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analysis estación 11

Mueller and Mermine hit the top in ABB Engineered to Outrun after Shanghai

Análisis 06 Jun 2025 5 Min

Two very different races in Shanghai races produced two winners of the ABB Engineered To Outrun Award as first Dan Ticktum/Nicolas Morel and then Nico Mueller/Bertrand Mermine scooped the prize.

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analysis estación 11

For CUPRA KIRO’s Ticktum and Morel, it was a bittersweet charge from 21st to fourth - a result that, on paper, would be warmly welcomed by any team and driver in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

But it could have been even better as Ticktum got into the podium places in the last couple of laps and was only denied a second Formula E podium of the season by what he described “some questionable driving by others”.

The pair knew they needed to think differently starting only 21st, and opted to save energy early on at a track where the pack was likely to stay condensed - which presented new opportunities with this being the first PIT BOOST race on a circuit that lends itself to pack racing.

Ticktum thus went for a cautious start and ran last early on, gaining placing initially due to both Jaguar drivers falling back due to a Mitch Evans penalty and a Nick Cassidy spin - the latter involved in an incident that caused Edoardo Mortara to fall back as well.

So, Ticktum’s early progress was limited, but this was deliberate. By lap eight alone he had already saved between 4% and 6% than the drivers ahead and had the strongest state of charge of anyone in the field.

He cleared team-mate David Beckmann on Lap 12 and cycled all the way up to fifth through the pitstop phase as one of the latest to pull in for the mandatory PIT BOOST recharge. This was done at the same time as another clever strategy play - activating two minutes of ATTACK MODE, which meant he was faster just before pitting and had saved six minutes for later on.

Ticktum was the only relevant driver in the race to have kept so much ATTACK MODE in reserve, and had saved up the battery to maximise it. So when he rejoined in 16th, he still had more energy than anyone else - and just had to wait for the right time to use it.

Activating his six minutes of ATTACK MODE on Lap 21, Ticktum’s charge began. He passed the Beckmann again, Sam Bird, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi, and both Lola Yamahas all within two laps to move into the points. And he was far from finished.

The two Porsche drivers and Robin Frijns fell on Lap 24, putting Ticktum sixth, with enough ATTACK MODE remaining to pinch fifth from Nyck de Vries and then capitalise on a fight between the top two in the championship Oliver Rowland and Taylor Barnard, and Rowland’s Nissan team-mate Norman Nato, to grab fourth.

Now out of ATTACK MODE, Ticktum was firmly in the podium fight. He passed Rowland around the outside into Turn 1 to take third and on the very last lap made a move on Barnard - only for Vergne, attacking late on, to lunge both of them at once into the final chicane complex.

This forced Ticktum to take evasive action that allowed Barnard to sneak back into third: a late disappointment for an otherwise exemplary race that Ticktum rightly said he and the team had “pulled off very, very well”.

Mueller extends his lead

A very, very wet second part of the Shanghai double-header - and no PIT BOOST stop - meant race two in China was always destined to be a different affair on an extremely slippery track surface with a slightly reduced lap count.

Mueller was one of four drivers to gain four places, along with Barnard, Rowland and Frijns. But he was the only driver who started in the top 10 to do that, whereas Rowland and Barnard in particular were obviously out of position compared to their normal form. That made what Mueller did particularly impressive.

The first seven laps of the race were run under the safety car and in this phase some drivers willingly spent more energy than others knowing that it wouldn’t be a tight run to the finish. When the race resumed for real, Mueller was one of only two drivers in the top 10 not to take ATTACK MODE immediately.

That left him vulnerable for one lap given the benefits of not just more power but four-wheel-drive in the wet conditions, before going wide at Turn 1 into the ATTACK MODE activation lane. Mueller held position, which was important - but even more so was a different, deliberate strategic move.

Mueller armed himself with six minutes of ATTACK MODE, opting to go aggressive early on, and it worked a treat. In a race where so many struggled to make moves, Mueller took full advantage of the extra power and grip, and the fact he had it for slightly longer, to pass De Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne, and then Lucas di Grassi - the last of those three moves coming into the fast left-hander of Turn 6 that had a lot of standing water, which caught out several drivers through the race.

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This put Mueller seventh, but there was one final place to steal as he caught Max Guenther and used his very last seconds of ATTACK MODE to take sixth. It was important as Guenther was on the same six minute/two minute ATTACK MODE split, so Mueller not only jumped a driver who would be hard to pass later on with the same strategy - but he put an extra car between him and the cars that had more ATTACK MODE to use later.

A fairly early use of his second activation helped keep Di Grassi at bay, then Guenther’s retirement relieved a little pressure - and a spin for Vandoorne just as he had caught Mueller up removed the final threat to his position.

Sixth was not only a strong race result in the circumstances, but the rise also cemented Mueller and Mermine at the top of the total ABB Engineered To Outrun standings - having gained 57 positions, 10 more than anyone else, so far this season.