The 2022 Diriyah ePrix was a pair of

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

electric car races held at the

Riyadh Street Circuit The Riyadh Street Circuit is a street circuit located in the capital of Saudi Arabia, used for the Ad Diriyah ePrix of the FIA Formula E Championship. It held its first race on 15 December 2018, as the opening race of the 2018-19 FIA Formula E C ...

in the town of

Diriyah Diriyah ( ar, الدِرْعِيّة), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya), is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served ...

, north-west of

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, Literal translation, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi Arabic, Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyad ...

, in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

on 28 and 29 January 2022. It was the opening round of the 2021–22 Formula E season and the fourth edition of the

Diriyah ePrix The Diriyah ePrix is a race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. It was first held as part of the 2018–19 season and was the first Formula E race to be held in the Middle East. The ...

, and was held at night for the second time. Novelties for the event included the introduction of a knockout-style qualifying format, which replaced the series' long-standing four-group and superpole qualifying. The first race was won by defending world champion

Nyck de Vries Hendrik Johannes Nicasius "Nyck" de Vries (; born 6 February 1995) is a Dutch racing driver who is currently serving as the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He is confirmed to be driving full-time in Formula 1 at Scuderia ...

, with

Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of ...

and

Jake Dennis Jake Dennis (born 16 June 1995) is a British racing driver who lives in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He currently competes in the Formula E World Championship with Avalanche Andretti Formula E. Early career Karting Dennis began his racing career ...

rounding out the podium.

Edoardo Mortara Edoardo "Edo" Mortara (born 12 January 1987) is a Swiss- Italian-French professional racing driver for Maserati MSG Racing. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, he holds triple nationality from all three countries. He is a former Formula Three Euros ...

won the second race, ahead of

Robin Frijns Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in F ...

and

Lucas di Grassi Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podi ...

Background

entered the event as the series' reigning world champion, whilst his team

Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team was a German racing team that competed in Formula E. The team made its debut at the 2019 Diriyah ePrix as part of the 2019–20 season, and Mercedes concluded their involvement with the team at the end of the ...

are the defending constructors' champions in what is set to be their last season in Formula E.

Regulation changes

The races were the first to see the new knockout-style qualifying format introduced for the season. Under the new format, the grid is split into two groups of eleven cars, each of which will have ten minutes to set the fastest time with the cars set to deliver 220kW of power. The fastest four drivers from each group then advance to a knockout-style tournament to decide the top eight, with the drivers being eliminated via quarter-final and semi-final heats to leave a two-car battle for pole position. The cars' usable power is upped to 250kW for the knockout stages.

Driver changes

Following the withdrawal of

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

from Formula E at the end of the 2020–21 season, former champion

moved to ROKiT Venturi, partnering the incumbent

and replacing

Norman Nato Norman Nato (born 8 July 1992) is a French professional racing driver who is currently driving for Realteam Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nato is known for finishing as the runner-up in the 2010 F4 Eurocup 1.6 season and the 20 ...

, the series' latest race winner, who moved to

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

as a reserve driver. Long-time Nissan e.dams driver

Oliver Rowland Oliver Rowland (born 10 August 1992) is a British racing driver. He is currently competing full-time in Formula E driving for Mahindra Racing. He has previously competed for Manor Motorsport in the 2018 WEC season, and he was also previously the ...

switched to

Mahindra Racing Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly co ...

to replace the outgoing

Alex Lynn Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British racing driver. He most recently competed in Formula E, driving for Mahindra Racing in the 2021 season, winning the second race of his home ePrix in London. Lynn has also competed ful ...

, his space at Nissan being taken by former

Andretti Andretti is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Mario Andretti (born 1940), Italian-born American father of the prominent Andretti racing family: ** Michael Andretti (born 1962), son of Mario *** Marco A ...

driver and three-time race winner

Maximilian Günther Maximilian Günther (born 2 July 1997) is a German racing driver currently competing in Formula E for Maserati MSG Racing. Günther has previously driven in Formula 2 with Arden and for Dragon Racing, BMW i Andretti and Nissan e.dams in Form ...

