Andretti’s Dennis wins Mexico City E-Prix; Mahindra on podium

    Lucas di Grassi finished third in Mexico to hand Mahindra Racing a podium finish.

    Published On Jan 15, 2023 12:11:00 PM

    8,787 Views

    Listen to this Article

    Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis produced an energy management masterclass to win the Mexico City E-Prix, emerging as the first winner of Formula E’s new Gen3 era. Mahindra Racing also had a solid opening round, with Lucas di Grassi taking the pole position and converting it into a podium finish.

    • Dennis wins 7.816 secs ahead of Wehrlein
    • Di Grassi scores 18 points for Mahindra

    Frijns suffers broken wrist after crash

    The first race of Formula E’s new Gen3 era got off to an erratic start with most of the opening 10 laps being behind the Safety Car. Abt Cupra’s Robin Frijns was one of the drivers involved in an opening-lap incident.

    He ran into the back of Norman Nato’s Nissan, forcing both drivers to retire from the race. Abt has since released a statement confirming that Frijns suffered a fracture to his left wrist and will need to undergo an operation.

    The next round is just two weeks away. So if Frijns is unable to recover in time, that does open up the possibility of Mahindra Racing reserve Jehan Daruvala being asked to fill in. Abt has returned to Formula E this year as Mahindra Racing’s customer team, with both teams sharing resources.

    Jake Dennis takes commanding win in Mexico

    Mahindra Racing got off to a strong start, with di Grassi in the pole position. However, the former Formula E champion never really got a chance to pull away a lead due to the Safety Car periods. Taking advantage of this, Dennis made a move on lap 12 to take the lead.

    Over the next few laps, Dennis put on a dominant display to take victory, over 7 secs ahead of Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein. In fact, Porsche enjoyed quite a promising 2023 season-opener with four 99X Electric cars in the top seven (Andretti is competing as Porsche’s customer team).

    Pole position and podium for Mahindra Racing

    Pole sitter Di Grassi was under huge pressure in the second half of the race as his Mahindra M9Electro registered 1-2 percent less energy than his closest rivals. He eventually slipped to third but put in a valiant effort to fend off a queue of four cars behind him to hold on to the podium.

    “What happened today was like a Mexican miracle. To be on pole and to be on the podium and going home with 18 points after a tough beginning to the season is a testimony to the hard work the team are putting in to make the car the best we can,” said di Grassi.

    “I gave it my all today to try and make the team proud. I’m very happy to leave here with this result, it feels like a victory to us. But this is just the beginning. We need more consistent results and we have got to work hard for this.”

    Oliver Rowland had a more difficult race as he struggled with tyre degradation in qualifying. He climbed up from 22nd on the starting grid to finish 13th.

    2023 Mexico E-Prix results

    2023 Mexico E-Prix results
    PosDriverTeam
    1Jake DennisAndretti
    2Pascal WehrleinPorsche
    3Lucas di GrassiMahindra Racing
    4Andre LottererAndretti
    5Jake HughesMcLaren
    6Sebastien BuemiEnvision Racing
    7Antonio Felix da CostaPorsche
    8Mitch EvansJaguar TCS Racing
    9Nick CassidyEnvision Racing
    10Stoffel VandoorneDS Penske
    11Max GuentherMaserati
    12Jean-Eric VergneDS Penske
    13Oliver RowlandMahindra Racing
    14Nico MuellerAbt Cupra
    15Sacha FenestrazNissan
    16Sergio Sette CamaraNio 333
    17Dan TicktumNio 333
    18Rene RastMcLaren
    NCEdoardo MortaraMaserati
    NCSam BirdJaguar TCS Racing
    NCNorman NatoNissan
    NCRobin FrijnsAbt Cupra

    Also see:

    Hyderabad E-Prix confirmed: Formula E to race in India

    Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights reserved.

    Comments

    ×
    img

    No comments yet. Be the first to comment.

    Ask Autocar Anything about Car and Bike Buying and Maintenance Advices
    Need an expert opinion on your car and bike related queries?
    Ask Now

    Search By Car Price

    Poll of the month

    Buying an electric car but renting its battery: is it a good idea?

    Yes, it lets me pay only as per my usage

     

    34.41%

    No, I prefer to buy the whole car

     

    55.80%

    No, I prefer to lease the whole car

     

    9.79%

    Total Votes : 1389
    Sign up for our newsletter

    Get all the latest updates from the automobile universe