Sebastien Buemi & Oliver Rowland after podium on Formula E Saturday in Jeddah: "It's like being in the jungle"

In a race that was all about saving energy, Sebastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland finished on the podium behind race winner Antonio Felix da Costa. Both drivers were part of the leading group for the entire race, battling for victory and even battling with each other at times. Compared to yesterday, both drivers were happy with the result.

It was a rather unspectacular Saturday of racing in Jeddah. Without the pit boost, the second race of the double header was heavily dictated by energy management. Envision driver Buemi and reigning world champion Rowland in the Nissan were also part of the game of cat and mouse. There were repeated lead changes, especially at the beginning of the race, and a conspicuously slow pace of the entire field.

Then, around lap 13, the pace increased more and more. As the race progressed, the eventual race winner Antonio Felix da Costa was able to pull away and Buemi and Rowland were no longer able to catch up. Both drivers were still battling with each other for the podium positions on the final lap of the race. Buemi was able to stay ahead of the Briton and finished the race in second place, while Rowland still managed to finish on the last step of the podium.

Buemi: "Wanted to lead to avoid damage"

"I knew that Antonio had more energy than me", said the Swiss in an interview after the race. "I decided to lead the race to avoid a puncture or a broken front wing. When you are in 3rd, 4th or 5th place, it is like being in the jungle out there. So if you want to survive, you have to stay in front - even if that means saving less energy, of course. Felix da Costa was simply able to drive at full throttle earlier than me. He did a good job."

He added: "It's all about avoiding damage. Although I was in the lead, I was even able to save battery. In the end it is second place. We are happy to take these points with us. Yesterday we started from last place. So the podium is not bad at all."

Rowland: "Yesterday was a hair-raising day"

Rowland was similarly relieved. His Saturday definitely went better than the day before: "Yesterday was a hair-raising day. In the previous races, I had problems on one lap in particular. Last night we changed a lot of things on the car. I am happy with the podium. Thanks to the team, they stayed up late yesterday and did a great job."

Formula E will now take a short break from racing before continuing on 21 March. The first European race is on the programme in Madrid. The sixth race of the 2025/26 Formula E World Championship season will be held at the Circuito del Jarama, which already hosted the pre-season test in 2024.

But Jeddah is not quite over yet. The Evo Sessions are still on the programme for Sunday, in which influencers compete against each other to find out who can burn the fastest time into the asphalt.