Wehrlein takes his first win of 2023 Formula E season in ePrix Diriyah

Pascal Wehrlein took his first win of the year at the Diriyah ePrix in Saudi Arabia. In a thrilling final stage, he managed to fend off the attacks of championship leader Jake Dennis.

Buemi retains lead at start

Sebastien Buemi started from pole position and managed to retain the lead at the start, but the safety car also came out immediately. A piece of Da Costa's front wing was on the track and had to be removed by the marshals. Meanwhile, Da Costa went into the pits for a new front wing.

Buemi retained the lead even on the restart, but had Jake Hughes and Sam Bird in his wake. However, the latter quickly moved to the front and took the lead from Buemi. Meanwhile, Wehrlein and championship leader Jake Dennis were also advancing.

While it looked like Bird would run away with the victory, there suddenly came Wehrlein. The former Formula 1 driver approached at a fast pace and closed in on P2, before starting to increase the pressure on Bird. After several unsuccessful overtaking attempts, he managed to grab the lead a few laps before the end.

Wehrlein takes amazing win from P9

A win was not yet secured, however, as Dennis was also closing in fast. Having moved up to P2, he had regained the championship lead, but he could also see a win. Wehrlein was under considerable pressure and for a while it looked like Dennis would take the win on the last lap, but Wehrlein beat off his attacks and ran away with the gold.

For Wehrlein, it was his first win this season and the second in his Formula E career. He thus strengthened his second place in the championship, where he has to concede just one point to Dennis. Buemi follows in third place with a 20-point gap to Wehrlein.