DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne took the 10th win of his Formula E career in a frenetic Round 3 of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the first round of a doubleheader in Rome.

Vergne picked his moments perfectly to drive from fifth to victory in the opening Rome E-Prix around the streets of the EUR District, heading home Jaguar Racing pair Sam Bird and Mitch Evans — the British squad’s first double podium.

Vergne timed his Attack Mode power boost activations to a tee, with the top 15 runners separated by a little over five seconds at the halfway point. He held his nerve throughout under intense pressure from a number of drivers, not lead his closest challenger Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler).

The Brazilian suffered a late technical issue in the last five minutes which saw him slow and relinquish the lead to Vergne, and caused a concertina effect behind with Stoffel Vandoorne coming off worst — spinning into the barriers in avoidance after a strong recovery drive.

The safety car was required for the clean-up operation and the race finished under yellow with Vergne at the head of the pack ahead of the Jaguar duo who’d clambered up from 10th and 13th respectively.

A safety car start, too, was deemed necessary in the mixed conditions — drizzle in the air leaving sections of the track slick.

With five minutes gone, the pack was released to race and Porsche’s Andre Lotterer immediately tried to make a move stick on leader Vandoorne as Bird made his way into ninth into Turn 4.

The Porsche and the Mercedes-EQ came together as Vandoorne closed the door, and Nissan e.dams’ Oliver Rowland was able to profit as the lead pair tumbled down the order — Vandoorne to 13th, Lotterer recovering to seventh.

HUGE HUGE DRAMA at the start of the race as race-leaders Stoffel Vandoorne and Andre Lotterer collided 😳

Watch live here >> https://t.co/sHOKGxvLZW#RomeEPrix pic.twitter.com/TlGK7hV3ik

— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) April 10, 2021

The circuit remained slick in places, with patches of tarmac holding puddles and forcing drivers off-line to find grip, while 10 seconds split the top 15 runners, offering no room for error.

The race leader was handed a drive-through penalty for using too much power, with the car perhaps spiking over 200kW thanks to one of the circuit’s many bumps and undulations. Unfortunate for the Brit, but di Grassi accepted the gift and first position with open arms.

With half an hour plus one lap on the clock, di Grassi had Vergne’s DS Techeetah bolted to his diffuser. Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns had steered his way into third, with de Vries, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and teammate Lotterer rounding out the top six.

The only runner to have taken their first Attack Mode activation inside the top 10 was Vandoorne, sitting ninth with nine laps gone. The move off-line through the activation zone is particularly punitive at the Marconi Obelisk Hairpin in Rome and no driver wanted to be the first to blink with just four seconds between the top-10 runners.

The white and black Porsches were locked in combat with the two green and black Jaguars for fifth place, with Bird heading Evans and right on the back of the Stuttgart squad’s driver pairing. Bird made yet more progress with a move beyond Lotterer’s damaged Porsche for sixth a lap later — four spots gained for the Briton.

Vergne was the first to blink and take that initial dose of Attack Mode. He found a little pocket of space ahead of Bird in fifth and pinched fourth almost immediately from Wehrlein to keep up his forward momentum after sweeping through that tricky Attack Mode activation zone.

Jumping first was brave, and the right thing to do as it turned out. Vergne hunted down the race leader and duly made it by di Grassi when the Audi leapt through the Attack Mode zone.

Inside the last 20 minutes plus a lap, Frijns was now hounding race leader Vergne with Attack Mode in hand. The Frenchman’s DS Techeetah would need to be wide with everyone else in the top 10 still in Attack Mode with that 35kW boost.

Vergne was once again the first of the lead pack to jump for his second compulsory Attack Mode activation. Once it had all shaken out, the Frenchman had again made it work, dispatching de Vries who’d briefly taken the race lead. A coming-together between de Vries and di Grassi as the Audi scrambled to follow through meant the DS Techeetah driver could scoot clear at the head of the pack.

Bird’s progress continued, selling the dummy move on former teammate Frijns and hounding and dispatching Vandoorne for fourth spot with 10 minutes plus one lap left on the clock. The Jaguar man made it by de Vries for third, too, with another late dive out of nowhere on Lap 19.

On Lap 20, di Grassi sent a move on leader Vergne at Turn 4 to take first. He wasn’t able to get away, though, and on Lap 21 he slowed with a terminal technical issue on the way up the hill. The chasing pack had to take evasive action with the two Mercedes’ coming together — Vandoorne spat out from fourth in a spin and into the barriers at speed.

Despair for the @MercedesEQFE team as both cars collide while trying to avoid a slowing @LucasdiGrassi…

Live timings and how to watch the race 👉 https://t.co/sHOKGxvLZW#RomeEPrix pic.twitter.com/qAEQd705lp

— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) April 10, 2021

The incident effectively ended the race, with Vergne heading home Bird — who’d climbed from 10th spot — fellow Jaguar driver Mitch Evans, who’d clambered up from 13th, Frijns, Buemi, Rast, Wehrlein, Lynn, Guenther and Cassidy behind the safety car. Evans scored the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap.

Bird stays at the top of the drivers’ table ahead of Frijns and de Vries, while Jaguar Racing remains atop the teams’ standings.

Race 2 of the Rome E-Prix doubleheader will follow on Sunday, with live coverage on CBS Sports Network beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.