Formula E home races for Japanese manufacturers Nissan & Yamaha! XXL preview of the 2025 Tokyo E-Prix

The Japanese capital Tokyo epitomises a mega-metropolis. As such, there is probably no better location for Formula E than the street circuit in the centre of Tokyo. This year, a "double-header" awaits us for the first time, and at the same time, we're crossing the halfway point of the season. Oliver Rowland is in a fantastic position to represent the Japanese brand Nissan more than worthily and further extend his world championship lead.

Where exactly do the Formula E races take place?

Tokyo is located on the main island of Honshu in eastern Japan and borders a bay that is directly connected to the Pacific Ocean. With 37.4 million inhabitants, Tokyo is the political, economic and cultural centre of the country. The Sanja Matsuri festival takes place alongside the Formula E race - a cultural event in which millions of citizens parade through the city in traditional processions with portable shrines.

The racetrack is located on an island in the middle of Tokyo's extensive harbour landscape. This piece of land is only connected to the mainland by bridges. The track winds its way around the "Tokyo Big Sight" exhibition centre and along its waterfront promenade. The dense development gives little indication that the area is actually located in a comparatively quiet part of Tokyo.

Fast Stats | Tokyo

• There has been only one race so far in Tokyo. Maximilian Günther won ahead of Oliver Rowland, followed by four Porsche-powered cars (Jake Dennis, Antonio Felix da Costa, Pascal Wehrlein and Norman Nato).
• It was the only win for a Stellantis-powered car in season 10.
• Rowland took pole position in the duel against Günther by just 0.021 seconds. This may seem very small, but it was only the third narrowest margin in a final duel of the past season - after Shanghai 2/2 (0.001 seconds) and Sao Paulo (0.002 seconds).
• There have been two races with Pit Boost so far, and each time Rowland went into the final lap as the leader. After Günther managed to catch the Nissan driver shortly before the finish in Jeddah, Rowland won the race in Monaco.
• Rowland finished on the podium five times in the first seven races of the season - the last time in Formula E, Antonio Felix da Costa achieved this for DS Techeetah in his 2020 championship-winning season. Like Rowland, the Portuguese driver was always first or second. Only one driver even managed six podiums in the first seven races of the season: Lucas di Grassi in 2015/16 - but he only finished runner-up.

What characterises the race track in Tokyo?

The circuit in Tokyo is much more technical than most of the tracks we have seen so far in season 11. Although the circuit has fast sections in sectors 2 and 3, it is more of a classic street circuit than the high-speed tracks in Jeddah or Sao Paulo. The first sector is particularly challenging with eight slow corners, some of which are very twisty.

This is followed by the fastest section of the track in sector 2 with the approach to turn 10. The extremely tight chicane is crucial for overtakes, although overtaking proved to be rather difficult at last year's debut. The unexpectedly large number of elevation changes on the track are also particularly treacherous. Between turns 2 and 3, the track drops so steeply that the drivers lift off the ground with all four tyres on fast laps.

Who is broadcasting the Tokyo Formula E races on TV & livestream?

The Tokyo E-Prix is a "double-header" this year. Accordingly, there will be three practice sessions, two qualifying sessions and two races. For us in Central Europe, the time difference to Japan means that the sessions will take place late at night and early in the morning. Qualifying will start at 3.20 am (CEST) on both days, with the respective races following at 8 am (CEST). The first free practice session will start at 9.30 am (CEST) on Friday morning, with the two other practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday starting at 1.00 am (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 Time (CEST)

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 with the fastest lap times in their group after twelve minutes will then progress to the quarter-finals, where they will duel for the best grid positions. The qualifying groups for the Tokyo race weekend are as follows.

What will the weather be like in Tokyo?

After experiencing a wet race in Monaco almost a fortnight ago, it currently looks like another one could follow in Tokyo. It is expected to rain all day in the metropolis on Saturday. On the other hand, the sessions on Friday and Sunday should remain dry. Temperatures will be warm: just over 20 degrees Celsius on Saturday and even around 25 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Who are the favourites?

There will once again be two different race formats for the double-header. Both Attack Mode and Pit Boost will be used on Saturday, while only Attack Mode will be used on Sunday. Nevertheless, a good grid position will probably be decisive in both races. Overtaking will be rather difficult on the narrow track, especially when it gets wet. Accordingly, it is to be expected that the best qualifiers of the season - Oliver Rowland and Pascal Wehrlein - could both achieve a top result. But we also have last year's winner Max Günther on our radar...

Do you think that another driver will win? Then sign up for our free community prediction game on Kicktipp.

Gallery: Review of the last Tokyo E-Prix

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  Paddy McGrath / Spacesuit Media

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  Jake Osborne / Spacesuit Media

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  Paddy McGrath / Spacesuit Media

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  Jake Osborne / Spacesuit Media

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  Jake Osborne / Spacesuit Media

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  Jake Osborne / Spacesuit Media

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  Jake Osborne / Spacesuit Media

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  Paddy McGrath / Spacesuit Media

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  Paddy McGrath / Spacesuit Media