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HANKOOK DEBRIEF: Five things we learned in Jeddah

FEATURE 17 Feb 2026 4 Mins

These are the five biggest storylines from our double-header in Jeddah over the weekend.

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feature season 12

Feature by Katy Fairman

Formula E completed its first double-header of Season 12 at the weekend, with the return of PIT BOOST, dominance from Edoardo Mortara across qualifying and two very different race results. Here is all you need to know from Rounds 4 and 5 of the 2025/26 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Five races and five different winners

It feels like we say this every season, but Formula E is still as competitive as ever. So far this season we’ve celebrated first place success for Jake Dennis (Andretti), Nick Cassidy (Citroën Racing), Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), and now we can add two more names to that list.

Pascal Wehrlein stormed to his first win since Miami last season, to put himself into the lead of the drivers’ standings for Round 4 on Friday. The Porsche driver started from third on the grid, but made use of his PIT BOOST and opted for a later ATTACK MODE strategy to race so far ahead that Mortara, who finished second, thought he was leading at one point.

READ: Everything you need to know about PIT BOOST in Formula E

Fast forward one day and it was Antonio Felix da Costa who banked his first win at the Jaguar TCS Racing squad after just five races. It is the fifth team that Season 6 champ da Costa has won with in Formula E, having also come from third on the grid to achieve his victory.

This continuation of different driver winning continues to show that Formula E’s format works, and we’ve still not seen the likes of reigning champ Oliver Rowland get his first win of Season 12 yet. So many possibilities and drivers capable of winning– who will be next in Madrid?

Mortara and Mahindra’s pole position perfection

Edoardo Mortara had only achieved career poles around the Berlin Tempelhof in Formula E, three in total, but that changed in Jeddah when he banked not one but two Julius Baer Pole Positions in dominant fashion.

Friday’s race saw him go up against a previous race winner here, Maximilian Guenther of DS PENSKE, and win to secure pole. Then the next day, Mortara did the same and got the better time during a Final Duels battle with Jake Dennis (Andretti).

QUALI REPORT: Mortara manages magical back-to-back poles in Jeddah

The accomplishment handed Mortara an extra three points on both occasions, as well as giving Mahindra Racing their first-ever double-header qualifying clean sweep. Unfortunately for the team, both pole positions couldn’t be converted into wins but Mortara did manage a well-deserved second place during Friday’s race, Round 4.

Jaguar pounce into the history books

Thanks to Antonio Felix da Costa’s win on Saturday, Jaguar TCS Racing are now the most successful team in Formula E’s 12 year history with 24 victories. They passed Nissan, who were previously Renault when the championship began, and Jaguar have won six events in the last nine races thanks to Evans, Da Costa and Nick Cassidy last season before he departed for Citroën.

After Mitch Evans’ win in Miami, and now da Costa’s victory in Jeddah, Jaguar have also become the first team to win on both sides of the garage in Season 12.

PIT BOOST is back

The popular mid-race technology returned in Jeddah, only being used for one race of the double-header. PIT BOOST is a mandatory mid-race pit stop where cars receive an ultra-fast energy increase. This is done through a 30-second 600kW boost in the pit lane, which in return offers the driver a 10% energy increase (3.85kWh).

Introduced last season in Jeddah, the stops can completely turn a driver’s race on its head and choosing when to take ATTACK MODE has a massive impact. As of this weekend, drivers were only given one ATTACK MODE activation instead of the usual two, and this only lasted for six minutes.

Maximilian Guenther had looked strong during the race, but the decision to activate his ATTACK MODE early derailed his race and he finished out the points as a result. However, during the same race Pascal Wehrlein and Porsche profited with late ATTACK MODE deployments and won the race with dominance.

Porsche leading the way after R5

We might only be a third of the way through the season, with so much still to happen, but Porsche have taken an early lead in all three of the World Championship standings.

After his win in Jeddah, Wehrlein leads the drivers’ title on 68 points with Mortara behind on 62. Porsche have also taken a healthy lead in the Teams’ table with 113 points thanks to the efforts of both Wehrlein and Nico Müller and their respective podiums and pole positions. Jaguar are their next closest competition on 86 points after five rounds.

Porsche are also top in the Manufacturers’ standings, helped by wins from Jake Dennis in Sao Paulo, a double podium from the works team in Miami and Wehrlein’s Jeddah win.