Formula E was back in Mexico to kickstart the second half of the 2020/21 season. However, the paddock faced the challenge of a new track as the race was moved from the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City to the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, 120km south of the capital. This due to the former venue still being used as a field hospital in the fight against the pandemic.
We also welcomed a new face in Formula E as 21-year-old Joel Eriksson replaced Nico Müller at Dragon / Penske as the Swiss driver was on DTM duty.
The weekend was packed full of drama, tension and yet more frustrating penalties, particularly for a certain Porsche driver. Here are the top of the class contenders and struggle bus riders from the Puebla double-header.
Race 1 – Top of the class:
Pascal Wehrlein – Qualifying: 1st (+topped Group Qualifying) | Result: DSQ
A stunningly dominant drive scrubbed off just seconds after the chequered flag just about sums up Pascal’s luck in Mexico (after that infamous loss to di Grassi in season 5). It was not of his own doing either, which is why he can still claim a place in the top of the class candidates for Race 1.
The German claimed all four points in qualifying after topping both Group and Super Pole sessions, the latter by just over half a tenth. From there, Pascal utterly dominated the race and lead it from lights to flag with a pretty comfortable margin.
Unfortunately, he was placed under investigation near the end of the race for a dreaded technical infringement. An infringement which later transpired to be his team’s (as well as Nissan’s), as they failed to declare their tyres before the race. He was disqualified just after crossing the line, handing the victory to di Grassi.
Porsche have lodged an appeal for the result – so stay tuned to see if they are successful. For now, Wehrlein just has to imagine ‘what if?’
Lucas di Grassi – Qualifying: 8th | Race: 1st
After a winless Season 6, Audi driver Lucas di Grassi parked up behind the number 1 sign in a rather fortunate manner, but he’ll take it.
Qualifying 8th is one of di Grassi’s better performances for years, missing out on Super Pole by a little over two tenths. His race was solid with some bold early overtakes on the likes of BMW’s Maximilian Günther. This enabled the Brazilian make progress up the field.
The Audi driver found himself second but was moved up to first after Wehrlein’s penalty, with René Rast following in behind. This was Audi’s first 1-2 since Berlin in 2019, and was a much-needed result for di Grassi who was a lowly 19th in the Championship before Saturday’s race.
Autódromo Miguel E. Abed
For its first international race since the World Touring Car Championship in 2009, the Puebla track did rather well for itself. Yes, it had some Formula E modifications with closer walls and the Attack Mode ‘joker’ lap, but it once again emphasised the series’ potential on permanent facilities.
I like the fact that the series goes to different places around the world and some of the street tracks are pretty good, in particular the Santiago track that we unfortunately won’t see this year, yet the inclusion of more permanent circuits seems to be a win-win for the series as the quality of the tracks is one of the leading criticisms that turns people away.
I get the feeling that this visit to Puebla is a one-off, but with the rising power of Pato O’Ward in IndyCar, Formula E could be kickstarting a trend for other series too.
The struggle bus:
Formula E’s technical rule book
Rules are rules – but I get the feeling as a fan that the technology behind the series has led to some overcomplicated book that means that teams are heavily penalised over the smallest of issues, which detracts from the value of what usually is quite an entertaining race.
The fact that both Nissan and Porsche fell foul of the tyre rule, but this was known before the race even started, joins a list of infuriating penalties. Other such teeth grinders are the likes of Attack Mode infractions to cooling temperatures being too high. I just think it’s a shame because the standard of drivers and tracks are drastically improving year on year, but how the series is organised and officiated is really holding it back.
Robin Frijns – Qualifying: 22nd (started 20th) | Race: 16th
After a strong Monaco showing catapulted Frijns to the top of the Driver’s standings, Race 1 was a slap back into reality for the Dutchman. Not only did he ruin his qualifying with a huge lock-up into turn 1, but he also made the same mistake again in the race.
What exacerbated the problem was that this was whilst Frijns battled Mercedes’ driver and fellow countryman, Nyck de Vries. The Envision Virgin driver was powerless to stop his car ramming the rear of the Silver Arrows and getting a 10-second penalty in the process.
This was simply a race to forget, at least he had the chance to bounce back the very next day.
Nick Cassidy – Qualifying: 14th (started 13th) | Race: DNF
The other side of the Envision Virgin garage didn’t fare much better on Saturday. In fact, Cassidy’s race was over pretty much before it began.
