# 2022 Diriyah ePrix

The 2022 Diriyah ePrix was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in the town of Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on 28 and 29 January 2022. It was the opening round of the 2021–22 Formula E season and the fourth edition of the Diriyah ePrix, and was held at night for the second time. Novelties for the event included the introduction of a knockout-style qualifying format, which replaced the series' long-standing four-group and superpole qualifying.
The first race was won by defending world champion Nyck de Vries, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Dennis rounding out the podium. Edoardo Mortara won the second race, ahead of Robin Frijns and Lucas di Grassi.

## Background

Nyck de Vries entered the event as the series' reigning world champion, whilst his team Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team are the defending constructors' champions in what is set to be their last season in Formula E.

### Regulation changes

The races were the first to see the new knockout-style qualifying format introduced for the season. Under the new format, the grid is split into two groups of eleven cars, each of which will have ten minutes to set the fastest time with the cars set to deliver 220kW of power. The fastest four drivers from each group then advance to a knockout-style tournament to decide the top eight, with the drivers being eliminated via quarter-final and semi-final heats to leave a two-car battle for pole position. The cars' usable power is upped to 250kW for the knockout stages.

### Driver changes

Following the withdrawal of Audi from Formula E at the end of the 2020–21 season, former champion Lucas di Grassi moved to ROKiT Venturi, partnering the incumbent Edoardo Mortara and replacing Norman Nato, the series' latest race winner, who moved to Jaguar as a reserve driver. Long-time Nissan e.dams driver Oliver Rowland switched to Mahindra Racing to replace the outgoing Alex Lynn, his space at Nissan being taken by former Andretti driver and three-time race winner Maximilian Günther.
Three drivers made their Formula E debuts at the event. Former Formula One driver Antonio Giovinazzi joined Dragon / Penske Autosport to partner Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara. Former Red Bull junior Dan Ticktum joined NIO to replace the outgoing Tom Blomqvist alongside Oliver Turvey. 2019 Indy Lights champion and former IndyCar driver Oliver Askew joined Andretti Autosport, no longer factory-backed by BMW, to partner Jake Dennis, who came third in the 2020–21 season as a rookie.

## Classification
### Race one
#### Qualifying

Group draw :
| Group A | ASK | SET | JEV | FRI | BIR | ROW | VAN | TUR | BUE | DIG | WEH |
| Group B | DEN | GIO | DAC | CAS | EVA | SIM | DEV | TIC | GUE | MOR | LOT |

##### Qualifying duels

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| B4 | André Lotterer | André Lotterer | | | | | | |
| A1 | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | | | | | | |
| A1 | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | André Lotterer | André Lotterer | André Lotterer | | | |
| | | | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | | | |
| B3 | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | | | |
| A2 | Sam Bird | Sam Bird | | | | | | |
| A2 | Sam Bird | Sam Bird | | | | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis | Jake Dennis |
| | | | | | | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne |
| A3 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne | | | | | | | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne |
| B2 | Nick Cassidy | Nick Cassidy | | | | | | |
| B2 | Nick Cassidy | Nick Cassidy | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne | Stoffel Vandoorne | | | |
| | | | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | | | |
| A4 | Oliver Rowland | Oliver Rowland | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | | | |
| B1 | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | | | | | | |

