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Flag of Mexico 2019 Mexico City E-Prix
Mexico City Layout 2019
The Mexico City E-Prix circuit.
Race Information
Date 16 February 2019
E-Prix No. 49
Official Name 2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix
Location Flag of Mexico City Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico
Format {{{format}}}
Lap length 2.092 km (1.299 mi)
Distance 45 laps / 94.140 km (58.496 mi)
Support Race Flag of Mexico 2019 Mexico City eTrophy Race
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein
Team Flag of India Mahindra Racing
Time 0:59.347
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein
Team Flag of India Mahindra Racing
Fastest Lap 1:01.112 on lap 10
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara
Winner Team Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Time 1:13:15.422
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of Chile 2019 Santiago E-Prix Flag of China 2019 Hong Kong E-Prix
Post-Race Test Flag of Mexico 2019 Mexico City Test

The 2019 Mexico City E-Prix, officially known as the 2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix, was the fourth round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico, on 16 February 2019.[1][2] The race saw the return of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series, and was followed by the third and final in-season test for the 2018/19 campaign.[3]

Qualifying saw Pascal Wehrlein dance his Mahindra to a maiden pole position, beating Lucas di Grassi by three tenths.[4] Third would go to Felipe Massa, making his first appearance in Super Pole, while Oliver Rowland claimed fourth having topped the group timesheets.[4]

Wehrlein duly aced his start to secure the lead heading into turn one, leaving di Grassi to fend off the attentions of Massa for second.[5] However, they were both caught out by a scything dive on the brakes by Rowland, who barged his way inside both Brazilians to claim second, almost losing control as he did so.[5]

The rest of the field made it through the opening lap with only minor contact, with the race seeming to settle down fairly quickly as Wehrlein tried to escape out front.[5] However, a huge accident between Nelson Piquet Jr. and Jean-Éric Vergne on lap three would cause a red flag, disrupting the race for over half an hour.[5]

Indeed, the collision between Piquet and Vergne had catapulted the former into the air heading to the Peraltada chicane, with the Brazilian's car shattering apart as it slammed back onto the circuit.[5] He subsequently slithered to a stop on the other side of the chicane, having taken out Alexander Sims on his way through, although both Sims and Vergne would be able to get their cars repaired for the restart.[5] Piquet, meanwhile, was taken to the medical centre for checks, but was found to have no injuries.[5]

The restart was made behind the BMW Qualcomm i8 safety car, with the entire field opting to take Attack Mode for the restart.[5] Wehrlein duly aced his restart to pull clear of Rowland and di Grassi, although the entire top three was soon able to pull clear of fourth placed Buemi.[5]

The race was fairly settled until the closing stages, with several teams only realising with a handful of laps to go that they were going to have to conserve more energy than originally intended.[5] As such, Wehrlein's pace would dramatically fall with five laps to go, allowing di Grassi, who passed Rowland when the Brit tried to use Attack Mode late on, to close right onto his tail.[5]

It proved to be a ferocious duel between the German rookie and the Brazilian veteran, with a spirited defence from Wehrlein keeping him just ahead as they started the final tour.[5] Heading into the turn three/four chicane it seemed as if di Grassi had won the battle, for he managed to get inside the German and force Wehrlein to cut the chicane, although the Mahindra carried on in the lead.[5]

That led to the most dramatic finish in FE history, with Wehrlein running out of energy on the exit of the final corner.[5] di Grassi, duly threw his Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler around the Mahindra as they crossed the line to claim victory, while António Félix da Costa and Edoardo Mortara just fell shy of taking both on the line.[5] The two Nissan e.Dams of Rowland and Buemi, meanwhile, would run out of energy at the start of the final lap.[5]

Wehrlein was awarded a five second time penalty for cutting the chicane immediately after the race, meaning da Costa and Mortara were promoted onto the podium.[5] Wehrlein himself, meanwhile, would be classified in sixth behind Jérôme d'Ambrosio and André Lotterer, but escaped further punishment for running out of energy before the chequered flag.[5]

