Mercedes secures 1-2 as de Vries beats Vandoorne in Formula E opener

Reigning world champion Nyck de Vries took the victory from third on the grid, 0.6s ahead of Mercedes teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.

Vandoorne started the race on pole position and led into Turn 1 ahead of his teammate, who managed to get ahead of Jake Dennis.

The lead changed hands when Vandoorne failed to activate the attack zone, allowing de Vries to get through.

The two Mercedes drivers remained in position until the chequered flag, starting its title defence with a big points haul.

Dennis completed the podium but he didn’t have an easy drive to third.

Dennis was embroiled in an intense fight with Porsche’s Andre Lotterer, who was struggling with energy management. 

Once Dennis got through, he comfortably finish third as Lotterer dropped down the order, finishing in 13th.

Lucas di Grassi enjoyed a strong first race for Venturi with fourth ahead of Sam Bird.

Similarly, Edoardo Mortara recovered from a lacklustre qualifying to finish sixth in the second Venturi, while Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne completed the top eight.

Oliver Askew scored points on his Formula E debut with ninth as he charged through into the top 10 in the closing laps. 

Mitch Evans rounded out the points in Saudi Arabia with 10th in the Jaguar.

It was a disappointing day for Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa, who was forced to retire on the opening lap with damage.

Oliver Rowland was the other casualty as he caused the mid-race Safety Car following an incident with Robin Frijns at Turn 16.

Click here for the full Formula E race results for the first Diriyah E-Prix