##### Overall classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | A | B | QF | SF | F | Grid |
| 1 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 1:09.489 | — | 1:08.873 | 1:08.407 | 1:08.626 | 1 |
| 2 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | — | 1:09.284 | 1:08.749 | 1:08.379 | 1:08.926 | 2 |
| 3 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | — | 1:09.164 | 1:08.600 | 1:08.813 | — | 3 |
| 4 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | — | 1:09.313 | 1:09.018 | 1:09.014 | — | 4 |
| 5 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 1:09.407 | — | 1:08.919 | — | — | 5 |
| 6 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Envision-Audi | — | 1:09.214 | 1:08.951 | — | — | 6 |
| 7 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Envision-Audi | 1:09.163 | — | 1:09.109 | — | — | 7 |
| 8 | 30 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra | 1:09.549 | — | 1:09.329 | — | — | 11 |
| 9 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:09.617 | — | — | — | — | 8 |
| 10 | 22 | Maximilian Günther | e.dams-Nissan | — | 1:09.471 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 11 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 1:09.710 | — | — | — | — | 10 |
| 12 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | — | 1:09.536 | — | — | — | 12 |
| 13 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 1:09.811 | — | — | — | — | 13 |
| 14 | 9 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | — | 1:09.587 | — | — | — | 14 |
| 15 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 1:09.867 | — | — | — | — | 15 |
| 16 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | — | 1:09.704 | — | — | — | 16 |
| 17 | 28 | Oliver Askew | Andretti-BMW | 1:09.891 | — | — | — | — | 17 |
| 18 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | — | 1:10.039 | — | — | — | 18 |
| 19 | 3 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 1:10.129 | — | — | — | — | 19 |
| 20 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | NIO | — | 1:10.507 | — | — | — | 20 |
| 21 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 1:10.185 | — | — | — | — | 21 |
| 22 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Dragon-Penske | — | 1:10.596 | — | — | — | 22 |
| Source: ||||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Oliver Rowland received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding another driver in the pit lane.

#### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 41 | 52:14.642 | 3 | 25 |
| 2 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 41 | +0.636 | 1 | 18+3 |
| 3 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 41 | +8.802 | 2 | 15 |
| 4 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 41 | +14.925 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Venturi-Mercedes | 41 | +15.152 | 8 | 10 |
| 6 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 41 | +16.015 | 12 | 8 |
| 7 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Envision-Audi | 41 | +17.265 | 6 | 6+1 |
| 8 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 41 | +25.076 | 13 | 4 |
| 9 | 28 | Oliver Askew | Andretti-BMW | 41 | +25.699 | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 41 | +27.320 | 14 | 1 |
| 11 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 41 | +28.781 | 10 | |
| 12 | 22 | Maximilian Günther | e.dams-Nissan | 41 | +30.536 | 9 | |
| 13 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 41 | +31.521 | 4 | |
| 14 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 41 | +34.572 | 18 | |
| 15 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 41 | +36.781 | 15 | |
| 16 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Envision-Audi | 41 | +39.953 | 7 | |
| 17 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 41 | +41.334 | 21 | |
| 18 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | NIO | 41 | +49.222 | 20 | |
| 19 | 3 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 41 | +50.965 | 19 | |
| 20 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Dragon-Penske | 41 | +1:16.527 | 22 | |
| Ret | 30 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra | 7 | Collision | 11 | |
| Ret | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 0 | Collision damage | 16 | |
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Pole position.
* ^2 – Fastest lap.

#### Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Nyck de Vries | 25 |
| 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 21 |
| 3 | Jake Dennis | 15 |
| 4 | Sam Bird | 12 |
| 5 | Lucas di Grassi | 10 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Mercedes | 46 |
| 2 | Venturi-Mercedes | 18 |
| 3 | Andretti-BMW | 17 |
| 4 | Jaguar | 13 |
| 5 | Envision-Audi | 7 |
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

### Race two
#### Qualifying

Group draw :
| Group A | DEV (1) | DEN (3) | DIG (5) | CAS (7) | ASK (9) | WEH (11) | LOT (13) | SET (15) | BUE (17) | TUR (19) | ROW (21) |
| Group B | VAN (2) | BIR (4) | MOR (6) | JEV (8) | EVA (10) | GUE (12) | SIM (14) | FRI (16) | TIC (18) | GIO (20) | DAC (22) |

##### Qualifying duels

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| B4 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Jean-Éric Vergne | | | | | | |
| A1 | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | | | | | | |
| A1 | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | | | |
| | | | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | | | |
| B3 | António Félix da Costa | António Félix da Costa | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | | | |
| A2 | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | | | | | | |
| A2 | Lucas di Grassi | Lucas di Grassi | | | | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries | Nyck de Vries |
| | | | | | | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara |
| A3 | Oliver Rowland | Oliver Rowland | | | | | | | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara |
| B2 | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | | | | | | |
| B2 | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | Robin Frijns | | | |
| | | | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | | | |
| A4 | André Lotterer | André Lotterer | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | | | |
| B1 | Edoardo Mortara | Edoardo Mortara | | | | | | |