Background[]

Formula E would head to a familiar venue for its fourth race of the 2018/19 campaign, arriving at the ever popular Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.[1] The circuit itself was largely unchanged after the series' last visit in 2018, with the Attack Mode activation point the only significant revision.[1] In contrast there would be some major changes to the timetable, with the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy returning to support FE, ahead of the third and final in-season test for the series to follow on the 17 February.[3]

There was to be a change to the entry list ahead of the Mexico City E-Prix, with GEOX DRAGON deciding to replace second driver Maximilian Günther after his difficult start to the season.[6] Indeed after failing to score at all in the opening three races, part of a planned "three race programme", Günther was dropped to join Antonio Fuoco as the team's test and reserve driver, allowing the American squad to draft in former Formula One racer Felipe Nasr to partner José María López.[6] Mexico City would see Nasr sample an FE car for the first time in public, having missed the 2019 Rookie Test despite being entered by Dragon, as well as be his first race in a single seater since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[6]

Future Formulations[]

Elsewhere there were rumours of a change to the rules regarding the safety car, with two of the previous three races in 2018/19 having had extensive SC periods in the closing stages.[7] Indeed, with time almost running out before the end of the Marrakech E-Prix, the FIA opted to research any potential change they could make in order to ensure that a race should not finish under a safety car unless absolutely necessary.[7] The proposed solution was to freeze the clock during extended SC periods, effectively adding time to the race the longer that the SC was on track.[7] e-racing365.com reported that this change was potentially to be implemented in time for the 2019 Rome E-Prix.[7]

Away from Mexico and rumours abounded of the middle future for the FE Championship, with two potential big signs for the series thought to be close. The first of these would involve American car manufacturer Ford, who were reported to be evaluating an entry in FE ahead of the deadline for the 2019/20 Championship, although they could only enter that season with a customer powertrain.[8] The American firm were also reportedly evaluating a potential manufacturer entry for the 2020/21 season, with the deadline for either entry set at the end of February.[8]

Another popular area for speculation was on the future FE calendar, with both FE and the FIA keen to make a return to London after being kicked out of the capital of the UK at the end of the 2015/16 season.[9] The rumours ahead of the Mexico City E-Prix suggested that representatives from the ExCel Arena had attended the race in Marrakech, with talks held with Formula E Holdings about hosting the race on the ExCel Arena's grounds.[9] e-racing365.com would also give a potential date for the race, implying that the E-Prix would be staged during the 2020/21 season.[9]

An Xtreme Challenge[]

Extreme E logo

The Extreme E Championship is set to launch in 2021.

Elsewhere, a fair amount of pre-race talk would be on a new project set to be run by Formula E Holdings and the FIA, with details emerging of FE's plans.[10] The new series, dubbed the Extreme E or XE Championship, was officially launched in London by FE boss Alejandro Agag and Gil de Ferran, with a plan to race SUV across a variety of difficult terrains.[10] Ahead of the Mexico City E-Prix FE Holdings and the FIA announced a variety of rules for the new series, revealing that the powertrains used for the SUV series will be based off those used in FE.[11] Indeed, the whole XE rulebook would be closely based off that from FE, with the series largely a spec-series bar the development of powertrains.[11]

Championship Changes[]

In terms of the Championship a victory for Sam Bird last time out in Santiago, combined with a late penalty for Jérôme d'Ambrosio, had left the Brit at the top of the table, arriving in Mexico with 43 points to his name. The Belgian ace himself was second, two off the lead, while António Félix da Costa had dropped to third after a poor weekend. Robin Frijns, meanwhile, was up to fourth ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne, with those two and da Costa all level on 28 points, while Pascal Wehrlein had shot into the top ten after his maiden podium finish.

