Oliver Rowland took victory in the Mexico City E-Prix, defeating the fierce challenge of both Tag Heuer Porsches, to kickstart his Formula E season.
In-front of a sell-out crowd at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Nissan driver used the help of two late Safety Cars to take the lead from Antonio Felix da Costa late-on with pole-sitter Pascal Wehrlein coming home to take third.
Jake Dennis, who had been in the mix for much of the race, finished fourth, with the DS Penske pair of Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Guenther fifth and sixth respectively.
Stoffel Vandoorne quietly impressed with seventh, with Nyck de Vries taking points for the second race in the row in eighth.
Nico Mueller was ninth in the sister Andretti, with Taylor Barnard using a late Attack Mode to snatch a point in 10th, plus taking an extra one for the fastest lap of the race, however a late time penalty for gaining an advantage off the track handed the final points place to Maserati MSG Racing’s Jake Hughes, with Dennis taking the fastest lap point.
The result kickstarts Rowland’s championship challenge, and leaves da Costa, with two second place finishes in two races, the leader of the Drivers’ Championship.
How the race unfolded
At lights out, Wehrlein looked to cover a fast-started da Costa, and did so, leading into turn one. Rowland was quickly under threat from Dennis, as Cassidy quickly took both Envisions.
Vergne took Rowland midway through the first lap but the Englishman took the DS at the start of lap two, as Wehrlein continued to hold station in-front.
Da Costa continued to keep Wehrlein honest, as Dan Ticktum found himself last after being punted sideways by Hughes, who had been tapped by Maloney, who had slipped down the order after starting ninth.
Barnard was the first man to take Attack Mode, of four minutes, whilst in 17th place.
At the start of lap five, Rowland looked keen to take da Costa around the outside of turn three but would not be able to find a way through. None of the front-runners were yet to take any attacks, as the Porsches continued to hold the line at the front of the pack.
Barnard was now up to 11th, with team-mate Sam Bird the next to take an Attack Mode, followed by David Beckmann and Stoffel Vandoorne.
Bird and Barnard swapped places as the latter’s extra energy ran out, leaving his experienced team-mate a chance to take Nyck de Vries, the former having tagged Edoardo Mortara’s Mahindra previously, placing both men under investigation from the stewards.
The Dutchman valiantly kept himself ahead of Bird, cutting him off twice at the stadium section as he tried to force his way through, the sister Mahindra then taking its first attack.
Bird eventually got ahead, as the order remained unchanged at the front, as Beckmann made his way into the top 10.
Nico Mueller was the next man to take an attack, dropping to 10th, sending Bird up to eighth spot.
The McLaren would lose out eventually, ending back down in 10th as a jostle with de Vries left him the loser, and sending him into Mueller’s clutches, who swiftly took ninth.
The Andretti man would then take de Vries at the start of lap 12, and then sent it up the inside of Mitch Evans’ Jaguar for seventh, and then Guenther’s DS for sixth.
As the Porsches continued to lead, Vergne began to swarm over Rowland, taking third, but a bottle neck with the Andretti pair of Dennis and Mueller behind sent Rowland back up to third.
Mueller backed-up those behind him to allow Dennis to take his first Attack Mode and remain in fifth place, as he would try to begin the hunt to break into the front four.
Dennis was up to fourth before the stadium, as Wehrlein opted for his first Attack Mode, which ended-up a disaster for da Costa who was quickly swarmed by those behind him.
Wehrlein kept his lead as Dennis, Rowland and Vergne took the sister Porsche, who was now in fifth place.
Da Costa now pleaded for help from his team over the radio, as Dennis looked to take the lead, the Andretti taking the lead on the exit of the stadium into the start of lap 17.
Rowland and da Costa were next to take their attacks, leaving Vergne to take third unchallenged.
Mueller and Evans were next to Attack Mode again, with Rowland and da Costa leaving Vergne down in fifth.
With Rowland’s Attack Mode now out, da Costa sailed through into third, and into the stadium, ahead of Wehrlein to challenge Dennis for the lead.
With lap 19 now beginning, Dennis took a defensive line into turn one, but had no answer thereafter, with the Porsche using his extra power to storm into P1.
On the exit of the Peraltada, Mueller took Rowland for P4, as da Costa opened-up a gap in-front with his Attack Mode now done.
Wehrlein went in for his second Attack, using six minutes this time, and was placed in fifth, with Evans now in fourth.
The Kiwi’s Jaguar had no answer for Wehrlein going into the chicane prior to the stadium, and was looking up for taking Mueller, and Dennis took his second Attack Mode, and a lap later, took da Costa for the lead as he took his second Attack Mode, rejoining still ahead of his team-mate.
Into the stadium, and da Costa was back in the lead with Wehrlein looking to overhaul Dennis, and sailed up the inside at turn five to take second, with around 30 seconds of Attack Mode less than his team-mate.
Rowland was now back in the mix, taking Mueller for fourth with still another attack still to use, with Evans just about staying in-touch in sixth, as Beckmann continued to impress by staying in the top 10.
In the midst of the front 10, Vergne grabbed sixth from Evans in the stadium, and team-mate Guenther would follow suit, sending the Jaguar back to eighth.
Quick succession of Safety Cars determine the result
The Porsches continued to lead line astern with Dennis behind, as Beckmann’s run in the points now over, down in 14th and then stopping into the stadium, bringing out the double yellow flags. Replays would show that a miscalculated on a switchback overtake on Zane Maloney’s Lola broke the Kiro’s steering.
Race control opted to send out the Safety Car, ruining the likes of Rowland, Vergne and Guenther’s chances as all three were in the middle of Attack Mode.
Racing resumed at the start of lap 31, with da Costa still in the lead, as Rowland sent it up the inside of Wehrlein for P2.
The Nissan was now in the ascendancy, tapping the back of da Costa and then taking the lead, but the Englishman’s joy would be short-lived as the Safety Car would immediately be deployed again, as Evans found himself in the wall after slamming into the back of Mueller.
With two laps left to run, racing got underway again with Rowland leading, da Costa second and Wehrlein third, both Porsche’s having one percent of energy more.
Despite being under threat from Dennis at the restart, Wehrlein looked to close the gap on da Costa, with race control confirming no more laps would be added to the race, with only two left.
Barnard, taking his second attack late-on, was now up to 10th place as the final lap began.
Rowland looked calm and assured as da Costa looked for a way though, as Wehrlein sat back and seemed content with a top three, as Rowland held-off the challenge and took his first win of the season in brilliant style, with da Costa following close behind in second and Wehrlein third.
Da Costa leaves Mexico the title leader, and Porsche grabbing the advantage in both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles, with both customer Andrettis in the top 10.
