Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) heads to Saudi Arabia this weekend aiming to repeat his Diriyah double-header dominance of last season and extend his early lead at the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship standings.

Wehrlein triumphed in the first race of the season in Mexico City (Saturday, 13 January), converting Julius Bär Pole Position into his fifth win in Formula E and going one better than last season’s second place to Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E team) who went on to become Formula E world champion.

Reigning champion Dennis goes into the Diriyah double-header (Friday, 26 January and Saturday, 27 January) targeting an all-round upgrade on his season-opening performance in Mexico. An uncharacteristic error in qualifying forced a start from the back half of the grid in 14th, though the battling Brit showed his fighting spirit to finish in ninth.

Second to Wehrlein in both Diriyah races last year, Dennis will be aiming to go one better to ignite his title defence which is under pressure from multiple drivers, reaffirming Formula E’s reputation as the most competitive motorsport.

Wehrlein leads the drivers' world championship from Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing) in second and Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) in third while Maximilian Günther will be aiming to put Maserati MSG Racing in title contention in fourth position. Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) is in fifth.

Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, said:

“I definitely had a good feeling already during testing and at the end of last season, it was clear that we have made some steps forward. Mexico is somehow always a special track for us, that's why I'm a bit cautious. But hopefully we can confirm that performance in qualifying and on other tracks.”

Wehrlein is on form and full of confidence, and heads to Saudi Arabia as the favourite after sealing the win-double in Diriyah last season. While he didn't appear to have the one-lap pace and qualified down the order for both races last season, that didn't matter come race time.

The German was quick all weekend, producing two calculated drives to the front with an unmatched energy management strategy. The 29-year-old became only the fifth driver in Formula E history to win both legs of a double-header.

Elsewhere on the grid, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team new signing Sam Bird is among the most successful in Diriyah. He has two wins to his name, as does Season 7 world champion Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing). Bird's teammate Jake Hughes set the qualifying pace in the 2023 visit, proving McLaren's package does work around the Saudi street track - what is considered a 'home' event for the NEOM-sponsored team.

DICING IN THE DARK:

Saudi Arabia hosts the only night races in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the circuit lit by energy-efficient LED technology around the circuit plus the illuminated neon halos of the 22 Formula E GEN3 race cars.

The LED lighting reduces energy consumption by up to 50 per cent compared to non-LED units and are powered by sustainably-sourced biofuel generators, underlining Formula E’s position as the world-leader for embedding sustainability in elite sport.

António Félix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and Season 6 Formula E champion, said:

“With it being a night race, your practice and qualifying happen during the day and then you race at night. Temperatures change, along with the track surface with the sand getting brushed away. Your perceptions also change with the shadows changing. It takes a little bit of adaptation and training to the eye but I love the different variables and it definitely creates a better show for the fans. It’s very cool to race there, and great to watch – especially at night.”

ABOUT THE DIRIYAH STREET CIRCUIT:

The 2024 Diriyah E-Prix features Rounds 2 and 3 in Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship

The Diriyah Street Circuit, just outside of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, is a true street circuit, snaking the historic city walls at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The bumpy bobsleigh run of the Driiyah track is a favourite of the drivers and one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar for balancing energy management and outright pace, though drivers have never found overtaking a problem.

SOCIAL IMPACT IN DIRIYAH

Formula E’s positive impact on sustainability extends beyond the track. Also taking place in Diriyah before the race is the Zero Summit powered by Change.Accelerated.Live bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts in sustainable energy and climate action to accelerate the transition to achieve net zero emissions.

The FIA Girls on Track programme will give 120 girls from Diriyah an introduction to careers in motorsport, with educational talk at Alfaisal University for more than 50 young women in Riyadh.

ENTERTAINMENT ON TRACK:

One Republic and The Backstreet Boys will perform post-race concerts alongside the queen of Arab pop, Nancy Ajram and local talent and Cairokee with DJ sets by Alesso and AfroJack.

The Allianz Fan Village features the Gaming Arena including racing and G-Force simulators, with more family-friendly entertainment.