Having qualified a respectable 14th, Nick was already up to 13th due to a grid penalty for Dragon’s Sérgio Sette Câmara. His race lasted all of about 5 corners before Cassidy crashed into the wall and ripped off his front right suspension, bringing out an early safety car and a premature end to the Kiwi’s day.
Race 2 – Top of the class:
Edoardo Mortara – Qualifying: 3rd | Race: 1st
Following up his Saturday podium, the ROKiT Venturi driver was in dominant form on Sunday and breezed to victory thanks to a stellar stint between Attack Mode activations. Mortara qualified third and stayed there until finding himself in the lead after his first use of Attack Mode. By the time he armed it for a second time, the Swiss/Italian driver built up such a margin he retained the lead.
He was hounded in the closing stages by Wehrlein, who would make a mistake at turn 7 with 3 minutes left on the clock, allowing Mortara to take his first victory on the road after inheriting his sole win at Hong Kong in Season 5.
The weekend’s results means that Mortara leaps from 11th to 1st in the Driver’s standings with a 10-point lead, just showing how unpredictable this season of Formula E has been.
Nick Cassidy – Qualifying: 8th | Race: 2nd
It’s taken a few rounds after a mix of bad luck and errors, but Nick Cassidy finally made his statement in Race 2 with his maiden podium in Formula E.
The Envision Virgin driver had a spirited run from P8, but had to recover from some early setbacks after being overtaken by Nissan’s Sébastien Buemi and Porsche’s Andre Lotterer. Yet, by deploying Attack Mode later in the race Cassidy was able to rise up the order and found himself up to 4th by the time he went through the zone for a second time.
With less than 2 minutes to go, Cassidy sealed his podium after sweeping around Nissan’s Oliver Rowland at turn 14. Nick was moved up to P2 after a time penalty for Wehrlein, securing his best finish of the season.
René Rast – Qualifying: 24th | Race: 10th (+FL)
The DTM convert really is having a brilliant season, and this drive from the back of the grid to the points highlights this. Unfortunately, the action was rather focused on the front of the grid so I can’t say too much on how René made progress, other than with some excellent energy management.
The result not only keeps Rast in the title hunt in P4, but he is also comfortably outperforming teammate di Grassi in an important year for both as they try and salvage drives for next season in the wake of Audi’s exit after the Berlin finale in August.
The struggle bus:
Lucas di Grassi – Qualifying: 13th | Race: 18th
From Race 1 hero to absolute zero in Race 2, the Sunday performance of di Grassi was arguably one of his worst in the series, highlighting a trait of clumsy incidents that ruin both his and other drivers’ races as well.
Another mediocre qualifying performance left the Audi driver starting down in 13th place. However, the Race 1 winner would soon be in the thick of the action, ramming the rear of Nyck de Vries into turn 7 and causing a puncture to the former-Championship leader, ending his race.
Lucas would then be involved in a further collision that saw Buemi tumble out of the points after rear-ending Jaguar’s Sam Bird, who then clattered into the side of Buemi at turn five. The season 3 Champion ended the race as the last classified finisher down in 18th. This after picking up a drive-through for causing a collision, which was a rather sour end to what started off as a positive weekend for the Brazilian.
António Félix da Costa – Qualifying: 22nd | Race: DNF
Another Championship protagonist in the wars on Sunday was the reigning Champion, António Félix da Costa. The Techeetah driver had a dismal qualifying and started Race 2 in 22nd.
Making very little progress to 17th place, da Costa binned it on the outside of turn 7 on the penultimate tour of the track. The only saving grace was that he could park his terminally damaged car behind the barriers and hide his embarrassment instead of ensuring that another race in Season 7 ended behind the Safety Car.
André Lotterer – Qualifying: 10th | Race: 17th
The Porsche driver basically has a season ticket on the struggle bus at this point. Whilst his teammate battle for wins André was too busy making errors and driving cars into the wall. His victim on Sunday was Mahindra’s Alexander Simms who would retire soon after the incident.
Having run deep at turn 11, the veteran would squeeze Simms into the inside wall in an attempt to cut across and save his position, although Lotterer did not receive a penalty for the incident, he plummeted down the order and finished a lowly 17th after running as high as 8th.
This capped off yet another disappointing performance for André, whose P2 in Valencia Race 2 remains his only points in the nine races so far in Season 7.
After a successful trip across the Atlantic, the paddock remains on the continent with the return of the New York ePrix after its cancellation in 2020. The event will be a double-header on the weekend of the 10th and 11th July. The important question is; can any driver take a firm grapple on the Championship?
