Nyck de Vries brought his horrid start to the season to a stunning end, with a calculated victory in Formula E’s opening race of its Monaco E-Prix double-header.
The Dutchman started in second alongside polesitter Dan Ticktum, before sitting behind the Cupra Kiro driver across the first half of the race.
De Vries was the first of the lead drivers to pit for Pit Boost on lap 15, before emerging as the race leader once all drivers had taken the mandatory stop. His win marked Mahindra’s first in Gen3.
It was an incident-packed race, with a safety car called on the third lap after Nick Cassidy and Jake Dennis collided at the Nouvelle chicane, resulting in a 10-second time penalty for the former.
Drama continued on lap 12 as the Porsches made contact, resulting in Pascal Wehrlein needing to pit for repairs. A lap later, reigning world champion Oliver Rowland picked up a puncture.
As is often the case, Pit Boost resulted in gaps throughout the field, with de Vries and Mitch Evans breaking away to finish in second and third.
However, the race ended in dramatic fashion, as Ticktum and Antonio Felix da Costa made huge contact while fighting for third at the Nouvelle chicane.
Da Costa lost a wheel and pulled to the side of the circuit, with Ticktum having been judged at fault immediately after the race.
He had crossed the line in third, but received a 33-second time penalty, the equivalent of a drive-through, for being judged at fault. It demoted Ticktum to 12th, promoting team-mate Pepe Marti onto the podium for the first time in his career.
