Author of the double in Diriyah in 2023, can Wehrlein repeat the feat?

In Saudi Arabia, he will be the driver to follow, and undeniably the driver to beat. Pascal Wehrlein cannot be more favorite than this weekend, for the two Diriyah E-Prixes (January 27-28). The pilot Porsche, an easy winner in Mexico two weeks ago to kick off the championship, also won during the two rounds contested in the Middle East in 2023. It's difficult to do better!

.@PWehrlein conquered the #DiriyahEPrice with a double triumph in Season 9. 👏

Can he repeat the feat in Season 10? ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/kF4HmwXgod

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 23, 2024

With newfound confidence at the start of the season, can the German repeat last year's feat? The Porsche powertrain advantage over the competition should help it in its mission, the powertrain from Stuttgart having already proven itself in Mexico. However, if the arguments are in his favor, the No. 94 prefers to remain cautious at the dawn of the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the year.

“We won’t necessarily be as strong” than in 2023

“After our victory in Mexico, the team and I are even more motivated. It's very nice to start the season like this, because it proves that we have worked well. We were much stronger in qualifying and we didn't lose speed in the race. This makes me confident for Diriyah, confides Pascal Wehrlein. But just because we won both races last year doesn't mean we'll necessarily be as strong this time.

“We have to continue to work hard and improve, because the other teams will improve too, he adds, citing without naming Porsche's main rivals, namely Jaguar and Envision. We simply must not relax. The Diriyah track is very special and tends to improve significantly over the course of the race weekend, so we have to constantly adapt our settings. »

In the German clan, if morale is high and optimism is present before tackling the first double header of Season 10, we do not want to rest on our laurels. “Of course, Mexico was just the start of a long season. We need to monitor everything closely from one race to the next and continue to work on the points that we have identified as weaknesses.", underlines Florian Modlinger, director of the Porsche team in Formula E.

“Pascal won both races in Diriyah last year with a sensational performance. Pascal, the Porsche 99X Electric and the circuit turned out to be a perfect combination. But that doesn’t change our goal. We approach every race the same way: we fight for wins and podiums, and we want to bring home as many points as possible. »

Porsche also hopes that its second driver, Antonio Félix da Costa, will be able to recover from his fatal collision in Mexico and return to his best level this Saudi weekend.

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