RIYADH, Dec. 15 -- Antonio Felix da Costa of Portugal (for BMW I Andretti Motorsport) won the inaugural Saudia Ad Diriyah E Prix main race on Saturday at Ad Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Riyadh.
The Formula E action on the Ad Diriyah racetrack got underway in the afternoon, pitting 22 drivers in a pitched battle for the 2018 Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix title. Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) came in second position while third place went to Belgian Jerome d'Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing).
Prior to Saturday's victory, in Formula E, da Costa had enjoyed a sensational first-place finish in Buenos Aires in Season 1. He moved from Team Aguri to Andretti for Season 3 and previously raced for BMW in the German Touring Car Masters.
Da Costa said after the race, "We were very welcomed here. It was amazing to see that even a country with not so much motorsport history still loves what we're doing, and they attended and hopefully next year will be better and better and we are happy to come back."
Ad-Diriyah Formula E-Prix race marks the beginning of the fifth season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, which also saw the debut of the Gen2 car that can hit a top speed of 280 kph and will have sufficient battery power to last an entire race. Previously, drivers had to stop and change cars.