In the Teams' Championship it was Envision Virgin Racing who headed the field upon arrival in Mexico City, having registered 71 points after three races. Mahindra Racing, meanwhile, had held station in second, leaving DS Techeetah and BMW i Andretti Motorsport to slip to third and fourth respectively. Elsewhere Venturi, NIO, and GEOX DRAGON had all registered their first points of the season in Chile, leaving newcomers HWA Racelab as the only non-scorers after the opening three rounds.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix is displayed below:

2019 Mexico City E-Prix Entry List
No. Name Entrant Constructor Car
2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05
3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III
4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05
5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany HWA Racelab Venturi VFE 05
6 Flag of Brazil Felipe Nasr Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON Penske EV-3
7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON Penske EV-3
8 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004
11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05
16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004
17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab Venturi VFE 05
19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE 05
20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III
22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM01
23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM01
25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 19
27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18
28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18
36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 19
48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE 05
64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M5Electro
66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05
94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M5Electro
Source:[12]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the Mexico City E-Prix would follow the conventional format, with the field split into four groups based on Championship position.[13] Each group would get six minutes on circuit to allow each driver to set a single full power (250kw) lap, with the fastest six over all proceeding to Super Pole.[13] The drivers in Super Pole would then head out one-by-one to set another flying lap, with the fastest of those starting the race from pole.[13]

Group 1[]

Group one was to feature the top five in the Championship, and hence the some of the favourites to get into the Super Pole shootout.[13] Sam Bird headlined the group for Virgin Racing, with teammate Robin Frijns also in action in their customer Audi e-tron FE05s.[13] Defending Champion Jean-Éric Vergne was also in the quintet for DS Techeetah, with race winners Jérôme d'Ambrosio and António Félix da Costa also in the group.[13]

Championship leader Bird was the first to head out onto the circuit mid-way through the six minute session, although it instantly became clear that the Brit had a major issue.[14] Indeed, moments after leaving the pit lane Bird would pull his car off to the side of the circuit at turn seven, causing a yellow flag to be thrown as others left the pits.[14] Ultimately, only d'Ambrosio would be caught out by the Bird's issues, with the Belgian just managing to catch Bird's teammate Frijns as he came up to the incident.[14]

With Bird out and d'Ambrosio's flying lap ruined it was up to the other three in the group to dictate the pace.[14] da Costa was the first to set a flying lap, claiming a 0:59.778, with Vergne falling shy of the Portuguese ace's mark in the final sector.[14] Frijns, meanwhile, would simply lack pace throughout his lap to end the session half a second off of the Frenchman, and was only a tenth clear of d'Ambrosio.[14]

Group 2[]

Group two would see sixth through tenth in the Championship hit the circuit, headlined by the star of Santiago Pascal Wehrlein.[13] The German's Mahindra would be joined out on circuit by Daniel Abt and Alexander Sims, representing Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler and BMW i Andretti Motorsport respectively, as well as André Lotterer in the second Techeetah.[13] Completing the quintet, although the highest placed in the Championship, would be Mitch Evans in the Jaguar.[13]

Sims dictated the pace from the start of the second group, charging straight from the pits to open his full power lap without a warm-up.[14] He duly claimed second overall after a strong lap, the only mistake coming with a brief drift through the stadium section, and was only 0.004s off of teammate da Costa.[14] Lotterer, meanwhile, looked on course to beat both the BMWs, although in trying to carry speed into the final chicane the German would run wide and ruin his exit, dumping him behind Vergne.[14]

Next to sweep across the line was Evans, although a scruffy lap left him in between Frijns and d'Ambrosio on the overall leader board.[14] Abt followed but ultimately lost a lot of time with an unseen error in the second sector, before Wehrlein charged across the line to go fastest overall.[14] It was a stunning lap from the German rookie, whose 0:59.604 left him almost two tenths clear of the two BMWs.[14]

Group 3[]

