Vandoorne accepts blame for Diriyah Formula E attack mode mistake

Vandoorne had built up a strong lead from pole position, keeping reigning champion de Vries at bay and ensuring an ample gap between the two in the opening salvo of laps.

Following a safety car brought out for Oliver Rowland's stranded Mahindra after a skirmish with Robin Frijns, Vandoorne caught the rest of the field napping on the restart and continued to forge a lead over de Vries at the front.

But Vandoorne hit trouble taking attack mode for the second time, proving unsuccessful in activating the 30kW power boost which handed the lead to de Vries.

The Belgian accepted the blame for the mistake and explained that the third loop in the attack mode zone proved problematic, costing him time "for nothing" and leaving him to settle for second.

"I missed the third attack loop on on my second activation, which meant I just lost one-and-a-half, two seconds for nothing, basically," he said.

"And there's only myself to blame for that.

"Everything before that [in] the race was was going well. [I] was leading the pack, I think our pace was looking quite strong.

"It was about hitting the targets and making sure we were doing everything right with the procedures.

Vandoorne led away at the start but his costly mistake handed victory to his team-mate

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

"But then I basically handed the position to Nyck, and from there we stayed together and managed to finish 1-2.

"I'm a little bit disappointed obviously with the attack mode and not taking the loop correctly.

"But it's still a very positive day in general for for myself for the team position and a second place. We can be satisfied with the start of the season."

De Vries explained that he felt fortunate that Vandoorne had made an error with his