History was made on the tropical waters of Lagos Lagoon this weekend as the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF staged the first all-electric raceboat race on African soil. The E1 Lagos GP presented by FirstBank delivered everything the occasion demanded, including stormy weather, a championship shake-up, and a debut victory for Team Brazil by Claure Group.
The weekend's action began in qualifying on Saturday, where Team Brazil secured its first-ever pole position after an intense battle around the narrow circuit. Team Rafa slotted into second and Aoki Racing Team third, but the order also mattered in the broader championship context. The two qualifying points earned by Team Rafa were enough to nudge Rafael Nadal's squad a single point clear of Tom Brady's Team Brady in the overall standings, intensifying the pressure heading into race day.
Team Brady had endured a difficult qualifying session blighted by technical problems, and the prospect of surrendering the championship lead the team had held since mid-season was suddenly very real. With only Lagos and Miami remaining on the 2025 calendar, there was no margin for error.
*Weathering the storm*
Race day opened with heat and humidity before a tropical storm swept across the lagoon, delaying the start and churning the water into something considerably less forgiving. When the RaceBirds finally lifted clear of the surface, it was Team Brazil pilots Timmy Hansen and Ieva Millere-Hagin who responded to the difficult conditions with the composure the moment required.
Despite sustained pressure from Virat Kohli's Team Brazil, the Claure Group pairing held firm to take a commanding victory. Team Blue Rising came across the line in second. Third went to Team Drogba Global Africa, co-owned by football legend Didier Drogba and Gabrielle Lemaire, featuring Kiwi Micah Wilkinson among its pilots. The local crowd greeted that result with considerable enthusiasm, with Drogba's presence in Lagos giving the event a powerful connection to African sport and identity.
For Team Brazil, the result felt like a genuine turning point. After a season of encouraging flashes without a breakthrough, the team arrived on the biggest stage yet and delivered. Hansen's performance across the weekend was recognised with the PIF Pilot of the Race award.
*Local pride, global stage*
Beyond the racing itself, Lagos made an unmistakable statement about the reach of the E1 series. Thousands of spectators lined the lagoon's shores with the city skyline as their backdrop, and Nigeria stepped into the spotlight as a new chapter in international water sport began to unfold.
E1 founder and CEO Rodi Basso reflected on what the weekend meant for the series and for the continent.
“We made history in Lagos today. This weekend’s race is a landmark moment for our World Championship and for Africa — proving the continent’s appetite for motorsport, sustainability, and technological innovation.”
Basso also spoke to E1's broader ambition to build a lasting motorsport legacy in Africa, with cleaner marine technology and the inspiration of future generations at its heart. Drogba's involvement and his attendance at the event gave those words a tangible human dimension, resonating with fans for whom sport, innovation, and continental pride are deeply intertwined.
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*Lagos joins the legends*
In hosting Africa's first E1 race, Lagos has taken its place alongside Monaco, Doha, and the other great waterfront cities that have embraced the series' combination of electric performance and sustainable ambition. The energy along the foreshore, the noise of the crowd, and the distinctive pitch of the RaceBirds cutting across the lagoon produced a spectacle that pointed clearly toward what the sport can become.
Team Brazil's victory was more than a single result. It underlined that E1's global expansion is genuinely connecting continents through competition on the water, rather than simply filling in boxes on a map.
*E1 Lagos GP – Official results*
1st, Team Brazil by Claure Group, driven by Timmy Hansen and Marit Stromoy, 41 pts 2nd, Team Blue Rising, driven by Sara Misir and John Peeters, 31 pts 3rd, Team Drogba Global Africa, driven by Micah Wilkinson and Oban Duncan, 24 pts 4th, Team Brady, driven by Sam Coleman and Emma Kimiläinen, 19 pts 5th, Team Rafa, driven by Cris Lazarraga and Tom Chiappe, 17 pts 6th, Westbrook Racing, driven by Sara Price and Lucas Ordóñez, 13 pts 7th, Aoki Racing Team, driven by Mashael Alobaidan and Dani Clos, 9 pts 8th, Team Miami powered by Magnus, driven by Anna Glennon and Erik Stark, 7 pts 9th, Team AlUla championed by LeBron James, driven by Catie Munnings and Rusty Wyatt, 5 pts
*Championship wide open*
The celebrations in Lagos had barely subsided before attention shifted back to a title fight that could scarcely be tighter. Team Brady's fourth-place finish proved enough to reclaim top spot in the overall standings, though the margin separating the leading teams remains razor-thin. Team Rafa's fifth place drops Nadal's squad back to second, while Aoki Racing Team, Team Blue Rising, and Team Brazil all retain a mathematical chance of lifting the trophy.
The top four teams are split by fewer than 25 points with only one race remaining. The Miami Grand Prix on 8 November will settle it all, bringing the 2025 Champions of the Water season to its conclusion on North American waters.
