After starting down in 18th due to a technical infringement in Qualifying, Lucas di Grassi carved his way through the field to finish ninth, less than 1.2 seconds behind his Audi teammate, and gaining the most positions in the process.

Jose Maria Lopez started a personal best second on the grid in Ad Diriyah. After dropping down to fifth, the Argentinian moved up to third when the Techeetah drivers took their drive through penalties. However, only a few laps later, Lopez had an issue with his left rear suspension and was forced to retire, meaning he was the driver to lose the most places.

After finishing second from fifth on the grid, Jean-Eric Vergne became the first driver to go a whole calendar year without finishing below where he started (the Frenchman having gained places in seven of those eleven races in 2018).