Group three would see the first sextet of the afternoon hit the circuit, with two former Champions leading the line.[13] Indeed, Nissan e.Dams ace Sébastien Buemi, as well as 2016/17 Champion Lucas di Grassi would headline the group, with the pair expected to challenge for Super Pole regardless of which group they were in.[13] They were joined by the second Nissan of Oliver Rowland, the first Venturi of Edoardo Mortara, José María López in the #7 GEOX DRAGON, and Oliver Turvey's NIO.[13]

Mortara headed out early having set the pace in practice, and duly delivered a strong, if cautious, lap to claim fifth overall behind Vergne.[14] López followed him through but his lap was ruined by a mistake in the first chicane, although a strong final sector left him seventh.[14] Turvey, meanwhile, would survive a huge lock-up into the first corner to slot in between the pair, lapping just 0.001s slower than Mortara.[14]

di Grassi was next across the line, having been one of the few to complete a warm-up lap at 200 kw, and duly delivered a strong, clean lap of 0:59.739 to claim second overall.[14] However, this was instantly overshadowed by a stunning effort from Rowland, whose ultra-clean run saw him sweep to the top of the timesheets, recording a 0:59.593.[14] His teammate Buemi followed him through, but could only manage to slot in behind di Grassi.[14]

Group 4[]

The final six featured the lowest six drivers in the Championship, meaning debutante Felipe Nasr would be one of the last to hit the circuit.[13] He would be joined by fellow ex-F1 racer Felipe Massa, as well as the two HWA Racelabs of Stoffel Vandoorne and Gary Paffett.[13] Completing the group would be the second Jaguar of Nelson Piquet Jr., another F1 refugee, and the second NIO of Tom Dillmann.[13]

Massa was the first to hit the circuit in the final group, and duly delivered the best lap of his FE career to claim a spot in Super Pole.[14] Indeed, the Brazilian ace delivered a very clean lap of 0:59.719 to claim third overall, edging out di Grassi and Buemi, and knocking Sims out of the top six.[14] Massa's impressive effort also distracted everyone's eyes from Vandoorne's effort, with a mistake ridden lap leading the Belgian over a second off the Brazilian's time.[14]

Elsewhere, Nasr would end his first FE qualifying session mid-pack, with a reasonable effort of 1:00.210 getting him into the top fifteen.[14] Piquet, meanwhile, pushed hard to try and claim a top ten spot, but ultimately fell shy, while Dillmann sneaked ahead of Nasr with a clean lap.[14] Last across the line would be Paffett, but his tail-wagging HWA cost him time through every corner, leaving him down in sixteenth.[14]

Super Pole[]

First onto the circuit in Super Pole would be da Costa in his BMW, with the Portuguese ace having the advantage of having had more time in the pits to cool his car.[14] That advantage resulted in da Costa recording a strong opening lap of 0:59.778, with Buemi, who followed him onto the circuit, unable to best his effort.[14] di Grassi was next onto the track and duly delivered a 0:59.653 to go fastest overall, using da Costa's kerb crawling technique to find an extra tenth.[14]

Massa would break his Super Pole virginity a few moments later, and duly put together a clean lap of 0:59.695, a poor third sector leaving him shy of di Grassi's effort.[14] Wehrlein was next and duly showed how much time could be won in the final sector, with a stunning run through the final chicane leaving the German three tenths clear of di Grassi on a 0:59.347.[14] Rowland then hit the circuit in an attempt to claim his maiden FE pole, but a mistake through the stadium section caused him to slip behind Massa.[14]

Post Qualifying[]

The final qualifying result for the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix are outlined below:

