Nyck de Vries finally masterful again: The e-Formula.news driver rating for the Shanghai E-Prix

The first Formula E weekend in China since season 5 delivered a thrilling motorsport festival instead of the expected extreme peloton racing. Especially for fans of former Formula E world champion Nyck de Vries, getting up early (in Europe) was worth it. The Dutchman - between Porsche and Jaguar's battle for the lead - surprised everyone. Sam Bird's comeback, on the other hand, was a debacle. Freshly recovered, the Brit seemed fit to drive, but not competitive.

After each round of the 2024 Formula E season, our editors award points on a scale between 1 and 10 for all drivers. They are then sorted according to their average "rating score". The rating is based exclusively on driving performance, not the potential of the car or external circumstances.

1. Nyck de Vries | Mahindra Racing | 8.8

The difficult start to the season - or rather the most difficult one and a half years of his career - are clearly behind Nyck de Vries. That's why the Dutchman is not the only one who is positive about his victory in Shanghai. Our editorial team also honoured his top performance with the crown in the drivers' rating. In the drivers' standings, de Vries moved up six points and is now just one point behind team-mate Edo Mortara.

The first race was de Vries' big trump card. He impressed with a great fightback in the chaotic start phase of Saturday's race and held on to seventh place - despite the inefficiency of the Mahindra powertrain. On Sunday, he made it into the duel phase and qualified in an impressive fourth place - a season best. However, Sam Bird spectacularly thwarted de Vries' chance of more points on Sunday when he slid into the Dutchman with a kamikaze manoeuvre and spun him around. However, this did not tarnish the Mahindra driver's performance.

2. Antonio Felix da Costa | TAG Heuer Porsche | 8.6

Antonio Felix da Costa did not have an easy start to the season. However, he is now on a march through the drivers' standings - with one top performance after another. The Portuguese driver dominated Sunday's race in Shanghai. There is no longer any sign of the uncertain Felix da Costa from the start of the season. It was the second victory in a few weeks for the "Sunday driver". If you include his disqualification in Misano, which was beyond his control, Antonio Felix da Costa has won three out of seven races since the European season opener!

3. Mitch Evans | Jaguar TCS Racing | 8.6

Everything is running smoothly at Jaguar at the moment. Mitch Evans and team-mate Nick Cassidy are battling for victory in every race. In Shanghai, Evans had his nose slightly ahead in the "Kiwi" duel and was rewarded with his second win of the season in Saturday's race. His overtake for the win against Pascal Wehrlein on the last lap was particularly impressive. With a large haul of points, Evans is now also in the thick of the fight for the title.

Flop of the E-Prix: Sam Bird | McLaren | 2.0

The fact that Sam Bird was able to get back behind the wheel after his hand injury from Monaco last weekend is extremely pleasing. However, his comeback was anything but glamorous. Hardly any pace in the first race, always slower than team-mate Jake Hughes, and a serious blunder in the second race contributed to a debacle. The cocky manoeuvres against Pascal Wehrlein and Nyck de Vries are reminiscent of Bird's last Jaguar season and puts an unsightly dent in his first season with McLaren. For him, the motto after Shanghai is probably: tick it off and move on.