SÃO PAULO E-PRIX: FIRST POINTS ON THE BOARD FOR DS AUTOMOBILES

• The latest ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season got underway with an action-packed race in São Paulo characterised by an incident in the closing stages

• Maximilian Günther finished in sixth place to score eight championship points, with Taylor Barnard classified 13th

• The next E-Prix will take place on January 10 in Mexico

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship celebrated the launch of Season 12 on Saturday in the Brazilian city of São Paulo. On the famous Sambadrome, with its long straights and tight corners, it was non-stop action from start to finish. Close to the end of a tightly-fought race, a spectacular incident brought out the red flags and then an eventual restart behind the safety car.

In spite of everything, Maximilian Günther managed to score his first points in the championship. At the wheel of his DS E-TENSE FE25 car, the German driver produced a great comeback, moving up from 16th to sixth place. This allowed him to collect eight valuable points for DS PENSKE in the teams’ standings.

Taylor Barnard also had a chance to finish in the points but the Englishman was unlucky in Brazil. Just as he had activated his Attack Mode, as the only driver in the 10 ten still     holding an extra power advantage, the red flag brought his strong progress to an end. During the neutralisation, the new DS PENSKE driver was even forced to park his car in the pits due to a problem with the 12-volt battery. Eventually classified 13th, Taylor   nevertheless proved that he had everything it took to shine quickly in his new environment.

At the end of the first round, DS Automobiles and its partner PENSKE AUTOSPORT brought home plenty of valuable information for the rest of Season 12. The next E-Prix is due to take place on January 10, 2026 in Mexico, at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance Director:

“It was an action-packed first round with lots of racing incidents and surprises. We scored some valuable points thanks to a very nice comeback from Max, but we could have taken a lot more were it not for the bad luck suffered by Taylor. Formula E is always unpredictable! We’re now going to work on some of the settings and come back even stronger Mexico.”

Maximilian Günther:

“It’s important to have scored some precious points right from the start of the season. Thanks to a great fightback through the field, we managed to take sixth place. In qualifying, things didn’t exactly go as we wanted. But we kept calm and finally got through this first race. Even though we suffered at the end of the race without ‘Attack Mode’, we held on and were rewarded with a few points in the bag.”

Taylor Barnard:

”The first weekend of the season didn’t quite end as we hoped. It’s pretty frustrating, as we were in a good position to score points. I think we could have finished sixth if the car hadn’t stopped in the pit lane during the red flag period. Having said that, we need to put our best foot forward now and just concentrate on the next race.”

Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:

• 138 races
• 4 championship titles
• 18 victories
• 55 podiums
• 26 pole positions

PRESS CONTACTS

DS Performance : Nathalie Dumas  +33 (0) 6 60 26 10 37 –nathalie.dumas@external.stellantis.com

DS Automobiles : Benjamin Maigre  + 33 (0) 6 75 58 80 41 – benjamin.maigre@dsautomobiles.com