2019 Mexico City E-Prix Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 0:59.347 1 G2
2nd 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0:59.653 +0.306s 2 G3
3rd 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 0:59.695 +0.348s 3 G4
4th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 0:59.808 +0.461s 4 G3
5th 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 0:59.819 +0.472s 5 G1
6th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 0:59.949 +0.602s 6 G3
Super Pole
1st 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 0:59.593 SP G3
2nd 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 0:59.604 +0.011s SP G2
3rd 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 0:59.719 +0.126s SP G4
4th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0:59.739 +0.146s SP G3
5th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 0:59.763 +0.170s SP G3
6th 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 0:59.778 +0.185s SP G1
7th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 0:59.782 +0.189s 7 G2
8th 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 0:59.802 +0.209s 8 G1
9th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 0:59.935 +0.342s 9 G3
10th 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 0:59.936 +0.343s 10 G3
11th 3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 0:59.959 +0.366s 11 G4
12th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:00.050 +0.457s 12 G2
13th 8 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:00.192 +0.599s 13 G4
14th 6 Flag of Brazil Felipe Nasr Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:00.210 +0.617s 14 G4
15th 7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:00.293 +0.700s 15 G3
16th 17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 1:00.340 +0.747s 16 G4
17th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Virgin Racing 1:00.375 +0.782s 17 G1
18th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:00.424 +0.831s 18 G2
19th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:00.455 +0.862s 19 G1
20th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 1:00.844 +1.251s 20 G4
21st 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:00.936 +1.343s 21 G2
110% Time: 1:05.552[12]
NC* 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Virgin Racing 22 G1
Source:[12]
  • * Bird failed to set a time but was allowed to start at the steward's discretion.[4]

Race[]

Saturday afternoon proved to be another warm and dry affair, with the air temperature sitting at 28°C, while the track temperature levelled at 45°C, ensuring that cooling would be a major consideration for teams.[15] There were to be no major changes to the grid order after qualifying, with Sam Bird allowed to start in spite of failing to set a time at all in qualifying due to an inverter failure.[15] He duly lined up at the back of the grid as the field moved onto the grid-proper, with Pascal Wehrlein starting from pole for the first time in his FE career.[15]

Report[]

It was an even start throughout the top end of the field, meaning Wehrlein was clear to dive into the first corner without a challenge from fellow front row starter Lucas di Grassi.[15] Indeed, di Grassi was to be otherwise occupied as he hit the brakes for the opening corner, for he suddenly found Oliver Rowland scything inside his Audi e-tron FE05 in an attempt to claim second.[15] Rowland ultimately emerged ahead, barely managing to keep his Nissan from sliding straight into the side of the Audi, with teammate Sébastien Buemi producing a similar lunge to grab fourth from Felipe Massa.[15]

The lunge from Rowland would work wonders for Wehrlein out front, for the Mahindra was able to scamper clear at the head of the field during the opening lap as Rowland worked to hold second.[15] Elsewhere, Daniel Abt and Bird made progress from the back of the pack, while the familiar squeeze at the first chicane saw both NIOs and José María López's GEOX DRAGON have to take avoiding action.[15] Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, would lose a huge amount of time when he suffered an electrical issue midway around the lap, while Alexander Sims and António Félix da Costa almost removed one-another from the race as they scrapped in the lower-half of the top ten.[15]

Come the end of the opening lap Wehrlein had built a one second lead over Rowland, who had di Grassi and Buemi both looking for a way past in spite of his strong start.[15] Massa, meanwhile, was hanging onto the leaders in fifth with the Brazilian already shaping up to defend from those behind rather than attack Buemi ahead.[15] Elsewhere, Jean-Éric Vergne was harassing the two BMWs, causing da Costa to brush the wall at the first corner at the start of the second tour, while Nelson Piquet Jr. picked his way into the top ten.[15]

The race at the front of the field soon settled after the opening lap, with Wehrlein, Rowland and di Grassi beginning to edge away from Buemi, while Massa eyed a move on the Swiss racer.[15] Further back, Bird would move past Gary Paffett with a well timed lunge at the final chicane, while Robin Frijns elbowed his way past López into turn six.[15] López's new teammate Felipe Nasr was also getting roughed up by his rivals, getting pitched into a spin in the stadium section by Oliver Turvey, before a huge accident at the final chicane at the end of lap three brought the race to a temporary halt.[15]

