Tokyo ePrix recap: Nyck de Vries wins hectic race at Tokyo Street Circuit after red flag chaos and a final lap sprint to the chequered flag

A perfectly timed Attack Mode strategy and red flag saw Nyck de Vries pick up his second victory of the season at the Tokyo Street Circuit.

He was followed by Citroen's Nick Cassidy, who scored a double podium in Japan with a P2 finish today, honouring the passing of his Team Principal, Cyril Blais.

Jake Dennis brought it home in third place for Andretti, also securing a double podium this weekend, which catapults him to the lead of the Drivers' Standings.

This weekend in Japan has shaken up the fight for the Season 12 championship, with Dennis best positioned for the victory.

His nearest rivals for the season finale in London are Jaguar's Mitch Evans, with 144 points, and Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein, with 141 points.

Porsche have already been crowned as the Manufacturers' Champions for the season.

There are just two races to go until Season 12 wraps up in London, and the championship has taken an incredible turn this weekend. Pascal Wehrlein entered Tokyo leading the Drivers' Standings, but a double podium for Jake Dennis flipped the switch.

The Drivers' Standings are as follows:

1. Jake Dennis (Andretti) 146 points

2. Mitch Evans (Jaguar) 144 points

3. Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) 141 points

4. Oliver Rowland (Nissan) 132 points

5. Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) 116 points

6. Antonio Felix da Costa (Jaguar) 113 points

7. Nick Cassidy (Citroen) 104 points

8. Nico Muller (Porsche) 100 points

9. Nyck de Vries (Mahindra) 94 points

10. Sebastien Buemi (Envision) 81 points

Jake Dennis rounded off his time in Japan with two podiums and a newfound lead in the Drivers' Standings, being in the best position for the final race weekend in London.

Dennis said: "I think at one point I was 35 seconds back from the leader, and to almost win it with no safety car, nothing is pretty impressive.

"We got the call perfectly on the strategy with the tyre pressures, and ultimately I just had a mega car.

"Championship leader - it sounds incredible. I had this pressure back in season nine, so I'm used to it. There's no difference there.

"Obviously, the gap is much closer, but you know I'm just fully motivated, focused on getting the job done. It's going to be an incredible fight with the well. There are five of us who can probably go for it.

"There's no one I'd rather have in my corner than Andretti. Let's go get it done in a couple of weeks."

The Citroën driver has had a brilliant weekend in Japan, picking up a double podium. Today, he brought it home in P2 after scrapping it out with Jake Dennis.

Cassidy said: "What a fun race! I mean, yeah, wow!

"To everyone at Citroën Racing, to the family at Stellantis Motorsport, they put a lot of faith in me to bring me to this program.

"They have been saying all year that they've got big plans, and we're excited about the future. We've been through some really tough times, you know, in the last few weeks, but the last few months as well.

"To have amazing results is really special. Thanks to all of them for their work.

"Tokyo meant so much to me as I built my career here over the years. I have a lot of friends here this weekend, a lot of Japanese fans, and also my family at Red Bull Japan.

"I'm not with them this year, but you know, Red Bull was a big part of my career, and to have them still here supporting me this weekend means a lot."

Nyck de Vries picked up his second win of the season for Mahindra with a brilliant last-lap sprint to the chequered flag.

De Vries said: "I do want to thank the gods because I think we were a little bit lucky today as well.

"Obviously, we had a poor start. I think we opted for a drying track, and yeah, in hindsight, that obviously worked out in our favour.

"I think it was very important to save energy at the beginning of the race, because once the track dried, you needed the energy.

"We were a little bit lucky with the red flag at the end because Jake was coming on strong in an attack, but very, very happy and proud of my team who executed a great race and scored our second win of the season."

1. Nyck de Vries (Mahindra)

2. Nick Cassidy (Citroën)

3. Jake Dennis (Andretti)

4. Oliver Rowland (Nissan)

5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Citroën)

6. Norman Nato (Nissan)

7. Sebastien Buemi (Envision)

8. Nico Muller (Porsche)

9. Taylor Barnard (Penske)

10. Maximilian Gunther (Penske)

The rolling restart saw Nyck de Vries defend hard from Nick Cassidy, storming off around the first corner. The Mahindra driver shot away and held a car length's width from Cassidy, avoiding any pressure from those behind. Jake Dennis does have more energy than the duo ahead, but may not be able to overtake them in time.

Nyck de Vries powered through the final-lap shoot-out to the victory, and gifted Mahindra their second win this year.

A red flag was waved after a massive pile-up at Turn 5 and 8. It looks like there are at least five drivers stuck on track.

Joel Eriksson made contact with Edoardo Mortara heading into Turn 5, with Mortara trying to make a move around the inside of the Envision driver. The duo were then planted into the barriers, with Antonio Felix da Costa being caught up in the chaos too, running into the back of Mortara. The rest of the pack was simply unable to find a way past, with the corner so tight that there was no room to continue.