##### Overall classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | A | B | QF | SF | F | Grid |
| 1 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 1:07.939 | — | 1:06.871 | 1:06.835 | 1:07.154 | 1 |
| 2 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | — | 1:07.724 | 1:07.014 | 1:06.987 | 1:07.159 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Envision-Audi | — | 1:07.757 | 1:07.207 | 1:07.184 | — | 3 |
| 4 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:08.083 | — | 1:07.580 | 1:07.216 | — | 4 |
| 5 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 1:08.224 | — | 1:07.285 | — | — | 5 |
| 6 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | — | 1:07.968 | 1:07.539 | — | — | 6 |
| 7 | 30 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra | 1:08.101 | — | 1:07.780 | — | — | 10 |
| 8 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | — | 1:07.806 | No time | — | — | 7 |
| 9 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 1:08.419 | — | — | — | — | 8 |
| 10 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | — | 1:08.011 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 11 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 1:08.454 | — | — | — | — | 11 |
| 12 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | — | 1:08.257 | — | — | — | 12 |
| 13 | 28 | Oliver Askew | Andretti-BMW | 1:08.626 | — | — | — | — | 13 |
| 14 | 22 | Maximilian Günther | e.dams-Nissan | — | 1:08.339 | — | — | — | 14 |
| 15 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 1:08.829 | — | — | — | — | 15 |
| 16 | 9 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | — | 1:08.368 | — | — | — | 16 |
| 17 | 3 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 1:08.943 | — | — | — | — | 17 |
| 18 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | NIO | — | 1:08.753 | — | — | — | 18 |
| 19 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | No time | — | — | — | — | 19 |
| 20 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Dragon-Penske | — | 1:08.811 | — | — | — | 20 |
| 21 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Envision-Audi | No time | — | — | — | — | 22 |
| 22 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | — | 1:13.910 | — | — | — | 21 |
| Source: ||||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Oliver Rowland received a 3-place grid penalty for causing a collision in race one.
* ^2 – António Félix da Costa had his quarter-final duel lap time deleted for missing his slot.
* ^3 – Sérgio Sette Câmara had all his qualifying lap times cancelled for impeding another driver.
* ^4 – Nick Cassidy did not take part in qualifying as his team could not repair his car in time following an accident in free practice. He was allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.

#### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 35 | 47:02.131 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Envision-Audi | 35 | +0.451 | 3 | 18 |
| 3 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Venturi-Mercedes | 35 | +0.912 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 35 | +1.125 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 35 | +1.646 | 8 | 10 |
| 6 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 35 | +3.166 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 35 | +3.568 | 12 | 6+1 |
| 8 | 30 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra | 35 | +4.235 | 10 | 4 |
| 9 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 35 | +4.962 | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 35 | +5.294 | 1 | 1+3 |
| 11 | 28 | Oliver Askew | Andretti-BMW | 35 | +6.732 | 13 | |
| 12 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 35 | +8.693 | 7 | |
| 13 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 35 | +9.015 | 15 | |
| 14 | 22 | Maximilian Günther | e.dams-Nissan | 35 | +9.464 | 14 | |
| 15 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 35 | +11.690 | 21 | |
| 16 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Envision-Audi | 35 | +13.973 | 22 | |
| 17 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 35 | +14.521 | 19 | |
| 18 | 3 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 35 | +15.005 | 17 | |
| 19 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | NIO | 35 | +16.744 | 18 | |
| 20 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Dragon-Penske | 35 | +17.681 | 20 | |
| 21 | 9 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 35 | +29.872 | 16 | |
| Ret | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 29 | Accident | 9 | |
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Fastest lap.
* ^2 – Pole position.
* ^3 – Mitch Evans received a post-race drive-through penalty converted into a 24-second time penalty for failing to activate the second of the two mandatory attack modes.

#### Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 5 | 1 | Edoardo Mortara | 33 |
| 1 | 2 | Nyck de Vries | 29 |
| 1 | 3 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 28 |
| 1 | 4 | Lucas di Grassi | 25 |
| 2 | 5 | Jake Dennis | 25 |
| | Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Venturi-Mercedes | 58 |
| 1 | 2 | Mercedes | 57 |
| | 3 | Andretti-BMW | 27 |
| 1 | 4 | Envision-Audi | 25 |
| 2 | 5 | Porsche | 14 |
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.