The wait is over. The roar of electric racing returns this weekend as Formula E Season 12 kicks off in the heart of Brazil on December 6, 2025.
The historic Anhembi Sambadrome, a venue world-renowned for carnival floats and revelry, is set to host a different kind of choreography. Instead of samba dancers, the streets will vibrate with the sound of GEN3 machinery battling for position on one of the calendar’s most dynamic circuits.
The Concrete Jungle The São Paulo street circuit is a deceptively technical beast. Defined by three long, power-hungry straights punctuated by tricky chicanes, sweeping corners, and tight braking zones, it demands absolute precision.
The lap begins on the iconic main straight. Here, drivers must trade rhythm for reaction times, slamming on the brakes into a complex series of sharp turns.
These technical sections feed into a looping hairpin that fires the field like a slingshot back down the straight. It is a layout designed for overtaking, but as history has shown, it is also a layout that punishes error.
Echoes of a Crash The circuit’s unforgiving nature is fresh in the mind of Pascal Wehrlein. The Porsche driver heads into this weekend’s season opener with memories of a harrowing incident at this very track last year.
In a dramatic collision with Nick Cassidy, Wehrlein’s car was launched airborne, flipping upside down and skidding along the tarmac. The session was immediately red-flagged as safety crews rushed to extract the trapped German driver.
Miraculously, after a precautionary evaluation at the hospital, Wehrlein was declared uninjured—a testament to modern safety standards.
Reflecting on the crash ahead of this weekend’s race, Wehrlein offered a chilling recollection of the moment.
“First of all, I hit my head on the wall, which I felt immediately. The next thing I remember is being upside down and facing the road,” Wehrlein said. “A few scratches here and there, but nothing too big.”
A Text Message to a Savior The incident prompted Wehrlein to reach out to a key figure in motorsport safety: Laurent Mekies. Currently the Team Principal at Racing Bulls (RB), Mekies previously served as the FIA Safety Director, where he was instrumental in the mandatory introduction of the Halo device on single-seater cars.
“Just a couple of days after that crash, I wrote to a friend of mine who is now a Team Principal at Red Bull,” Wehrlein revealed. “Years ago, Laurent Mekies was at the FIA, and they were the ones who introduced the Halo system.”
Wehrlein’s message to Mekies was short, poignant, and powerful: “Thank you very much for saving my life.”
As the lights go out for Round 1, the drivers will be pushing the limits once again, protected by the engineering that allows them to walk away from the wreckages of yesterday to race for the trophies of today.
Race Schedule, Live on SPOTV NOW
5 December 2025
16.30 (UTC -3): Free Practice 1
6 December 2025
07.30 (UTC -3): Free Practice 2
09.40 (UTC -3): Qualifying
14.05 (UTC -3): Race