The race will restart with Nyck de Vries in pole position ahead of Nick Cassidy and Jake Dennis. This offers Dennis the chance for a scrappy sprint for the win, if de Vries can hold them all off.

Practically the entire field is using Attack Mode, including Nyck de Vries who used four minutes of Attack Mode to shoot up to the front of the pack. Oliver Rowland may be vulnerable to de Vries, going side by side into the middle sector of the track. De Vries emerged as the leader, and has executed a flawless strategy to jump ahead.

Rowland has still not taken his Attack Mode on Lap 29, losing second place to Nick Cassidy shortly after losing the lead. He is sandwiched between a bunch of Attack Mode drivers and is dropping down the order, losing yet another position to Jean-Eric Vergne.

Finally, on Lap 30, Rowland deployed four minutes of Attack Mode, looking to regain the positions but has lost another place to Jake Dennis with far more Attack Mode. Dennis is having a brilliant race, having started in 17th place.

This strategy has not worked out in Rowland's favour as he runs in fourth place behind Dennis, going far too late with his Attack Mode. The race looks like it will go down to the wire with Dennis on the hunt for the victory, slotting in right behind Nick Cassidy.

The race has been extended by 1 lap.

Oliver Rowland found himself in second place after snatching the position from Antonio Felix da Costa on lap 24, going around the inside of the Jaguar at Turn 9. He has incredible control of the grip on the Nissan, hoping to claim the lead on home soil. He has 2% more energy than the drivers behind, but matches Taylor Barnard ahead.

Barnard went on to deploy his final four minutes of Attack Mode, right after Rowland snatched the lead from him. Rowland had a brilliant defence strategy, shutting the door on Barnard as the young driver looked to reclaim his lead.

Despite having the advantage of Attack Mode, Barnard was not nearly as comfortable as the Nissan driver. His grip was much better, and he was able to defend smoothly against the rest of the pack. The duo possessed the same amount of energy just a lap before the Penske driver used his Attack Mode.

Chaos has unfolded in the midfield with Oliver Rowland and Mitch Evans scrapping it out for P5. Evans, while using Attack Mode, is stuck behind Rowland on Lap 21. Rowland has 1.5% more energy than the Jaguar, and is somehow falling away from the Nissan despite using Attack Mode.

The world champion is incredible at conserving energy, and has a proven track record on this circuit of winning races and securing podium finishes. Rowland is in the prime spot for the next few laps, sitting in fourth place on Lap 23, gaining over a second a lap.

The full course yellow has come at a bit of an awkward time for Edoardo Mortara, who had the final minute left of his Attack Mode. The Mahindra driver, however, could not pull off the overtake for the lead, so Antonio Felix da Costa retained his lead.

Racing was underway on Lap 17, and da Costa was able to pull away from Mortara. Taylor Barnard, running in third place, deployed four minutes of Attack Mode, looking for a way around the duo at the front of the pack. He was followed by Dan Ticktum, who also used four minutes, hoping to find some extra grip on the track.

Ticktum used the Attack Mode to overtake Pascal Wehrlein around Turn 16, and set his sights on Mitch Evans, who had eight full minutes of unused Attack Mode. He was able to pass the Jaguar on Lap 19 and followed it up with a move on Edoardo Mortara.

At the front of the pack, Barnard stormed past the race leaders using his Attack Mode and with a massive 5% advantage over the drivers. The Briton overtook da Costa with a brave move around the final corner of the circuit to lead the race.

Dan Ticktum seems to be really struggling with grip after the rain cleared, and is at risk of losing more positions to the drivers behind. The first sector looks to be especially difficult for the Briton, having lost a position to Taylor Barnard a lap before. Mitch Evans set his sights on P4, and started to trail closely behind the Cupra Kiro.

Edoardo Mortara and Mitch Evans have been shown black and white flags, which means they are both on their final strikes. Mortara was in a similar position yesterday, running in the top three until he was dropped down the order due to a penalty. Mahindra is in dire need of these points as it stands, and Mortara should be the one to collect them.

He then opted to use four minutes of Attack Mode on Lap 14 in an attempt to reclaim the lead of the race. Jake Dennis, running in 15th place, also decided to use his Attack Mode to gain places and hopefully land a position in the top ten.

The midfield is not the most active at the moment, with a majority of the drivers remaining in the same positions as they were 10 laps ago. This is likely due to energy conservation.

On Lap 15, a full-course yellow was called as Pepe Marti found himself planted in the wall in the final sector of the circuit. There was contact with Sebastien Buemi heading into the final sector, and he was shunted into the wall, unable to reverse out of it.

