A sensational podium finish for Vergne & Eriksson on Formula E Sunday in Shanghai: "Of course, you want more"

Part 2 of the double-header in Shanghai produced a race result that was completely unexpected. Alongside race winner Lucas di Grassi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Joel Eriksson surprisingly made it onto the podium. All three had one thing in common during their charge up the field: they took a gamble on tyre pressure for dry conditions and waited a long time before activating Attack Mode.

Both Vergne, who finished second, and Eriksson, who came third, started the race from the back of the field. So neither of them had anything to lose anyway. Before the actual start of the race, the safety car initially came out onto the track for a few laps to assess the track conditions prior to the start. Even whilst this was happening, Vergne announced over the radio to his team: "If I’m three seconds off the pace, I’ll retire. I don’t want to be humiliated and lapped. I’m just saying this in advance," said the two-time Formula E champion.

Tyre gamble pays off

The result, however, was the exact opposite: the risk paid off! After the start on a wet track, the drivers initially stayed towards the back of the field. However, the rain forecast for the race failed to materialise. As the track dried out, Vergne and Eriksson were later able to plough their way through the field. It also worked in both their favour that they took their time activating their first Attack Mode.

With just a few laps to go, Eriksson even eventually took the lead from Pascal Wehrlein. However, his second Attack Mode was thwarted by a full-course yellow phase triggered by Zane Maloney’s crashed Lola Yamaha ABT. After the race was restarted, the Swede had to let di Grassi and Vergne pass, but still finished in a strong third place.

Immediately after the race, Vergne thanked his team principal Cyril Blais over the radio: "Thanks, Cyril! Without you, we wouldn’t have managed that dry-weather pressure." After the race, the Season 4 and 5 champion added: "I’m very happy to be frustrated with second place. Given the season we’ve had so far and where we started today, we thought: ‘What do we have to lose? Let’s give it a go!’"

"At the start, I couldn’t even keep up with the safety car," he continued. "The team even wanted to bring me into the pits for a tyre change. Luckily, I stood my ground. We’d tried that once before in Miami, but it didn’t work there. It’s good that an attempt like this has finally paid off for us."

Eriksson: "I actually had everything under control"

Eriksson was also available for the obligatory post-race interview, but didn’t mention tyre pressure: "It was a tough race! I had to fight hard for it. It felt as though I’d had everything under control before the full-course yellow. I think if everything had gone normally, we could have held on until the end. After that phase, I simply didn’t have the same grip as before. I came off second best."

He added: "Of course, you always want more. Nevertheless, I’m happy to have secured a podium finish in this race, which is probably the most important one of the year for the team. The team gave me a very strong and efficient car for today.""

Another thrilling weekend, which has once again turned the drivers’ championship on its head, has thus come to an end. There’s now a short three-week break before the next double-header gets underway in Tokyo on 25 and 26 July.