Porsche’s Jeddah dip raises questions as Pascal Wehrlein insists ‘nothing changed’

The factory Porsche squad encountered a topsy-turvy Formula E weekend in Jeddah, as a dominant win on Friday was followed by a lacklustre performance in the second race.

Porsche was the team to beat in the first leg of the Jeddah E-Prix, with Pascal Wehrlein converting pole position into a commanding 2.6s victory and team-mate Nico Muller also bagging a solid haul of points in fourth. Wehrlein’s speed during his sole six-minute attack mode was particularly impressive, as the German established an advantage of over seven seconds with the extra 50kW boost.

The result meant Porsche entered the final day of the race weekend with an extended lead in both the teams’ and the manufacturers’ championship, while Wehrlein moved to the top of the drivers’ table.

Saturday, however, couldn’t have been any different for the Weissach squad. Both Wehrlein and Muller were knocked out in the group stages of qualifying, leaving them 11th and 16th on the grid. In the race, Wehrlein could make little progress, climbing to eighth at the finish, while Muller ended outside the points in 16th.

Interestingly, Porsche’s customer Cupra Kiro enjoyed a strong day with a previous-gen powertrain, as Dan Ticktum led his rookie team-mate Pepe Marti in fifth and sixth – both ahead of Wehrlein’s factory car. Andretti’s Jake Dennis was also on course for a strong finish in a customer Porsche after qualifying on the front row, but a mid-race puncture brought his day to a premature end.

Speaking after the race, championship leader Wehrlein explained that a slight loss of grip led to his early exit from qualifying, with a combination of strategic errors in the race compounding his woes.

Asked what changed for Porsche from Friday, the 2023-24 champion told Motorsport.com: “Nothing, really.

“I think the car felt a tiny bit less grip in qualifying. Others were a bit quicker, and I think in the race, we kind of went too late to the ‘go’ moment.

“Then, it was just difficult to overtake from there onwards. We progressed well in the first couple of laps from P11 to P6. We ended up in the wrong attack mode cycle, and in the end, I just couldn’t use my energy anymore.

“Pretty straightforward. We didn’t optimise today, which is what it is. Nevertheless, it was a very positive weekend. The win on Friday, good points on Saturday. Taking the lead in the [drivers’] championship and also extending the other two championships [teams’ and manufacturers’]. Many things to be happy about.”

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche Formula E Team

Wehrlein clarified that Porsche made no changes to the car overnight when asked if the efficiency of the powertrain changed compared to Friday: “Very good, very efficient as always. We didn’t change the powertrain or anything.”

Risky Muller strategy fails to pay off

Porsche opted for a “riskier strategy” with Muller, who conserved energy in the hope of a late safety car. But with no caution periods, the plan backfired, leaving him outside the top 10.

“We didn’t really make all the right choices in qualifying, didn’t quite have the performance, and the car was not feeling as good as the previous day,” the Swiss summed up.

“In the race, we tried to bank a bit of energy to use later on, but that didn’t work out. The race became quicker, and we couldn’t benefit from that advantage, plus I had a bit of damage on the car, which slowed us down.

“No points today, which is frustrating, but it makes us hungrier to be back stronger in Madrid.”