Andretti BMW’s Guenther wins first points-paying FE eRace

Andretti BMW driver Maximilian Guenther
Andretti BMW driver Maximilian Guenther

Andretti BWM driver Maximilian Guenther won the first points-paying round of Formula E's Race at Home Challenge on the virtual Hong Kong circuit after polesitter Stoffel Vandoorne choked and crashed.

The Andretti Motorsport race winner continued strong form shown during the test event in Monaco last weekend to top the driver standings

Vandoorne, who finished second to Guenther in the pre-season race on the virtual Monaco course last weekend, snared pole by 0.098 seconds over Esports debutant Pascal Wehrlein.

The Mercedes driver held an 0.8s advantage at the end of the first lap, but he choked and crashed halfway through the second tour and fell to sixth before quickly recovering.

Guenther crosses the line to win
Guenther crosses the line to win

Guenther inherited the lead he never relinquished and took a 2.2s victory margin over Envision Virgin Racing substitute Nick Cassidy.

Pascal Wehrlein ended up an impressive third ahead of Cassidy's team-mate Robin Frijns, who climbed three places from seventh in qualifying.

Vandoorne crossed the line in fifth ahead of Oliver Rowland and Turvey.

BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT
MAXIMILIAN GUENTHER

"I am really happy with the win today. It was not an easy race, as I did not manage to start from pole position and the first few corners were really tight. Then I was in second place for the first few laps until Stoffel made a mistake and I could take control of the race and secure the win. When the damage is turned up it is definitely something you need to consider and concentrate not to throw away the race! We are all competitive and want to win, even if it is online."

RACE RESULTS

Pos Driver Time/Behind Pts
1 Maximilian Guenther 15:10.011s (25)
2 Nick Cassidy +1.833s (19)
3 Pascal Wehrlein +3.855s (15)
4 Robin Frijns +11.264s (12)
5 Stoffel Vandoorne +13.491s (11)
6 Oliver Rowland +19.090s (8)
7 Oliver Turvey +19.852s (6)
8 Felipe Massa +23.132s (4)
9 Jerome D’Ambrosio +28.764s (2)
10 Alexander Sims +29.571s (1)
11 Ma Qing Hua +32.147s 0
12 Neel Jani +34.440s 0
13 Nico Mueller 13 Laps 0
14 Edoardo Mortara 12 Laps 0
15 Daniel Abt 11 Laps 0
16 Brendon Hartley 10 Laps 0
17 Mitch Evans 9 Laps 0
18 Sebastien Buemi 8 Laps 0
19 Antonio Felix da Costa 7 Laps 0
20 Andre Lotterer 6 Laps 0
21 James Calado 5 Laps 0
22 Jean-Eric Vergne 4 Laps 0
23 Nyck de Vries 3 Laps 0
24 Lucas di Grassi DNS 0

DRIVER STANDINGS

Driver Team Pts
Maximilian Guenther BMW i Andretti Motorsport 25
Nick Cassidy Envision Virgin Racing 19
Pascal Wehrlein Mahindra Racing 15
Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing 12
Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes-Benz EQ 11
Oliver Rowland Nissan e.dams 8
Oliver Turvey NIO 333 6
Felipe Massa ROKiT Venturi Racing 4
Jerome D’Ambrosio Mahindra Racing 2
Alexander Sims BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1
Ma Qing Hua NIO 333 0
Neel Jani TAG Heuer Porsche 0
Nico Mueller GEOX DRAGON 0
Edoardo Mortara ROKiT Venturi Racing 0
Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0
Brendon Hartley GEOX DRAGON 0
Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing 0
Sebastien Buemi Nissan e.dams 0
Antonio Felix da Costa DS TECHEETAH 0
Andre Lotterer TAG Heuer Porsche 0
James Calado Panasonic Jaguar Racing 0
Jean-Eric Vergne DS TECHEETAH 0
Nyck de Vries Mercedes-Benz EQ 0
Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0

TEAM STANDINGS

Team Pts
Envision Virgin Racing 31
BMW i Andretti Motorsport 26
Mahindra Racing 17
Mercedes-Benz EQ 11
Nissan e.dams 8
NIO 333 6
ROKiT Venturi Racing 4
TAG Heuer Porsche 0
GEOX DRAGON 0
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0
Panasonic Jaguar Racing 0
DS TECHEETAH 0