Formula E Mexico City E-Prix: Pascal Wehrlein converts pole into win
12th February 2022Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein managed to convert his pole position into the race win as the German driver secured his team’s – and his – first Formula E win in the Mexico City E-Prix!
How the race unfolded…
After a long wait, Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein got a great start and managed to hold off second-placed Edoardo Mortara of ROKiT Venturi Racing into the first corner.
Fortunately, all the drivers managed to get through the opening lap.
On the third lap, the yellow flag was shown in the Foro Sol stadium section as Mahindra Racing’s Alexander Sims car was brought to a stop after the British driver suffered drive issues.
With less than 39 minutes left to go, Porsche’s Andre Lotterer was the first driver to active his first bout of Attack mode.
Mortara finally managed to get past the Wehrlein to take the lead of the race, with 36 minutes to go, as the championship leader got a great exit on the final corner. Going into turn one, Mortara and Wehrlein were side-by-side but the Porsche had to yield the position.
Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Techeetah fought wheel-to-wheel into turn five with Lotterer. The Porsche gave Vergne enough room, but with help from his remaining attack mode Vergne managed to pass Lotterer with ease. In addition, the door was left open by the Porsche which allowed Techeetah’s Antonio Felix Da Costa to pick up the scraps.
Da Costa started to fall down the order with 28 minutes left on the clock after the Portuguese driver made contact with the rear of Wehrlein’s car. The Techeetah’s front wing began to hang off the car as a result of the contact but it flew off, and off the racing line, during the following lap.
Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns managed to steal P5 away from Da Costa as the two went into turn one. Fortunately, the move was done in the nick of time as Frijns just ran out of attack mode after the overtake was completed. It wasn’t long before Frijns found himself in the fight for a podium spot.
Wehrlein managed to regain the lead of the race, in the same corner he lost it (turn one), with less than 13 minutes remaining. On the exit of turn one, Lotterer managed to make a dive down the inside of turn three to climb up to P2. This gave Porsche a provisional one-two position, with Wehrlein in the lead.
With less than seven minutes still remaining, most of the grid had just under 25% of battery power left. However, Dragon Penske Autosport’s Sergio Sette Camara had 16% left – the lowest of the field.
Despite his best efforts, Frijns couldn’t hold onto his potential third place finish as Vergne overtook the Envision driver. In the short time, Frijns fell down to finish P7.
After Wehrlein crossed the line before the timer ran out, it meant the race was forced to go on for another two laps. This proved troublesome for those who had miscalculated their energy consumption.
Podium:
- Pascal Wehrlein, Tag Heuer Porsche
- Andre Lotterer, Tag Heuer Porsche
- Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Techeetah
That’s it for the article: Formula E Mexico City E-Prix: Pascal Wehrlein converts pole into win! What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula E here:
- Formula E Mexico City E-Prix Qualifying: Pascal Wehrlein on pole position
- Preview: Formula E finally returns to Mexico City
- Formula E Diriyah E-Prix 2: Edoardo Mortara leads ROKiT Venturi double podium
- Formula E Diriyah E-Prix: Nyck de Vries wins the season opener
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