How many drivers have appeared at every Diriyah E-Prix to date? Who has gained the most positions at Riyadh Street Circuit? Here’s Formula E’s Diriyah E-Prix in Numbers!
0.462 seconds
Antonio Felix da Costa holds the record for the smallest winning margin at the Diriyah E-Prix. He took victory at the inaugural 2018 Formula E race in Saudi Arabia after finishing just 0.462 seconds ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne. From the previous five races here, Nyck de Vries is the only driver to win by a margin of over three seconds. He won the first 2021 event by 4.119 seconds.
2
Sam Bird is the only driver to have won multiple Formula E races in Diriyah. He won the first race of 2019’s double-header at Riyadh Street Circuit and is also the venue’s most recent winner, having won the second race of the 2021 event. Bird remains the only driver to have won a race in all seven Formula E seasons to date.
2.495km
Riyadh Street Circuit is 2.495km in length.
3
With consecutive poles at both rounds in Diriyah in 2019 – and having taken pole at the previous race in New York – Alexander Sims became the first Formula E driver to take three consecutive pole positions. It’s a feat which has been repeated only once since – by Antonio Felix da Costa, in 2020. Sims is the only driver to record multiple poles in Diriyah.
4
Oliver Askew is set to become the fourth American driver to start a Formula E race at the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix. All three former Americans to race in Formula E (Marco Andretti, Matthew Brabham and Scott Speed) competed in only a handful of events. Askew will be the first full-time American driver in the series.
At the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi will become the fourth former Formula 1 driver to make their Formula E debut in Saudi Arabia. Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Massa made their debut at the 2018 Diriyah E-Prix, while Brendon Hartley made his debut at the 2019 Diriyah E-Prix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kev9aeJntCg
5
With his two wins in Diriyah, Sam Bird is one of only five drivers to have won multiple E-Prixs at a single circuit. Bird already holds the record for most wins at a single event, with three victories in New York. He can equal his own record at the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix.
8
Antonio Felix da Costa’s victory in the season-opening 2018 Diriyah E-Prix began a streak of eight different winners in eight consecutive races – the longest such streak in the series’ history.
14
Fourteen drivers have appeared at all five Formula E races in Diriyah to date – and all fourteen will be present on the 2022 grid. Oliver Rowland is the only driver to score at every running of the Diriyah E-Prix so far. He’s yet to finish below seventh at Riyadh Street Circuit.
16
Jean Eric Vergne holds the record for most positions gained in a single Diriyah race. He picked up sixteen positions in 2019’s second race, going from last on the grid to eighth at the finish. This was despite picking up a drive-through penalty after being unable to serve all of his original grid drop!
21
There are 21 turns on the current layout of the Riyadh Street Circuit. The layout was changed slightly in 2021, to adapt to changes made to the road network by local authorities.
26
Mitch Evans failed to reach the end of the second race in Diriyah in 2021. He pulled out of the race following a collision with Alex Lynn. It saw his record streak of 26 consecutive race finishes come to an end.
32
As well as being the only driver to score at every Diriyah E-Prix to date, Oliver Rowland is also the driver to have gained the most places from where he has started in total at Riyadh Street Circuit. He’s made up 32 positions over the five races here. Lucas di Grassi is the only other driver to make up places in all five Diriyah races so far.
35.55%
On his Formula E debut at the 2018 Diriyah E-Prix, Stoffel Vandoorne set a new record for the highest FanBoost voting percentage, receiving over 35% of the vote. He and Antonio Felix da Costa are the only drivers to have received FanBoost at all five races held so far in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Nyck de Vries has received FanBoost on all four of his appearances at the venue.
51
Sam Bird has scored the most points in Diriyah, with 51 in total. Bird has scored only twice at the event, with his wins in 2019 (Race 1) and 2021 (Race 2). Despite being the only driver to score at every Diriyah race so far, Oliver Rowland sits third in this list, behind Antonio Felix da Costa.
85
The first race of the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix weekend will be the 85th race in Formula E’s history. Lucas Di Grassi and Sam Bird are the only drivers to have started every event in the series’ history to date.
100%
Oliver Turvey is yet to be out-qualified by his team-mate on any of his five appearances in Diriyah. NIO team-mate Tom Blomqvist set a faster lap time than the British driver in the group stages for 2021’s second race at the track, but Turvey was faster in the Super Pole session.
8,270
Dan Ticktum will be one of three rookies on the grid at the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix, alongside Oliver Askew and Antonio Giovinazzi. On his debut, Ticktum will be 22 years, 7 months and 20 days old (or 8,270 days to be exact) making him the seventh youngest driver to start a Formula E race.