. Three drivers made their Formula E debuts at the event. Former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

driver

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver who currently serves as the reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship runner-up and rac ...

joined Dragon / Penske Autosport to partner Brazilian

Sérgio Sette Câmara Sérgio Sette Câmara Filho (born 23 May 1998) is a Brazilian racing driver who currently drives for NIO 333 FE Team in Formula E. He was a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, having formerly been a test and development driver for McLaren. Ca ...

. Former Red Bull junior

Dan Ticktum Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship. Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...

joined

NIO are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajra ...

to replace the outgoing

Tom Blomqvist Tom Leonard Blomqvist (born 30 November 1993) is a New Zealand-based, Britain-born Swedish professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver, currently racing in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship with Meyer Shank Racing. Blomqvist ...

alongside

Oliver Turvey Oliver Jonathan Turvey (born 1 April 1987) is a British professional racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula E, and is currently signed to McLaren as a test driver. He was a notable kart racer, with two national titles, and was t ...

2019 Indy Lights The 2019 Indy Lights season was the 34th season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 18th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. Oliver Askew won a tight championship race with Rin ...

champion and former

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapo ...

driver

Oliver Askew Oliver Clark Askew (born December 12, 1996) is an American-Swedish auto racing, race car driver who races under the American flag. He previously competed in the 2021-22 Formula E World Championship, Formula E World Championship for Andretti Auto ...

joined Andretti Autosport, no longer

factory-backed In motorsports, a factory-backed racing team or driver is one sponsored by a vehicle manufacturer in official competitions. As motorsport competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is desired and often necessary for su ...

by BMW, to partner

, who came third in the 2020–21 season as a rookie.

Classification

Race one

Qualifying

= Qualifying duels

= Overall classification

= Notes: * –

received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding another driver in the pit lane.

Race

Notes: * – Pole position. * – Fastest lap.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings * Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Race two

Qualifying

= Qualifying duels

= Overall classification

= Notes: * –

received a 3-place grid penalty for causing a collision in race one. * –

António Félix da Costa António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion. He won the Macau Grand Prix invitational Formula Th ...

had his quarter-final duel lap time deleted for missing his slot. * –

had all his qualifying lap times cancelled for impeding another driver. * –

Nick Cassidy Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship ...

did not take part in qualifying as his team could not repair his car in time following an accident in free practice. He was allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.

Race

Notes: * – Fastest lap. * – Pole position. * –

Mitch Evans Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving ...

received a post-race drive-through penalty converted into a 24-second time penalty for failing to activate the second of the two mandatory attack modes.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings * Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

References

, - style="text-align:center" , width="35%", Previous race:

2021 Berlin ePrix The 2021 Berlin ePrix (formally the 2021 BMW i Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium) was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit at Tempelhof Airport in the outskirts of Berlin on 14 and 15 Augus ...

, width="30%",

FIA Formula E World Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

2021–22 season , width="35%", Next race:

2022 Mexico City ePrix The 2022 Mexico City ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the centre of Mexico City on 12 February 2022. It served as the third round of the 2021–22 Formula E season and the sixth edition of ...

, - style="text-align:center" , width="35%", Previous race:

2021 Diriyah ePrix The 2021 Diriyah ePrix (officially the 2021 ABB FIA Formula E Diriyah ePrix) was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in the town of Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on 26 and 27 February 202 ...

, width="30%",

, width="35%", Next race:

2023 Diriyah ePrix The 2023 Diriyah ePrix known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023 CORE Diriyah ePrix was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in the town of Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on 27 and 28 January ...

, - style="text-align:center" {{DEFAULTSORT:Diriyah ePrix, 2022

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

2021–22 Formula E season 2022 in Saudi Arabian sport January 2022 sports events in Saudi Arabia