Formula E heads to Jeddah for double-header, Evans looking to build on Miami momentum

The FIA Formula E World Championship continues this week with the first double-header of the 2025/26 season, as Rounds 4 and 5 take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Feb. 13 and 14. (Supplied)
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Updated 10 February 2026
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Formula E heads to Jeddah for double-header, Evans looking to build on Miami momentum

  • The night races in Saudi Arabia come with the drivers’ standings tightly contested, with the top five separated by just seven points after three rounds

JEDDAH: The FIA Formula E World Championship continues this week with the first double-header of the 2025/26 season, as Rounds 4 and 5 take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Feb. 13 and 14.

The night races in Saudi Arabia come with the drivers’ standings tightly contested, with the top five separated by just seven points after three rounds, while the highly anticipated Pit Boost feature also returns this weekend.

Pit Boost is a mandatory mid-race stop that provides cars with a 10 percent energy increase, adding a significant strategic element to selected races during double-header weekends.

Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans arrives in Jeddah fresh from victory in Miami and said the team is keen to build on its momentum.

“Getting the win in Miami was a huge boost, for me personally, of course, but for the whole team too. It was one of those races where everything just came together, and to take my 15th Formula E victory with Jaguar made it even more special,” he said.

“Now the attention shifts to Jeddah, which is a completely different challenge. We’ve shown we have the pace, and if we execute well across both races, there’s a big opportunity for us to really ride this momentum,” he added.

Porsche Formula E Team’s Nico Muller said the Jeddah E-Prix presents a unique challenge, particularly with the return of Pit Boost, which will be used in one of the two races.

“I’m excited for the Jeddah E-Prix, a night race is always special. It’s a cool track, it suits the GEN3 Evo (car) well,” he said.

“It’ll be the first Pit Boost race of the season, which will make things challenging, having two completely different races. It also makes preparation more intense because we’re preparing for two different scenarios.

“However, we have a strong base, the car and the team are performing well, and now it’s about optimizing our package for this track and the conditions. We have full focus on scoring points and chasing that victory,” he added.

The Jeddah E-Prix will once again be held under the lights, with cooler track and air temperatures expected to influence tire behavior and energy efficiency.

Off track, Formula E will also host the return of EVO Sessions, where global content creators will drive electric race cars at the circuit following the race weekend, with the event set to be streamed live on YouTube on Feb. 15.

The championship continues to promote sustainability and community engagement in Jeddah through initiatives focused on renewable energy use, waste reduction, education programs and inclusion, including support for young women in motorsport and local community partnerships.


Like Leicester and Bodø/Glimt, Swiss soccer club Thun set to be historic league champion

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Like Leicester and Bodø/Glimt, Swiss soccer club Thun set to be historic league champion

  • Thun have never won the top-tier league in the club’s 128-year history yet this season has turned the standings into a procession
  • Thun are the latest unheralded European club taking inspiration from Leicester

GENEVA: Like Leicester’s Premier League title in 2016 and Bodø/Glimt’s stunning rise in Norway since 2020, Swiss soccer looks set to get its own surprise champion.
Thun have never won the top-tier league in the club’s 128-year history yet this season has turned the standings into a procession — even as a newly promoted club.
A 2-2 draw with second-place St. Gallen late Thursday stopped Thun’s run of 10 straight wins yet coach Mauro Lustrinelli’s team are 14 points clear with 10 rounds left.
“We are also a young team in the sense that the team are experiencing their first Super League,” Lustrinelli told Swiss public broadcaster SRF after his players conceded a stoppage-time goal to drop points for the first time since December.
Thun head Sunday to local rival Young Boys, a 17-time title winner and Champions League regular in recent years, as the current best team in Switzerland.
Following Leicester’s lead
Thun are the latest unheralded European club taking inspiration from Leicester.
Last year, Union Saint-Gilloise won their first Belgian title for 90 years and tiny Mjällby were champion of Sweden for the first time in their 86-year history.
Title races across Europe see Hearts on course for a first Scottish title in 66 years and Paris Saint-Germain being chased by Lens which won their only French title 28 years ago.
The most common link is clubs in provincial towns and cities run on low budgets with a collective team-first ethic.
“You really feel that it’s like a family,” Lustrinelli said last year when extending his contract at the club where he was once a star striker and has coached for four seasons.
Thun’s key players
It took Thun five years to get out of the second division after being relegated in 2020. That period included severe financial issues and being part of a multi-club ownership group backed by American and Chinese investors.
Thun are independent and locally owned again, and built a plan with Lustrinelli for a team playing the direct, pressing style he wants with two central strikers.
Top scorer this season is 12-goal Elmin Rastoder, a Swiss-born North Macedonia international who could feature in the World Cup playoffs against Denmark later this month.
Rastoder’s strike partner Thursday was Brighton Labeau, once a teammate of Kylian Mbappé, who is three years younger, when they were both in the Monaco academy.
Thun’s star prospect is Ethan Meichtry, a Switzerland under-21 midfielder who could yet make the World Cup squad.
Champions League debut
Thun were one of the smallest clubs to play in the Champions League after Lustrinelli’s 20-goal season lifted the team to Swiss league runner-up in 2005.
Thun advanced through two qualifying rounds to reach the elite stage, finishing third in a group behind Arsenal and Ajax.
Back then, Thun played European games at Young Boys’ stadium in Bern because their old home was below UEFA standard.
If Thun enter the Champions League in the second qualifying round in July, home games should be at their 10,000-seat Stockhorn Arena — with artificial turf, just like at Bodø/Glimt inside the Arctic Circle in Norway.
The Swiss champion must win through three qualifying rounds to reach the 36-team league phase.
Home of Swiss soccer
Thun will soon be the home of Switzerland’s soccer federation.
The Swiss Football Home project was approved last August and will include a new headquarters for the federation plus training fields for national teams. Next door will likely be the next Swiss champion.
“The road is still long,” Lustrinelli said of the 10-game run-in, “and we want everyone who will help us get those 30 points.”