th after his early contact with Jake Dennis, while Jean-Éric Vergne, who started 9th, finished a disappointing 16th. He was outpaced by the Nissans of Norman Nato (14th) and reigning champion Oliver Rowland (15th).

A second race will be held on Sunday, May 17th in the streets of Monaco.

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