# 2021 Valencia ePrix

The 2021 Valencia ePrix (formally the 2021 DHL Valencia E-Prix) was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in the town of Cheste near Valencia, Spain on 24 and 25 April 2021. Having previously hosted numerous pre-season tests, this was the inaugural running of a competitive Formula E event at the track, as well as the first time an ePrix was held in Spain. It marked the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2020–21 Formula E season. The first race was won by Nyck de Vries, with Nico Müller and Stoffel Vandoorne rounding out the podium. Jake Dennis took his first Formula E victory in the second race, finishing ahead of André Lotterer and Alex Lynn.

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

Group draw :
| Group 1 | BIR (1) | EVA (2) | FRI (3) | VAN (4) | DEV (5) | WEH (6) |
| Group 2 | MOR (7) | JEV (8) | SIM (9) | DAC (10) | RAS (11) | ROW (12) |
| Group 3 | SET (13) | MUL (14) | GUE (15) | BUE (16) | TUR (17) | DIG (18) |
| Group 4 | BLO (19) | LYN (20) | CAS (21) | NAT (22) | DEN (23) | LOT (24) |
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | GS | SP | Grid |
| 1 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 1:26.870 | 1:26.522 | 1 |
| 2 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 1:26.914 | 1:26.730 | 7 |
| 3 | 28 | Maximilian Günther | Andretti-BMW | 1:26.868 | 1:26.943 | 2 |
| 4 | 94 | Alex Lynn | Mahindra | 1:26.799 | 1:27.022 | 3 |
| 5 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 1:26.876 | 1:27.053 | 4 |
| 6 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 1:26.933 | — | 5 |
| 7 | 71 | Norman Nato | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:26.979 | — | 6 |
| 8 | 22 | Oliver Rowland | e.dams-Nissan | 1:27.002 | — | 8 |
| 9 | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 1:27.008 | — | 9 |
| 10 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Virgin-Audi | 1:27.072 | — | 10 |
| 11 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 1:27.109 | — | 11 |
| 12 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 1:27.157 | — | 12 |
| 13 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 1:27.177 | — | 13 |
| 14 | 33 | René Rast | Audi | 1:27.290 | — | 14 |
| 15 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Virgin-Audi | 1:27.317 | — | 15 |
| 16 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:27.338 | — | 16 |
| 17 | 20 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 1:27.442 | — | 17 |
| 18 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 1:27.456 | — | 18 |
| 19 | 88 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO | 1:27.481 | — | 19 |
| 20 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 1:27.619 | — | 20 |
| 21 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi | 1:27.634 | — | 21 |
| 22 | 6 | Nico Müller | Dragon-Penske | 1:27.644 | — | 22 |
| 23 | 8 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 1:28.524 | — | 23 |
| 24 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | no time | no time | 24 |
| Source: |||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Nyck de Vries received a 5-place grid penalty for causing a collision in the previous race in Rome.
* ^2 – Stoffel Vandoorne originally qualified first with a 1:26.839 in the group stage and a 1:26.494 in the superpole, but later had all his lap times cancelled due to a tyre infringement.

#### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 24 | 48:20.547 | 7 | 25 |
| 2 | 6 | Nico Müller | Dragon-Penske | 24 | +13.128 | 22 | 18 |
| 3 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 24 | +34.886 | 24 | 15 |
| 4 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Virgin-Audi | 24 | +36.903 | 10 | 12 |
| 5 | 33 | René Rast | Audi | 24 | +51.650 | 14 | 10 |
| 6 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Virgin-Audi | 24 | +52.985 | 15 | 8+1 |
| 7 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi | 24 | +2:41.946 | 21 | 6 |
| 8 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 24 | +3:07.061 | 13 | 4 |
| 9 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 24 | +4:19.582 | 12 | 2 |
| NC | 8 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 24 | Retired in pits | 23 | |
| NC | 88 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO | 24 | Retired in pits | 19 | |
| NC | 71 | Norman Nato | Venturi-Mercedes | 23 | +1 lap | 6 | |
| Ret | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 20 | Collision damage | 16 | |
| Ret | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 19 | Brakes | 9 | |
| Ret | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 19 | Collision/Brakes | 5 | |
| Ret | 20 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 15 | Collision damage | 17 | |
| Ret | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 14 | Collision | 18 | |
| Ret | 28 | Maximilian Günther | Andretti-BMW | 10 | Spun off | 2 | |
| Ret | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 1 | Collision | 4 | |
| DSQ | 22 | Oliver Rowland | e.dams-Nissan | 24 | Energy usage | 8 | |
| DSQ | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 24 | Energy usage | 11 | |
| DSQ | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 24 | Energy usage | 1 | 3 |
| DSQ | 94 | Alex Lynn | Mahindra | 24 | Energy usage | 3 | 1 |
| DSQ | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 24 | Energy usage | 20 | |
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Fastest lap.
* ^2 – Pole position.
* ^3 – Fastest in group stage.
* ^4 – Stoffel Vandoorne received a 5-second time penalty for forcing another car off the track, and a further post-race 10-second time penalty for failing to fulfil the total amount of time of his second attack mode.
* ^5 – Lucas di Grassi received a post-race drive-through penalty converted into a 30-second time penalty for failing to activate the second of the two mandatory attack modes.
* ^6 – Both NIO drivers pulled into the pit lane at the end of the final lap after exceeding the maximum energy usage. As they did not cross the chequered flag, they were not classified.
* ^7 – Rowland, Sims, da Costa, Lynn and Bird originally finished 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th and 11th respectively, but were disqualified from the race due to their energy used being over the regulatory limit.

