Mexico City EPrix | Race Debrief: The Top 3

Season 10 began, once again, with a very strong performance from Porsche in Mexico. Whether Formula E is racing at Puebla or Mexico City, Pascal Wehrlein is guaranteed to be up there, performing at his best.

The German driver took his second win in Mexico City in a dominant fashion. After a positive start from pole position, Wehrlein returned into the lead at the halfway point in the race, developing an impressive advantage on the driver in P2, smooth sailing until the chequered flag:

“It was a tough race because we were leading most of the race and that’s not so efficient for energy – but every lap was like a qualifying lap, trying to maximise speed,” said the former Mahindra driver after the E-Prix.

Photo credits: Formula E | Simon Galloway

Wehrlein also explained the reason  behind the consistent distance he had built over Sebastien Buemi in P2 but reduced to a little over a second by the end of the race:

“I saw a small mistake behind me which created a small gap, and from then I think it was pretty controlled. Thanks a lot to my team and thanks to all the fans here, it’s always a great to be here in Mexico; it’s a great atmosphere.”

“ I’m already looking forward to coming back next year,” the former Formula 1 driver concluded.

The Envision driver scored his best result ever with the team he’s driving for the second year in a row. Starting from the front row, Buemi took the lead of the Mexico City E-Prix after a couple of racing laps, and maintained it in spite of the yellow flags and safety car issued due to the crashes of Lucas Di Grassi and Robin Frijns.

Ultimately, Buemi dropped to second while taking on his second Attack Mode, and never was again as close to Wehrlein as he had been in the early stages of the race, also due to an energy saving strategical mistake as he was trying to build a gap over the driver in third place at the time, Maximilian Gunther.

Photo credits: Formula E | Alastair Staley

Overall, the Swiss driver was pleased with the way his 2024 started, as he said remembering his good track record in Mexico:

“I’ve had four podiums here now. They’re now calling me the veteran. It was a smooth race. Qualifying was the key point really. I know it’s quite difficult to pass here, but we’ve had a clean race.”

“Pascal was fast, but I heard he was under investigation, so I decided to stick to P2, and if it becomes something more, then I’ll be happy with that,” Buemi added.

Wehrlein had been investigated for technical infringement alongside reigning champion Jake Dennis at the beginning of the race, but the results of the investigation were issued hours after the podium, ultimately not affecting the outcome of the race nor the final standings.

The newly-signed Jaguar driver had the best first experience with his new team, as he managed to get on the podium, alongside his former teammate Buemi and sign the fastest race lap.

This happened in spite of the grid penalty he had picked up for Mexico during FP1 for not following the recently modified red flag procedure after Gunther’s crash, as well as making his way  through the Semi Finals stage during the Duels.

Photo credits: Formula E | Alastair Staley

The Kiwi driver also managed to outperform his teammate and championship rival in 2023, Mitch Evans, who ended the round in P5 and struggling with balance issues.

“It’s the start of a really nice new chapter. I had high expectations with FP1 and FP2, it’s not been an easy weekend, but the team have been really awesome with me throughout,” said Cassidy.

“Hopefully this is the start of something cool and that’s just getting started; it was a great race. I think the grid can definitely challenge Pascal moving forward,” he added looking already forward to the next championship round, the double header in Diriyah.