The weather disrupted preparations for the event, with rain meaning that the third free practice session was cancelled. A few hours later, qualifying finally took place on an almost dry track.
In these delicate conditions, Taylor Barnard once again showed impressive pace. Having got through to the Duels stage, the young Briton placed his DS E-TENSE FE25 fourth on the starting grid. His team mate Maximilian Günther lined up in 14th.
The second race was again held at night but got underway in damp conditions, forcing teams into tricky decisions on set-up and tyre pressures. Nonetheless, Taylor Barnard was straight on the pace. After a brief Full Course Yellow, the young Englishman activated his first Attack Mode. The DS Automobiles driver then passed his main rivals and took the lead. Taylor was at the forefront of the action throughout the opening half of the race, but gradually lost tyre performance as the track dried out and eventually took the flag.
Maximilian Günther adopted a different strategy. The German chose to conserve energy for much of the race in order to attack during the closing laps. By activating his two Attack Modes in quick succession, Maximilian launched an impressive fightback and climbed to 10th.
However, a red flag interrupted the race in the closing stages; preventing him from making the most of the second Attack Mode. The race restarted for two laps to the flag, with Max managing to hold onto his position.
At the end of a day made particularly challenging by weather conditions and a constantly changing track, the two DS E-TENSE FE25 cars ultimately secured a double top 10 finish in Tokyo: a result that only partly reflected their true level of performance.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will conclude from 15–16 August in London (United Kingdom).
Maximilian Günther:
"We gambled on a dry-weather set-up. I think it was the right choice and we managed it well, even though the first half of the race was obviously more difficult. A Safety Car would certainly have helped us, but we still came back very strongly in the closing laps with some good overtaking moves. The red flag really came out at the worst possible moment, as it interrupted my momentum when I could have gained a few more places. We did our best though and I don't regret our choices. It's good to end the weekend with another points finish."
Taylor Barnard:
"We had two very good qualifying sessions this weekend. Yesterday, a problem with the car compromised our result. Today, without making any mistakes, we should have finished much higher. We didn't expect the track to dry out so quickly. The drivers who started further back on the grid on tyre pressures better suited to dry conditions were able to overtake us in the closing laps. The only consolation is that we were the best of those who had chosen wet-weather set-ups, but I'm obviously a little disappointed and frustrated. I’d like to thank the whole team for all their hard work: at every event, they give us the best package possible. So it's very difficult not to see those efforts rewarded. We now turn our attention to London as we try once again to convert our potential into the results it deserves."
