After the double-header at the Monaco ePrix, championship leader Mitch Evans continues to hold the lead in the standings. The next race will take place in Sanya on the street circuit, marking the series’ return to the location after it last hosted a Formula E race during the 2018–2019 season, after the 2019-2020 race was cancelled because of COVID.
FP1
Formula E returned to Sanya for the opening free practice session after a month-long break, with teams focusing on learning the circuit and refining their setups ahead of the race weekend. The session was interrupted by a red flag when Sébastien Buemi stopped on track between Turns 7 and 8, bringing running to a halt while his car was recovered. Once the session resumed, drivers continued gathering data on tyre performance, energy management, and track conditions around the resurfaced street circuit. Several drivers traded places at the top of the timesheets as lap times improved throughout the session, while a handful of lock-ups and minor mistakes highlighted the challenge of the fast, technical layout. Overall, FP1 was a productive opening session that gave teams valuable information ahead of FP2, qualifying and the race, despite the brief interruption.
- Edoardo Mortara
- Jake Dennis
- Nyck de Vries
- Pascal Wehrlein
- Norman Nato
- Taylor Barnard
- Mitch Evans
- António Félix da Costa
- Nico Müller
- Oliver Rowland
- Joel Eriksson
- Dan Ticktum
- Maximilian Günther
- Pepe Martí
- Jean-Éric Vergne
- Zane Maloney
- Felipe Drugovich
- Nick Cassidy
- Sébastien Buemi
- Lucas di Grassi
The top three in Sanya were Mortara, Dennis, and de Vries.
FP2
Formula E’s second free practice session in Sanya took place on Saturday morning and gave teams one final opportunity to fine-tune their cars before qualifying. With track conditions cooler than in Friday’s FP1, drivers immediately began pushing for faster lap times and the order at the top changed regularly throughout the session. Teams focused on qualifying simulations, energy management, and finding the best balance around the fast, flowing street circuit. Several drivers traded quickest times as the pace increased in the closing stages, with the field remaining extremely close and only small margins separating the frontrunners. Unlike FP1, which was interrupted by a red flag, FP2 ran more smoothly and allowed teams to complete their planned programmes. The session highlighted how competitive the field was heading into qualifying, with no clear favourite emerging ahead of the 2026 Sanya E-Prix.
- Pascal Wehrlein
- Edoardo Mortara
- Jake Dennis
- Nyck de Vries
- Dan Ticktum
- Felipe Drugovich
- Nico Müller
- Taylor Barnard
- Mitch Evans
- Sébastien Buemi
- Pepe Martí
- Norman Nato
- António Félix da Costa
- Maximilian Günther
- Joel Eriksson
- Oliver Rowland
- Jean-Éric Vergne
- Zane Maloney
- Nick Cassidy
- Lucas di Grassi
Top three: Wehrlein, Mortara, and Dennis.
Qualifying
Qualifying started with two groups. In Group One, Felipe Drugovich, Taylor Barnard, Mitch Evans, and Nick Cassidy advanced to the duels. Evans competed against Barnard, while Drugovich took on Cassidy. In Group Two, Pascal Wehrlein, Nyck de Vries, Dan Ticktum, and Jake Dennis also made it through to the duels. De Vries competed against Ticktum, while Wehrlein took on Dennis.
In the quarterfinals, Evans, Drugovich, Dennis, and Ticktum progressed to the semifinals. There, Evans went head-to-head with Drugovich, while Dennis battled Ticktum for a place in the final. The final saw Dennis take on Drugovich, with Dennis claiming pole position in Sanya and earning three valuable points.
Sanya E-Prix Race
Di Grassi, Martí, Günther, and Barnard all started at or near the back of the grid due to penalties. There was also a slight delay before the start after Pascal Wehrlein lined up in the wrong grid box, and debris had to be cleared from the track. When the five red lights went out, Dennis led the field away. There was a brief yellow flag on lap one for carbon fibre debris. On lap four, Evans tried to pass Drugovich for second place but could not make the move stick. Shortly afterwards, Ticktum attempted a similar move on Evans for third but was also unsuccessful.
Wehrlein then passed both Evans and Ticktum to take third place. On lap seven, Rowland passed Ticktum, while Wehrlein split the two Andretti cars. A lap later, Wehrlein took the lead from Dennis, and Evans passed Drugovich for third. On lap nine, Maloney surged from eighth to fourth in a single corner. On lap 11, Mortara suffered front-wing damage. Ticktum took the lead on lap 12, but Cassidy moved into first a lap later. On lap 18, Wehrlein and Mortara fought for the lead, with Mortara briefly moving ahead before Wehrlein regained the position.
Evans red flag
Ticktum later suffered front-wing damage of his own. On lap 19, a collision involving Evans, Maloney, and Ticktum brought out the red flag after several other drivers were forced to stop behind them. The race resumed under the safety car on lap 20 ahead of a standing restart. Evans’ car was initially deemed unsafe to return to the grid until the rear wing was changed, forcing him to start from the pit lane. The restart was also delayed.
Racing resumed on lap 21, with Dennis leading. Drugovich then passed Wehrlein for second place, while Cassidy served a penalty. On lap 25, Mortara retired from the race and António Félix da Costa moved into the lead. Two laps later, Norman Nato hit the wall, bringing out another yellow flag. The race returned to green on lap 29 with Da Costa still leading. However, Da Costa received a five-second penalty for causing a collision, while Wehrlein also received a five-second penalty. Dennis retook the lead on lap 34.
On lap 35, two extra laps were added, extending the race distance from 37 to 39 laps. Nyck de Vries moved into fourth place on lap 37 before Rowland hit the wall, causing another yellow flag. Martí then passed De Vries for fourth. Evans DNF near the end of the race. The green flag returned on the final lap with two corners remaining. Dennis won the race, Drugovich finished second to complete a qualifying and race one-two, and Martí finished third.
Top Ten (After Penalties)
- Jake Dennis
- Pepe Marti
- Nyck de Vries
- Antonio Felix da Costa
- Felipe Drugovich
- Maximilian Günther
- Nico Müller
- Jean-Éric Vergne
- Taylor Barnard
- Lucas di Grassi
Post Race Penalties
Ticktum was given a ten second time penalty for the collision with Evans, Drugovich has been given a five second time penalty and has dropped to fifth place, which promoted Marti to second and De Vries to third. Citroen have been fined 2,500 euros for leaving side wheel covers on Vergne’s car on the dummy grid.
The next race will also be in China, for a double header in Shanghai on the 4th & 5th July.
Feature Image Credit: Formula E
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