Pascal Wehrlein converted pole position into victory on Saturday at the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix, and also survived a post-race investigation for a technical infraction.
Wehrlein was investigated after the first Formula E race of 2024 for “not respecting the homologated primary throttle power map” at the start of the race; however, the stewards “couldn’t find a breach of Regulations”. Jake Dennis was investigated for the same reason and received the same outcome.
The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver controlled the race beautifully and won by a comfortable margin, ahead of Sébastian Buemi and Nick Cassidy, who completed the podium. Maximilian Günther did superbly to finish fourth. Mitch Evans struggled for pace but defended fifth place like a lion, with Jean-Éric Vergne being left frustrated in sixth.
Jake Hughes claimed an impressive seventh, with Season 8 World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne claiming P8. Reigning World Champion Dennis only recovered five places from his disappointing P14 starting position, with him having finished in ninth ahead of new teammate Norman Nato in 10th.
How the race unfolded
With Dennis starting all the way down in 14th, it marked a great opportunity for someone to lay down their title intentions. It was Wehrlein who started on pole for the fourth-time in his Formula E career, after he defeated Buemi in the final. Günther was third on the grid, ahead of Cassidy and Evans.
There was disappointment for the ERT Formula E Team before the race even started, as Sérgio Sette Câmara failed to start the race due to a technical problem on his way round to the grid.
As the lights went out for the first time in Season 10, it was Wehrlein who made a brilliant start from pole. The top-six remained as they were through the first lap, whilst Dennis progressed from 14th to ninth. The biggest loser on the first lap was Robin Frijns, who was slow off the line and dropped from seventh to 14th.
At the back, it was a poor start for last season’s Mexico City pole sitter Lucas di Grassi, who dropped to 21st and last after going off. Things went from bad to worse for Abt Cupra on the third lap, as António Félix da Costa took out Nico Müller. The duo dropped to the back as a result. To add to Abt’s woes on their 100th Formula E race, Di Grassi entered the pits to retire.
Back at the front of the pack, and the leading drivers all took their first Attack Mode, with eight minutes being available. The top-five had all activated their first Attack Mode by Lap 6, with their order having remained the same. It meant that Wehrlein remained in the lead, ahead of Buemi and Günther.
On Lap 7, Wehrlein dropped to second after being the first of the leaders to activate his second Attack Mode, promoting Buemi into the lead. It was a great moment for the reigning Constructors’ Champions having Buemi in the lead, although their delight soon became disappointment, as Frijns’ day ended.
On his Envision return, Frijns went wide on the exit of the Foro Sol stadium section, resulting in a big hit with the tyre barrier on the outside of the corner. A Safety Car was summoned as a result on Lap 10, with Frijns becoming the fourth retirement of the race, joining Da Costa, Di Grassi and Sette Câmara.
A speedy recovery of Frijns’ car meant the race was able to be resumed on Lap 12, with Buemi supremely restarting it. Following a strong restart, Buemi opted to activate his final Attack Mode at the end of the lap, promoting Wehrlein back into the lead and demoting him to second.
Behind the leaders, Hughes dropped to seventh behind Vergne on Lap 15, after following Evans through the Attack Mode loop to activate his second dose of more power. On the following lap, Günther activated his last Attack Mode, which dropped him down to fourth behind Cassidy. This meant that by the 50 per cent mark in the season-opener, the top 10 had all used both Attack Modes.
This settled the race down somewhat, with respectable gaps having appeared throughout the field. Wehrlein remained in the lead fairly comfortably, as he built a one-second lead over Buemi with 16 laps remaining. As for Dennis’ progress, he reached a sticking point behind Vandoorne in ninth.
DS Penske certainly seem to have made some great progress over the off-season, as has Maserati, with Evans having found himself under immense pressure from Vergne on Lap 22. Vergne closed on Evans, with the Kiwi having dropped quite a bit from Günther ahead.
Evans and Vergne both got back onto the rear of Günther on Lap 24; however, this wasn’t as a result of the Maserati driver struggling. Instead, it was because of Buemi in second seemingly managing his energy, as second to Vergne in sixth suddenly bunched up. This allowed Wehrlein to build a gap of over two seconds. Wehrlein looked very comfortable.
The same couldn’t be said for Evans, who again dropped well off the back of Günther, resulting in Vergne and Hughes being held up. As for energy management, all the drivers were doing a similar job to one another, as the E-Prix reached its final five laps.
Wehrlein remained very comfortable in the lead, with the top-four having all broken away. Evans was very much the struggling driver in the top 10, much to Vergne’s frustration. The two-time Formula E Champion’s frustration was clear, as he looked several times at overtaking Evans. Unfortunately for Vergne, he failed to get past Evans, who held on to finish fifth.
Nobody could take the fight to Wehrlein ultimately, who won the race by just over a second ahead of Buemi. Cassidy completed the podium and claimed a bonus point for fastest lap. Wehrlein and Porsche lead the championships.
