Discover more

explainer

Marti and Lee take ABB Engineered to Outrun honours in Sanya

Explainer 26 Jun 2026 4 Mins

Pepe Marti had one of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s most unorthodox runs to win the ABB Engineered to Outrun Award in the Lianxin Sanya E-Prix.

Discover more

explainer

Starting from 18th thanks to a grid penalty from the last race in Monaco forced Marti and his CUPRA KIRO team to commit to an energy-saving strategy and, ultimately, hope some dramatic circumstances would go in their favour.

Sustaining front and rear car damage in the multi-car pileup that caused a mid-race Red Flag was not exactly the sort of chaos they had in mind, though. And though a mighty effort from the team to repair the car ensured Marti could take the restart, he lined up for it even further back on the grid, in 19th!

REPORT: Dennis heads home Drugovich in Sanya for maiden Andretti 1-2

This nullified some light progress Marti had made at the original start, but something that could not be taken away was the energy advantage he had built up in the first half of the race before the stoppage.

Marti’s aggressive energy saving tactics were assisted by the race-leading Andretti's controlling the pace as much as possible.

“We didn’t expect Andretti to do the strategy that they did,” he admitted. “But the pace that they set played into our advantage because we were able to save more energy than the guys at the front.”

Andretti making the race slower allowed Marti to save even more energy running in the pack. He under-consumed energy relative to the majority of the field on almost every lap up until the Red Flag, giving himself between 4-5% more battery than most drivers had at that point.

So when he survived the carbon-crunching car park that occurred in the middle of the race, Marti’s position was much stronger than his place in the order suggested. He could have been a few places further up the order in normal conditions but a reset race with a clear energy advantage was a clear degree of fortune.

RACE HIGHLIGHTS: 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix, Round 11

What followed was not luck, though. Marti moved to the fringes of the points on pure pace as he utilised his extra energy while waiting for the decisive strategy call of his race to play out: waiting to deploy ATTACK MODE until the very end.

Team principal, Russell O’Hagan, said that Marti “put himself in the right position when it mattered most” - and the strategy was executed perfectly. Activating his final ATTACK MODE on Lap 35 and spending the last few percent of his energy advantage allowed Marti to end the race on the offensive and he duly role to fourth on the road at the flag - the final move coming on Nyck de Vries in the very last seconds Marti had extra power.

This became third in the moment due to a penalty for Antonio Felix da Costa and then second post-race when Felipe Drugovich received his own sanction.

It was a race that pulled together typically decisive elements in a rather unconventional way: outlast, out-think and outrun the opposition through a mix of speed, good fortune and in Marti’s own words an “on point” strategy. Races in Formula E turn on tiny details as much as they do the big dramatic moments.

“If we had waited until later,” Marti said of his final ATTACK MODE deployment, “we would have lost the final minute under the full course yellow – and therefore missed out on the podium."

SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2026 Shanghai E-Prix, Rounds 12 & 13

Next stop: Shanghai! The fight for the championship intensifies as we head to the world famous Shanghai International Circuit for Rounds 12 & 13 of the 2025/26 season. It’s a fast, flowing, and unforgiving track that promises to challenge the drivers and shake up the standings.

Free Practice 1: Friday 3 July, 16:00 local / 09:00 BST
Free Practice 2: Saturday 4 July, 08:30 local / 01:30 BST
Qualifying: Saturday 4 July, 10:40 local / 03:40 BST
Race: Saturday 4 July, 15:05 local / 08:05 BST

Free Practice 3: Sunday 5 July, 08:30 local / 01:30 BST
Qualifying: Sunday 5 July, 10:40 local / 03:40 BST
Race: Sunday 5 July, 15:05 local / 08:05 BST

View the full schedule in your time zone and check the broadcaster listings or tap the Ways to Watch button above to find out where to watch all the racing action where you live.

Follow the race LIVE on web and in the Formula E app!

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.

LIVE: Follow every lap live, with reaction and coverage at fiaformulae.com/live

Additionally, Formula E’s social media channels, website, and app will provide session reports, exclusive interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights from trackside during the five-day event.