The E1 electric powerboat championship brought high drama to Monaco over the weekend, with turbulent conditions, a major crash, and a surprise win shaking up the standings. The race, held just ahead of festivities marking His Serene Highness Prince Albert II’s two decades on the throne, attracted a high-profile crowd and delivered a spectacle befitting the Riviera.
Things got off to a rocky start during Friday’s qualifying session when a collision between Team Rafa and Team Brazil cut the day short. French pilot Tom Chiappe, racing for Nadal’s team, walked away unharmed from the crash, but the incident halted the session—an unprecedented move in E1’s short but eventful history. Nadal, watching from the stands, immediately made his way to the paddock to check on his driver, later telling reporters that Tom’s safety was all that mattered.
Saturday brought less sunshine and more tension, with unpredictable gusts making the already narrow margin for error even tighter on the water. With celebrities like LeBron James, Marc Anthony, Tom Brady and Didier Drogba in attendance to cheer on their teams, it was a duo with far less fanfare that stole the show. Team Blue Rising, represented by cricket star Virat Kohli, clinched their first ever E1 victory thanks to a sharp and fearless drive from John Peeters and Sara Misir. Peeters was named driver of the race, a title he earned after holding off repeated challenges from more established rivals.
The victory pushed Blue Rising into fourth in the overall rankings, but the real story is the razor-thin margin at the top. Team Brady now leads the championship with 135 points, edging ahead of Team Rafa by a single point. With stops in Lagos and Miami still to come, the fight for the title is wide open—and if this weekend in Monaco was any indication, nothing is off the table.
Image courtesy of Monaco Info
