FP1-
The FIA Formula E World Championship got underway with Free Practice 1 in Mexico City. 22 drivers took to the 2.63km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, but it was NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes who set the early pace with a 1m 14.364s.
However, no sooner had the British driver gone top of the timesheet’s, he had made a mistake and ended in the barrier. TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein finished in second, with ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller making a surprise appearance in third.
Getting the laps in under the hot Mexican sun, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans started quickest. However, green flag conditions didn’t last long as Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther brought a stop to the session.
Guenther managed to slide his way around the final corner in dramatic fashion, kicking up a tonne of dust in the process. But although the move might have looked stylish, the four-time race winner damaged his suspension in the process.
The dirty track made for lots of close calls coming out of the final corner, with Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz almost replicating the same slide as Guenther but with better consequences as he just ran wide over the kerb.
The full top 10 are- P1: Hughes, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Muller, P4: Frijns, P5: Dennis, P6: Da Costa, P7: Evans, P8: Fenestraz, P9: Rowland and P10: Nato.
FP2-
Mitch Evans topped the timesheets on the first session of race day in Mexico City. The Kiwi driver, who will start the E-Prix with a one place grid penalty for not following red flag procedure in FP1, finished with a time of 1m 13.606s.
Maserati’s Maximilian Guenther finished in second which would be a welcomed result after hitting the wall the day before, and third was Envision’s newest recruit Robin Frijns.
It was a cold start to the second Free Practice session as it got underway at 7:30 local time. The low temperatures meant drivers would take a few more laps than usual to warm up their tyres.
With ever-changing conditions, the times were always improving. Several drivers were pushing their Gen3 cars to their limits, with reigning champion Jake Dennis exploring all of the track and NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird going straight on at Turn 1.
ERT Formula E’s Sergio Sette Camara brought out some double-waved yellows with seven minutes left of the session. The Brazilian made a similar mistake making contact with the barriers in shakedown.
The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Gunther, P3: Frijns, P4: Cassidy, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Buemi, P7: Rowland, P8: Vergne, P9: Dennis and P10: Hughes.
Qualifying-
Formula E’s first qualifying of the year got underway, with drivers wasting no time heading out onto the track.
During Group A, Norman Nato kissed the barriers on the entry to the iconic Foro Sol stadium and narrowly managed to avoid any serious damage and contact with the wall.
Not only this, Lucas di Grassi had a whack with the barriers, on what is the team’s 100th E-Prix in Formula E. Dan Ticktum was on a strong lap, before he was impacted by debris from di Grassi’s incident.
In Group B, it was much less eventful on track, with Maximilian Guenther going top. Joining him in the duels were Hughes, BUemi and Evans.
There was plenty of eyes on Nyck de Vries in the Mahindra car as the Season 7 Champ makes his return to Formula E.
TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein started Round 1 in the best possible fashion, sealing Julius Baer Pole Position in Mexico City. He has tied the Formula E record for the most pole positions at a single circuit.
Wehrlein took on Envision’s Racing’s Sebastien Buemi in the final of the duel, with both Jaguar TCS Racing drivers being knocked out of the semis.
Reigning champion, Jake Dennis was knocked out during the Group stages and will start 14th in a shocking twist as he fights to retain his title in Season 10.
The full top 10 are- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Buemi, P3: Cassidy, P4: Evans, P5: Gunther, P6: Hughes, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Frijns, P9: Fenestraz and P10: Vergne.
Round 1-
TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein repeated the feat of two seasons prior, where he secured his and Porsche’s first Formula E victory, as the German driver sealed another well-managed drive to the top step.
He lead home, Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi and Jaguar TCS Racing debutant Nick Cassidy.
Wehrlein, who was a title contender in Gen3’s inaugural campaign, threw down the gauntlet with a controlled drive from lights out and pole to the chequered flag, only briefly losing the lead through Attack Mode and a spell under Full Course Yellow.
Robin Frijns, fell all the way back through the pack from seventh on the grid to 15th, thanks to a technical issue, causing a knock-one melee in mid-pack which forced him into making up a lot of places.
At the start of lap 3, it was as you were in the top six with Wehrlein still leading. Meanwhile, contact between the sister TAG Heuer Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa and Nico Mueller saw the end of the race with broken suspension for the former and the latter in the wall and to 19th and last.
On lap 9, Robin Frijns – perhaps to make up for his slow start – found the wall, over cooking it on the exit of the Foro Sol and finding the wall in a big way, having just rounded Edo Mortara’s Mahindra.
A full course yellow would be required for his car’s removal from the circuit.
With the race reaching its climax, Wherlein looked comfortable and capable to managing things from P1 – with Buemi being held back by some two second with eight laps to go plus two added laps for time lost from the full course yellow.
The top 10 is- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Buemi, P3: Cassidy, P4: Gunther, P5: Evans, P6: Vergne, P7: Hughes, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Dennis and P10: Nato.
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