Jake Dennis finally won again. The Brit’s nearly two-year victory drought ended in São Paulo after he pulled off the oldest trick in Formula E’s tactical playbook: save your Attack Mode, pray for chaos, profit. And boy, did chaos deliver. Between safety cars, full course yellows, and a red flag caused by Pepe Marti’s horrifying airborne crash, the season opener had everything except boring.
Dennis inherited pole after Pascal Wehrlein’s wheelspin penalty dropped him three places, becoming the first pole-sitter to actually win at this circuit in the Gen3 era. Coincidence? Maybe. But Wehrlein’s curse might’ve just transferred itself when Dennis nabbed that starting spot.
The Attack Mode Gamble That Actually Worked
Formula E races are basically energy management seminars disguised as motorsport. Dennis understood the assignment. Whilst everyone else frantically activated their final Attack Mode before the late safety car, Dennis kept his powder dry. When Edoardo Mortara got shoved into the barriers by Lucas di Grassi, triggering the safety car with ten laps remaining, Dennis had the golden ticket still in his pocket.
The restart was surgical. Dennis fired up his Attack Mode and sliced through Nick Cassidy, Pascal Wehrlein, and Oliver Rowland like they were standing still. His teammate Felipe Drugovich was doing the same further back, setting up a potential Andretti one-two on team boss Roger Griffiths’ birthday. Because nothing says “happy birthday” quite like tactical perfection, right?
Then Mitch Evans binned it in the penultimate corner. Full course yellow. That’s when everything went horribly wrong.
Marti’s Airborne Horror Show
António Félix da Costa started braking for the full course yellow countdown. Nico Müller got surprised and dodged left. Pepe Marti, arriving at speed, had nowhere to go. The rookie Spaniard used both cars as a launch ramp, went airborne, barrel-rolled across the tarmac, and landed right-side up with his front tyre on fire.
Marti jumped out, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and spent precious seconds waiting for marshals who were apparently stuck behind a safety gate. The frustration was visible. His debut race, running eighth, potentially heading for a top-five finish, ended with him fighting fires whilst marshals struggled with basic infrastructure.
“I’m more hurt mentally than physically, to be fair. We were looking at a really good result.” – Pepe Marti
The stewards blamed Marti for “arriving at the scene too quickly,” slapping him with four penalty points and a back-of-grid start for Mexico City. Harsh? Maybe. But Formula E’s full course yellow procedures remain about as clear as mud, and drivers keep paying the price.
A massive incident in São Paulo
Pepe Martí is okay and out of the car @googlecloud #SãoPauloEPrix pic.twitter.com/BDqwzqliAK
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 6, 2025
Drugovich’s Home Heroics Deleted By Penalties
Speaking of penalties, Felipe Drugovich crossed the line fifth in front of his home crowd. First Formula E race. Points on debut. Brazilian fans celebrating. Then the stewards reviewed the footage and found him guilty of speeding under full course yellow AND overtaking under the same conditions. Five-second time penalty. Three-place grid drop for Mexico. Dropped to 12th. Birthday present ruined.
Nothing encapsulates Formula E quite like watching a feel-good story get bureaucratically annihilated hours after the chequered flag.
Dennis Makes History Nobody Remembers
Lost in the chaos? Dennis actually became the first driver to win from pole position at São Paulo in the Gen3 era. Every previous front-row starter failed. The curse was real. Dennis broke it. And barely anyone noticed because we were all watching Marti’s car do gymnastics.
His last win came in Diriyah 2024. Nearly two years of drought. Two challenging seasons after his 2023 title. Then he rocks up to Brazil, inherits pole via someone else’s wheelspin, saves his Attack Mode like a tactical genius, and executes a flawless final stint whilst everyone else imploded.
“I mean you’d take it any day of the week, after where we were in practice.” – Jake Dennis
Fair play. Andretti looked mid-pack in practice. Then they nailed the race strategy whilst everyone else got caught out by safety car timing. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Sometimes you’re both.
Porsche Dominates But Loses
Wehrlein claimed his third consecutive São Paulo pole. Three-place penalty for wheelspin meant he started fourth. Still finished fourth. He had Attack Mode ready to pounce, positioned perfectly for the win, then the safety cars deleted his advantage. Formula E giveth, Formula E taketh away with extreme prejudice.
“A bit of a frustrating day to be honest. We were so quick and had a shot at the win but the safety car interventions took away our Attack Mode.” – Pascal Wehrlein
Porsche powertrains still dominated. Dennis won with Porsche power via Andretti. Wehrlein finished fourth. Nico Müller fifth. Dan Ticktum started second in the Porsche-powered Cupra but suffered a puncture, two drive-through penalties for unsafe working conditions, and wheelspin in the pit lane. His race summary reads like a penalty bingo card.
Cassidy’s Citroen Debut Podium
Nick Cassidy qualified 15th. Finished third. Fourth consecutive podium stretching back to last season’s triple-win finale. First podium in Citroen colours. The French manufacturer’s maiden Formula E race delivered a trophy. Not bad for a rebrand, eh?
Cassidy carved through the field using Formula E’s trademark peloton racing, reaching second before the late chaos shuffled him back to third. He insists it wasn’t luck.
“I’m very proud of this result, because I don’t feel it was on luck. We were already in the box seat in P2 before any safety car.” – Nick Cassidy
Confidence or delusion? Time will tell. But starting your manufacturer debut with a podium sets a nice tone, especially after Maserati’s rebrand gamble.
Mahindra’s Nightmare Start
Remember how we predicted Mahindra would be strong this season? We literally said they’d come good. Then Nyck de Vries brake-tested himself into Turn 1, taking out Dan Ticktum and teammate Edoardo Mortara. De Vries got penalised. Mortara ignored mandatory procedures after missing the corner and later got punted by di Grassi, triggering the safety car.
Two cars. Zero points. Maximum chaos. Pre-season testing means nothing when you bin it at the first corner.
The Real Winner: Gen3 Safety
Marti went airborne, barrel-rolled, landed with a tyre on fire, and walked away without injury. Last year Wehrlein flipped upside down at this same circuit. Also walked away fine. Formula E’s Gen3 safety standards deserve serious credit. These cars absorb punishment that would’ve been catastrophic a decade ago.
The sport’s safety record remains remarkably clean despite the tight street circuits, aggressive racing, and contact that would make touring car drivers blush.
Mexico City Next: Dennis Leads Championship
Dennis leaves Brazil leading the championship on 25 points. Rowland sits second on 19. Cassidy and Wehrlein share third on 15 points each. After one race, the championship standings mean precisely nothing, but Dennis couldn’t have scripted a better start.
Next up? Mexico City on 10 January. High altitude. Thin air. Energy management nightmares. And hopefully fewer airborne incidents, though this is Formula E. Chaos is the business model.
One race down. Sixteen to go. If São Paulo set the tone, Season 12 will be absolutely bonkers. Just keep the marshals’ gates working properly, yeah?