It has been reported that the track is drying out quicker than predicted, with no more rain expected for the remainder of the race. This should help drivers in the front of the pack with managing energy levels, as Antonio Felix da Costa has already used 20% in the opening stint of the ePrix.

He managed to build a four-second gap to Edoardo Mortara running in second place on Lap 9, but the Mahindra driver has yet to use his Attack Mode as he coasts through the Tokyo Street Circuit. Dan Ticktum reported that he has very little grip with the track drying up, which could force an alternate strategy.

Drivers running 10th place and under have on average 2-3% more energy than those in the front, likely conserving energy in the early stages of the race when the grid was bunched up. In the fight for a potential position on the podium, Taylor Barnard found himself under pressure from Mitch Evans on Lap 11, with Pascal Wehrlein failing to take the scrap to the Jaguar.

Barnard pushed forward and overtook a struggling Ticktum around the inside of Turn 1 on Lap 12.

The pace at the front of the pack is clearing those lower in the order, with the top five drivers seeming to pull away from the rest. Towards the end of Lap 4, Antonio Felix da Costa managed to snatch the lead from the polesitter, Edoardo Mortara, using his Attack Mode.

The rest of the Attack Mode drivers are also climbing up the order on Lap 5, with Oliver Rowland leading the trip through Sector 2. It is a vastly different race to the one yesterday, with the rain hammering down on the drivers. It has lightened up, but the visibility and grip are nowhere near what it was on Saturday.

After the first flurry of Attack Mode, da Costa leads Mortara through the street circuit. Rowland managed to climb up to seventh place but ended up being stuck behind Pascal Wehrlein. The Porsche driver will be aiming to score as many points as possible to take his lead back in the standings from Mitch Evans. On Lap 7, Wehrlein found himself in the perfect place behind Evans to take the fight directly to the Jaguar.

Energy levels are fairly consistent among the pack, but da Costa has slightly less than the others due to the early Attack Mode strategy and the push tot he front of the pack.

A standing start is now the move, with the safety car entering the pits towards the end of the first lap. Visibility is not the best considering the spray from the wet conditions, and the fact that it is the first night race in Japan for the electric racing series.

Edoardo Mortara nailed the standing start for Mahindra Racing, jumping off the line to defend hard from Antonio Felix da Costa into the opening corner. The duo went wheel to wheel through the first corner and into the second sector, but it was Mortara who prevailed and held onto the lead.

The former championship leader, Pascal Wehrlein, was hoping to gain positions at the start to make up the points lost yesterday, but he has instead dropped back a place. This has given way for the new championship leader, Mitch Evans, to climb up two places on the grid. The Jaguar driver has set his sights on Taylor Barnard ahead, hoping to extend his lead at the top of the table.

Attack Mode has come into play pretty early today, with Antonio Felix da Costa opting to use four minutes on Lap 3. He is followed by Oliver Rowland down in seventh place, Wehrlein and Nico Muller.

The race will begin under a safety car in order to gauge the conditions. There are several wet spots littered across the circuit, and the safety car minimises the risk at Turn 1.

There are just five minutes to go until racing gets underway in Tokyo. It is set to be a vastly different race today, with rain pouring down on the Japanese street circuit. Stay tuned for a thrilling race!

Dan Ticktum had a pretty chaotic race yesterday, opting to use the undercut strategy in attempt to snatch the lead from Andretti’s Jake Dennis. It worked initially, until Dennis was able to time his Pit Boost and Attack Mode to regain the lead.

Towards the closing stages of the race, Tickum cheekily asked his team to relay the message to Dennis that he will not fight for the lead as it will allow the drivers behind to close in on them.

This didn’t last very long, however, as Ticktum spotted an opportunity to pounce on Dennis when he suffered an auto-cut, and claimed his second Formula E win for Cupra Kiro. During his post-race interview, he said: ”A lot of people know that I'm currently a free agent, and I don't really know what more I can do to prove that I should remain in Formula E."

The win came at a time when the Briton is desperate to find a seat for the GEN4 era, and has previously spoken on his frustrations with the team. As his contract is due to end in August, it is likely that Cupra Kiro would not want to re-sign the hotheaded driver.

It has not been the best few rounds for the world champion, with Pascal Wehrlein losing his lead in the Drivers’ Standings yesterday. With only three races left in the season, his hopes of claiming a second world championship are dwindling.

The Porsche driver suffered from a DNF yesterday after being shunted in the opening lap of the race, which caused him to carry front wing damage throughout the remainder of the race. He then went on to retire in the final ten laps when Porsche realised that he had picked up far too much damage.

He is, however, only three points behind the new championship leader Mitch Evans. Evans is set to start today’s race in seventh while Wehrlein starts in 11th. Wehrlein does have experience clawing back a championship lead, but whether he can do so today is another question.