SCHEDULE: WHERE, WHEN AND HOW TO WATCH OR STREAM THE 2024 DIRIYAH E-PRIX:

The first action gets underway on Thursday 25 January with Free Practice 1 at 17:55 Arabia Standard Time (AST), 14:55 GMT.

Then it's on to race day on Friday, 26 January as Free Practice 2 kicks off the day at 12:55 AST / 09:55 GMT while qualifying follows at 15:20 AST / 12:20 GMT with the Round 2 race at 20:00 AST / 17:00 GMT.

Free Practice 3 follows on Saturday morning at 12:55 AST / 09:55 GMT with qualifying ahead of Round 3 set to get underway at 15:20 AST / 12:20 GMT. Round 3 follows at 20:00 AST /17:00 GMT on Saturday, 27 January.

Keep across Live Timing – which includes a real-time interactive track map and the ability to follow your favourite driver during every session of every E-Prix – plus highlights, detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all the standings and results as well as data, insight and reaction from trackside.

WHERE TO WATCH:

MENA

PAN-REGIONAL: Fans will be able to catch all the race action on the Shahid digital platform with Linear Arabic Language coverage across SSC2. MBC Action will cover all qualifying and race action in English Language. 

APAC

AUSTRALIA: Stan Sports will present live coverage of all sessions from both races on the Stan Sports platform. 9GO will wrap up the weekend with highlights for fans in Australia. 

INDONESIA: Fans can catch both races live on iNews, with dedicated coverage of the weekend across MNC platforms including SPORTSTARS and MNC Vision +

INDIA: Both races will be live on Sony Sport Ten 1, with quali and race across both days carried on SonyLIV.

JAPAN: Viewers will be able to catch all the action from both qualifying and race sessions on J-Sports 3, with BS Fuji providing dedicated highlights coverage.

NEW ZEALAND: Viewers in New Zealand will be able to catch both races, live on Sky Sports 5.

SE ASIA: Eclat will be providing live coverage of both races on SpoTV, whilst also simulcasting across their digital platform SpoTV NOW.

EUROPE:

FRANCE: Viewers in France will be able to catch both races on L’Equipe Live and Eurosport1 while Eurosport Player will be showing all sessions live. La Chaine L’Equipe will be running delayed linear coverage of Friday’s race in the build-up to the live race on Saturday.

GERMANY: A new partnership in Germany will see live coverage of both qualifying and race on DF1, with all sessions from both days available on ServusOn and Servus TV Motorsport Magenta. Eurosport 2 will also cover race action across both days.

AUSTRIA: Fans will be able to tune into race action and quali from both days on ServusTV, also simulcast on their digital offering ServusOn.

ITALY: Mediaset’s Channel 20 will air both races live, with all sessions available live on SportMediaset.it with added highlights covered on their flagship Italia Uno channel for both races. Eurosport 1 will also cover race and highlights.

NETHERLANDS: Both races will be live on Ziggo Sport Motorsport and ZiggoGO. Eurosport will also be providing live coverage across the weekend on linear and digital channels.

UK: TNT Sports will continue the season as the home of Formula E in the UK with extensive coverage across their channels. Friday’s race and quali will be shown on TNT Sports 1, with Saturday’s quali and race on TNT Sports 3. All sessions available on discovery+

REST OF EUROPE: Across the remainder of Europe (excl. Germany), all sessions will be live across Eurosport’s linear and digital platforms. Eurosport will provide bespoke, live coverage of the opening race on Eurosport 1, whilst all sessions will be live on Eurosport Player. ES Player will also provide a one-stop destination for all Formula E catch-up.

AMERICAS

CANADA:  TVA Sports will cover French Language action across both days. TSN+ will be the place to watch English Language commentary.

USA: All live race sessions will be made available with our new partner Roku, with highlights for both races broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

MEXICO: Fans in Mexico can watch their home race on Fox Sports 3, Claro Sports and Azteca Deportes. 

Claro Sports will be providing dedicated coverage of the whole race weekend across Latin America with support from DirecTV in select markets.

AFRICA

Fans will be able to catch all the live action from qualifying and the race live on SuperSport Motorsport.