Formula E in Madrid: Antonio Felix da Costa wins Jaguar one-two in Spain

Antonio Felix da Costa won the first European race of the 12th FIA Formula E World Championship season. Team-mate Mitch Evans secured second place and thus good points in the team and driver world championships. The podium was completed by Pascal Wehrlein in 3rd place.

The first E-Prix started in dry weather on the Circuito del Madrid-Jarama. With an air temperature of just 12 degrees, the weather in Madrid was not exactly at its best. However, the track was still slightly damp, which shouldn't be a problem.

In qualifying, Nick Cassidy secured his first pole position for Citroen Racing in a thrilling session. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Nyck de Vries. Jaguar driver Antonio Felix da Costa qualified in third place. German driver Maximilian Günther started the race from seventh position. Pascal Wehrlein, also from Germany, was directly in front in his Porsche.

The start of the race initially went without any major incidents. However, Wehrlein was able to demonstrate his strength in the early stages: As early as the second lap, he worked his way up to second place, overtaking de Vries in the process. The latter misjudged shortly afterwards, damaged his front wing on the rear of the Porsche and received a five-second time penalty for this.

Dan Ticktum in the Porsche-powered Cupra Kiro also had a strong start. He settled into third place and fought an intense duel with Wehrlein. Things went less smoothly for reigning world champion Oliver Rowland: he had to serve a drive-through penalty because his Nissan had started the race with too much power.

Pit boost window opens

The Madrid E-Prix marked a first in the history of Formula E: pit boost was used for the first time in a single race. The corresponding pit window opened on lap 11 - and several drivers reacted immediately. Felix da Costa, Jean-Eric Vergne, de Vries, Sebastien Buemi, Maximilian Günther and Pascal Wehrlein immediately headed for the pit lane to recharge their batteries.

Three laps later, on lap 14, the majority of the rest of the field followed suit. The two drivers who stayed out the longest were Oliver Rowland and Mitch Evans, who only secured their additional energy boost later on. Similar to the race in Jeddah, many teams waited an unusually long time in Madrid before activating attack mode - a tactical hesitation that made the race even more exciting.

After the pit boost phase, Antonio Felix da Costa took the lead of the field and controlled the race from then on. However, the final phase had it all: on the last lap, his team-mate Mitch Evans made a decisive manoeuvre against Dan Ticktum to take second place.

Jaguar battle for victory

In a spectacular final lap, the Jaguar drivers fought an intense duel and were on the verge of losing what they thought was a certain one-two victory. In the end, however, they remained in control: Da Costa secured victory at the Madrid E-Prix ahead of Evans in second place.

Behind the Jaguar duo, Pascal Wehrlein completed the podium after passing Ticktum shortly before the finish line. The top 10 was completed by Ticktum, Edoardo Mortara, Buemi, Jake Dennis, Nico Müller, Pepe Marti and Joel Eriksson.

Wehrlein retains the lead in the overall standings ahead of Mortara, with the Jaguar duo now in third and fourth place. Porsche leads the team standings ahead of Jaguar and Mahindra, while Porsche is also ahead in the team standings, ahead of Jaguar and Stellantis.

Now it's time for a longer break: The race continues on 2 May 2026 with the e-Formula.news home race in Berlin. Tomorrow, however, the rookie test will take place in Madrid first.