#### Standings after the race

| +/– | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 4 | 1 | Nyck de Vries | 57 |
| 2 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 48 |
| 2 | 3 | Sam Bird | 43 |
| 1 | 4 | Robin Frijns | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | Mitch Evans | 39 |
| +/– | Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Mercedes | 105 |
| 1 | 2 | Jaguar | 82 |
| 1 | 3 | Virgin-Audi | 58 |
| 1 | 4 | Techeetah-DS | 51 |
| 3 | 5 | Audi | 43 |
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

### Race two
#### Qualifying

Group draw :
| Group 1 | DEV (1) | VAN (2) | BIR (3) | FRI (4) | EVA (5) | WEH (6) |
| Group 2 | RAS (7) | MUL (8) | MOR (9) | JEV (10) | SIM (11) | DAC (12) |
| Group 3 | CAS (13) | ROW (14) | SET (15) | GUE (16) | DIG (17) | BUE (18) |
| Group 4 | TUR (19) | BLO (20) | LYN (21) | DEN (22) | NAT (23) | LOT (24) |
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | GS | SP | Grid |
| 1 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 1:31.855 | 1:28.548 | 1 |
| 2 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 1:31.958 | 1:29.411 | 5 |
| 3 | 94 | Alex Lynn | Mahindra | 1:32.585 | 1:29.737 | 2 |
| 4 | 88 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO | 1:32.727 | 1:30.202 | 3 |
| 5 | 8 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 1:32.950 | 1:30.403 | 4 |
| 6 | 71 | Norman Nato | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:33.155 | 1:30.489 | 6 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 1:33.198 | — | 7 |
| 8 | 22 | Oliver Rowland | e.dams-Nissan | 1:33.336 | — | 8 |
| 9 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 1:33.390 | — | 9 |
| 10 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 1:33.452 | — | 10 |
| 11 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 1:33.479 | — | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 1:33.604 | — | 12 |
| 13 | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 1:33.745 | — | 13 |
| 14 | 33 | René Rast | Audi | 1:33.879 | — | 14 |
| 15 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 1:33.898 | — | 15 |
| 16 | 20 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 1:34.115 | — | 19 |
| 17 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Virgin-Audi | 1:34.166 | — | 16 |
| 18 | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 1:34.416 | — | 17 |
| 19 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 1:34.419 | — | 18 |
| 20 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 1:34.480 | — | 20 |
| 21 | 6 | Nico Müller | Dragon-Penske | 1:34.588 | — | 21 |
| 22 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi | 1:34.610 | — | 22 |
| 23 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Virgin-Audi | 1:37.838 | — | 23 |
| 24 | 28 | Maximilian Günther | Andretti-BMW | 1:41.980 | — | 24 |
| Source: |||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – André Lotterer and Mitch Evans received a 3-place grid penalty each for causing a collision in race one.

#### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 27 | Jake Dennis | Andretti-BMW | 30 | 46:32.002 | 1 | 25+3+1 |
| 2 | 36 | André Lotterer | Porsche | 30 | +1.483 | 5 | 18 |
| 3 | 94 | Alex Lynn | Mahindra | 30 | +2.428 | 2 | 15+1 |
| 4 | 22 | Oliver Rowland | e.dams-Nissan | 30 | +2.870 | 8 | 12 |
| 5 | 71 | Norman Nato | Venturi-Mercedes | 30 | +5.811 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | 33 | René Rast | Audi | 30 | +8.122 | 14 | 8 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Techeetah-DS | 30 | +8.782 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 8 | Oliver Turvey | NIO | 30 | +11.292 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi-Mercedes | 30 | +12.014 | 15 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi | 30 | +12.405 | 22 | 1 |
| 11 | 23 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Nissan | 30 | +13.295 | 9 | |
| 12 | 28 | Maximilian Günther | Andretti-BMW | 30 | +13.594 | 24 | |
| 13 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | Virgin-Audi | 30 | +14.329 | 23 | |
| 14 | 10 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 30 | +15.151 | 20 | |
| 15 | 20 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 30 | +17.213 | 19 | |
| 16 | 17 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 30 | +18.444 | 18 | |
| 17 | 88 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO | 30 | +18.885 | 3 | |
| 18 | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 30 | +19.274 | 13 | |
| 19 | 4 | Robin Frijns | Virgin-Audi | 30 | +19.756 | 16 | |
| 20 | 6 | Nico Müller | Dragon-Penske | 30 | +21.069 | 21 | |
| 21 | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon-Penske | 30 | +32.079 | 10 | |
| 22 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | Techeetah-DS | 30 | +59.698 | 12 | |
| 23 | 29 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra | 30 | +1:04.277 | 11 | |
| Ret | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | 20 | Collision damage | 17 | |
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Pole position; fastest in group stage.
* ^2 – Fastest lap.
* ^3 – Norman Nato received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision.

#### Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Nyck de Vries | 57 |
| 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 48 |
| 3 | Sam Bird | 43 |
| 4 | Robin Frijns | 43 |
| 5 | Mitch Evans | 39 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Mercedes | 105 |
| 2 | Jaguar | 82 |
| 3 | Virgin-Audi | 58 |
| 4 | Techeetah-DS | 57 |
| 5 | Audi | 52 |
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

## Controversy

The ending of the first race caused controversy after roughly half of the field ran out of power at the end of the 50-mile distance, with five cars being disqualified and two retiring for this reason. Frédéric Bertrand, circuit championships director of the FIA, said after the race that the finish of the race "demonstrated how difficult it was to win in Formula E", yet conceded that it should "never happen again". His comments were blasted by da Costa, one of the drivers disqualified for energy use, who stated that Formula E would become the "joke of the week" following that finish. Despite this the FIA stood by its energy management rules and race winner Nyck de Vries said that Formula E is "not necessarily" at fault.