Back in Indonesia after a year's break! - The XXL preview of Formula E's 2025 Jakarta race

The last time Formula E raced in Jakarta was two years ago. The reason for the cancellation in season 10 was an election campaign period, which would have severely restricted the logistics. In addition, it was not possible to agree on an alternative date. In 2025, however, the Indonesian capital will once again host an E-Prix on the race track built especially for Formula E. After having almost exclusively "double headers" recently, the race in Jakarta will be a single race.

Where exactly will the Formula E race take place?

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and is located on the island of Java on the north-west coast. The city is home to more than 10 million inhabitants, and the entire surrounding metropolitan region is the largest in Southeast Asia with 28 million inhabitants. Jakarta is currently battling imminent flooding. The city is sinking by 20 cm every year and large parts of it are at risk of being submerged by 2050.

The Jakarta International ePrix Circuit was first driven on in 2022 after it had only just been built. The track is located directly on the coast of the Java Sea in the centre of the city. The circuit is also directly adjacent to one of the most affluent residential areas with countless villas and, to the south, the monumentally large Jakarta International Stadium with space for 82,000 spectators inside.

Fast-Stats | Jakarta

• Five drivers have scored points in all three Jakarta races so far: Jake Dennis, Antonio Felix da Costa, Edo Mortara, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein.
• The most successful driver in Jakarta, however, is Max Günther: he has scored 46 points in Indonesia so far! That puts him one point ahead of Jake Dennis and five points ahead of Mitch Evans.
• All three pole positions in Jakarta have gone to one of the current DS Penske drivers: Vergne was on pole in 2022 (DS Techeetah), Günther in both races in 2023 (Maserati MSG Racing). This means that a Stellantis powertrain has always secured first place on the grid. However, the best grid position for Penske so far is 4th.
• Dennis (average 3.0), Mortara (4.7) and Vandoorne (5.7) have made it through to the duel phase in all three Jakarta qualifying sessions so far.
• David Beckmann returns to the scene of his Formula E debut: in 2023, he stood in for Andre Lotterer in Jakarta. He finished his first race in 16th place.
• World championship leader Oliver Rowland has yet to score a point in Jakarta: he retired in 2022 and did not compete at all in 2023 after leaving Mahindra.

Who broadcasts the Formula E races in Jakarta on TV & livestream?

The Jakarta E-Prix 2025 is a single-header. Accordingly, there will be two practice sessions and only one qualifying and race each. The time difference to Indonesia is somewhat more bearable than at the recent races in China and Japan. For us in Central Europe, the first free practice session will take place late on Friday morning. The second practice session on Saturday is scheduled for very early in the morning at 3 am, followed by qualifying at 5.20 am. The race starts at 10 am (all times in CEST).

The broadcasters for the race and qualifying will depend on your region. But as usual, e-Formula.news offers English-language live streams for both free practice sessions. On top of that, you can follow all sessions of the E-Prix in our popular Formula E Live Ticker.

 
All data in Central European Summer Time (CEST)

What characterises the race track in Jakarta?

The race track in Jakarta is neither a temporary city circuit nor a permanent racing complex built primarily for other racing series. The Jakarta International ePrix Circuit was developed solely for Formula E, combining the close barriers and feel of a street circuit with the infrastructure of a permanent race track - ideal for the electric racing series.

The drivers wind their way through 18 corners on 2.37 kilometres of track. Turn 1 offers the best overtaking opportunities: the first corner has been widened to minimise the risk of accidents when the entire field arrives after the start of the race. This makes the turn ideal for drivers to drive side by side and for the fastest driver to get past in the narrow turn 2. The hairpin in turn 13 will also be a key section.

In which order do the drivers start qualifying?

In Formula E, qualifying takes place in two stages: Group stage and knockout stage. For group qualifying, the driver field is initially divided into two halves, with all drivers in the odd-numbered championship positions (positions 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) competing in Group A and the drivers in the even-numbered positions in Group B.

The four drivers who set the fastest lap times in their group after twelve minutes will then move on to the quarter-finals, where they will duel for the best grid positions. The groups for the Jakarta qualifying are as follows.

What will the weather be like in Jakarta?

The Formula E drivers and teams won't believe it, but at the moment everything points to another weekend in the rain. If this is confirmed on Saturday, it would be the fourth wet event in a row after Monaco, Tokyo and Shanghai! In addition, it will be oppressively hot at just over 30 degrees Celsius - with very high humidity. Definitely not ideal weather for a racing driver.

Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe is already talking about taking extra care for everyone's safety due to the weather conditions: "As per previous races in Jakarta, we know that the heat and humidity will be one of the main challenges throughout the event - not only for the team and the drivers but also for the cars. As a consequence, we will take extra care and attention to manage everyone's wellbeing and to prevent car components from overheating."

Who are the favourites?

Oliver Rowland should still be one of the top favourites, but the Briton has only driven one race in Jakarta which he has not even finished. Accordingly, the other drivers will have an advantage. Maximilian Günther in particular, who has already enjoyed a great run in Shanghai, was the man to beat on his last visit to Indonesia and was almost unstoppable with a win, a third place and two pole positions. However, Porsche also has a very good chance of victory.

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