It’s time for the first race of the season in Mexico City! Will pole sitter Pascal Wehrlein be able to defend his starting position, or will 2023’s race winner and reigning champion Jake Dennis snatch the top spot instead climbing up from the back of the Top 10?
Three drivers have a one place grid penalty due to not respecting the red flag procedure on Friday’s FP1 session: the new Jaguar duo of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, and Stoffel Vandoorne.
NIO’s first race after their rebrand as ERT Racing couldn’t have been off to a worst start, as Dan Ticktum will start last due to finding debris on track while on his final flying lap, whereas Sergio Sette Camara’s car had issues while getting on the grid, forcing the Brazilian driver to start from the pit lane. Ultimately the former Dragon Penske driver was unable to take part in the race.
The pole sitter had a good start that allowed him to take comfortably the lead, whereas at the back Fenestraz is overtaken by Jake Dennis for P9.
Di Grassi runs off track at Turn 11 in what turned out to be a very hard 100th race for ABT Cupra as his teammate Nico Muller is hit by Antonio Felix Da Costa and spins into the wall, issuing a local yellow flag. This has definitely not been the start with a new team that the 2023 Mexico City pole sitter and podium finisher would have wanted!
At the same time Da Costa has to stop due to the consequences of his crash with the other ABT driver, with Buemi leading from Wehrlein and Gunther.
On Lap 4 many drivers opt to take up a first set of extra power, with Wehrlein taking 2 minutes and ending up in the lead while Buemi slots in the second but with the added aid of the longer stint of 6 minutes.
After an appearance in the Duels Frijns had had a tough start, dropping back to P15. Unfortunately he crashed out on Lap 9, issuing a full course yellow as well as a safety car.
The Dutch driver lost the rear of his car and went into the barriers at Turn 17 after passing Mortara, for his second DNF in a row at Mexico City, although it seems like this time round it won’t have the same long lasting effects it had had in 2023 with the at time ABT driver breaking his wrist.
On Lap 12 racing resumed, but no positions were exchanged. Buemi takes his second Attack Mode, with Dennis taking his first and Wehrlein returning in the lead in spite of the Swiss having head enough advantage to be able to take the extra power and return in the lead.
Photo credits: Formula E | Simon Galloway
Vergne overtakes Hughes for P6 on Lap 14 while Gunther is the latest driver to take up an Attack Mode, as he’s passed by Cassidy.
New information on Di Grassi’s crash emerges as ABT states that their new driver had suffered from a brake issue.
This is the top ten on Lap 20: Wehrlein, Buemi, Cassidy, Gunther, Evans, Vergne, Hughes, Vandoorne, Dennis and Bird. Norman Nato is the only driver employing the added power on track at the moment, ultimately passing Bird for P10.
With ten laps to go Wehrlein has a 2.407s advantage on Buemi, 0.50s ahead of Cassidy. The Envision driver is however trying to catch the Porsche race leader.
Jehan Daruvala in his first Formula E race is running in P16, after an overtake on Ticktum. On Lap 28 the battle between Vergne and Evans for P5 intensifies, bit the two times Formula E champion is unable to make the move on the Kiwi.
Two laps will be added to the full race distance due to the earlier Safety Car as Evans and Vergne get even closer, while current champion Dennis closes the gap to 2022 Fromula E champion Vandoorne trying to take P8 from him.
Fenestraz is the last diver to take his final Attack Mode, with the new Nissan duo consisting of him and Rowland is sitting in P12 and P11 respectively.
On the penultimate lap of the race Cassidy signs the fastest lap.
Pascal Wehrlein takes his second ever Mexico City E-Prix win from former teammates Buemi and Cassidy, with Maxi Gunther in P4 and Evans ultimately able to defend his Top 5 finish from Vergne in P6. Hughes, Vandoorne, Dennis and Nato round off the first top 10 of the season.
