Motorsport Week previews the opening round of the 2024 Formula E World Championship, where reigning World Champion Jake Dennis will kickstart his title defence.
After 23 long weeks since the dramatic conclusion to Formula E Season 9 in London, the all-electric series is finally back this weekend, with the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix.
This Saturday marks the first time that Dennis will start an E-Prix with the #1 plate, as he looks to make the perfect start to life as the defending World Champion. However, several drivers are razor-focused on taking the fight to him.
The same can be said for Envision Racing, who’ll be keen on making a positive start to Season 10 as the reigning Teams’ Champion.
The venue
A shortened version of the iconic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City will host the first round for the second consecutive season, after replacing Diriyah as the season-opener last year.
The full circuit is traditionally 4.3km long; however, Formula E’s shortened version is 2.63km in distance. Despite being shortened, the circuit still consists of the famous Foro Sol stadium, where the final sector can be found.
Saturday will represent the eighth time that Formula E has visited Mexico City and the second with the Gen3 machinery. Last season’s race in the Mexican capital was actually the first E-Prix of the Gen3 era, meaning there was so much unknown with the machinery.
With all the teams and drivers now having a much better understanding of how to extract the most from the Gen3 machinery, the expectation is that lap times will be quicker. NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes recently told Motorsport Week that lap times could be “four or five-tenths” faster.
What happened in Mexico City last year?
Because so little was known about the Gen3 machinery or the new Hankook rubber ahead of last season’s event, the fastest lap-time in qualifying – Dennis’ 1m 12.595s in the semi-final – was actually a staggering 5.56s slower than the fastest lap in Season 8 with the Gen2 cars.
However, it should be noted that in Season 8 there wasn’t a chicane at the back straight, which there was last year. Despite the lap-times being slower than they were in 2022, it was Lucas di Grassi who claimed an unexpected pole position for Mahindra Racing, whilst Dennis qualified second. Rookie Hughes was a standout performer in P3.
The race itself was dominated by Dennis in supreme fashion, with him having claimed victory by a mammoth eight seconds ahead of Pascal Wehrlein. Di Grassi struggled in the race but held on to complete the rostrum. Robin Frijns had a nasty shunt on the opening lap, which resulted in him having surgery on his wrist and missing four rounds.
Who are the favourites for victory?
Given that he is the defending World Champion and, as mentioned, won in Mexico City by a country mile in 2023, Dennis is a big favourite to claim back-to-back victories in the Mexican capital. Should the Andretti driver win, then he’ll become just the third driver in the history of Formula E to win two consecutive season openers.
Mexico City wasn’t a good venue for Jaguar TCS Racing in Season 9, yet Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy are both expected to be very strong this time around. The two Kiwis are both title contenders and looked mighty in pre-season testing, with Evans having topped the test with his new teammate in third.
A Jaguar win in Mexico City would come as a huge blow for Porsche, who were so good at the season-opener 12 months ago.
Wehrlein is another driver who could win on Saturday, having finished second in Mexico City last season. The German had strong pace but was stuck behind Di Grassi for just too long. If he qualifies well, then the 29-year-old will be one-to-watch.
Who else to watch out for?
The favourites for victory are basically those likely to challenge for the title, but there are a handful of drivers who should be watched closely for varying reasons.
The first of which is António Félix da Costa. After a frustrating 2023, Da Costa looked impressive in testing, where he was second-fastest. Similarly, to Wehrlein, Da Costa performing well in Mexico City depends on where he qualifies. If he progresses to the duels, then the Season 6 Champion could win the season-opener.
Perhaps the biggest underdog for victory in Mexico City and for the title in general is Maximilian Günther, who ended 2023 in exceptional form. The Maserati MSG Racing driver enjoyed a good test and is confident that he can go better in Mexico this weekend than he did last season, where he finished P11. He has the potential, it’s just whether he can exploit it.
Günther’s new teammate for Season 10, Jehan Daruvala, is another to watch, as he’s the only full-time rookie this year. Daruvala has made the jump from Formula 2 to Formula E for 2024 and has replaced Edoardo Mortara. Settling into the all-electric series is historically very challenging, so many will be keen to see how the Indian driver gets on in his first E-Prix.
The same can be said for similar reasons for the returning Nyck de Vries, who’ll be making his first Formula E appearance this weekend since leaving the sport for F1 at the end of Season 8. Fighting for the win isn’t expected from De Vries, purely due to the fact that Mahindra Racing’s package isn’t the strongest. Simply being competitive is massively important for the Season 7 World Champion.
Other drivers who will be targeting a positive start to Season 10 include Frijns, following his return to Envision, and Sam Bird, who has switched to the NEOM McLaren.
Mexico City E-Prix schedule (GMT)
Friday 12 January
Free Practice 1 – 22:25
Saturday 13 January
Free Practice 2 – 13:25
Qualifying – 15:40
Race – 20:00
*For those in the UK and Ireland, Formula E can now be found on TNT Sports.