The cause of the accident would be a fairly divisive collision between Verge and Piquet as they entered the braking zone for the Peraltada chicane, with the Brazilian trying to ease inside the Frenchman through the long turn thirteen.[15] Vergne moved across to block the advancing Jaguar as they came to the corner, before Piquet hit the back of the DS Techeetah and was set hurtling into the air after Vergne began braking.[15] Piquet duly crashed back down in time to smash into the back of Sims' BMW, before skating to a stop on the other side of the chicane with heavy front and rear damage.[15]

The sheer amount of debris at the chicane ensured that the race needed to be stopped, although only after two laps under Full Course Yellow conditions, which saw Vergne tour around with rear-end damage and a right rear puncture in tenth.[15] The Techeetah crew were allowed to repair the car during the red flag, while the BMW team managed to get Sims' car ready in time for the restart, although he was placed at the back of the field having pitted immediately after getting whacked.[15] Piquet, meanwhile, would be unable to restart in spite of being cleared by the circuit's medical crew, with Jaguar believing they would have to use a new monocoque to rebuild the car.[15]

Restart[]

The race resumed behind the safety car after a half-hour delay, with Wehrlein following the newly re-liveried BMW Qualcomm i8 around for two laps before blasting away from di Grassi with 38 minutes to go.[15] Indeed, the majority of the field would arm their Attack Mode boost for the restart, although Buemi, Massa, Edoardo Mortara, André Lotterer, Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Vergne and Nasr all activated it a lap too soon, and hence lost over a minute's worth of boost.[15] At the back, meanwhile, the only drivers not to bother arming the boost proved to be Abt and Paffett, while Vandoorne was put back on the lead lap after HWA cured his issue.[15]

It proved to be a fast and furious restart, with Wehrlein, Rowland and di Grassi racing away out front, while da Costa and Buemi clashed for fourth, leaving the Portuguese racer with some minor suspension damage.[15] At the back, meanwhile, Abt, Sims and Bird would make progress, using Attack Mode to pick their way up the order after their various issues prior to and during the opening laps.[15] Elsewhere, Vandoorne was awarded FanBoost and duly used it to pass Nasr into the first corner, only to be hit with a penalty for using too much power during the boost.[15]

Indeed, with stalemate out front it was the battle between Bird and Abt a few places outside the points that became the centre of attention, with Bird ending up stuck behind teammate Frijns for several laps.[15] Indeed, the Brit managed to persuade Virgin to order the Dutchman to step aside, although Frijns himself was otherwise occupied trying to take thirteenth away from López.[15] Furthermore, Bird would come under attack from Abt before Frijns could allow him to pass, freeing the Dutchman to arm Attack Mode for the second time and pass López through turn twelve.[15]

Abt briefly managed to pass Bird into turn one using Attack Mode, although canny driving from the Brit ensured that he was able to barge back ahead of the sister car half a lap later.[15] Frijns, meanwhile, would blast clear of the López, who was subsequently slapped with a penalty for excessive re-gen (as well as a pitlane speeding penalty) and duly caught and passed Oliver Turvey to claim twelfth.[15] Bird and Abt, meanwhile, would steadily catch Turvey themselves after Abt ran out of Attack Mode boost, with López abandoning fourteenth to serve his penalties.[15]

Out front, meanwhile, di Grassi would try to use FanBoost to pass Rowland, although the Brit manage to swat aside his first lunge into the first corner with relative ease.[15] Behind, da Costa would use his "FunBoost" to get back onto the tail of Buemi, while Massa found himself unable to hold onto the back of the BMW and so slipped behind teammate Mortara.[15] Indeed, Massa seemed to be one of the few drivers in the field focusing on conserving energy rather than using it, with the Brazilian subsequently slipping away as the Swiss racer sprinted after da Costa.[15]

Vergne, meanwhile, had been running at the back of the top ten in his hastily repaired Techeetah, and was duly set to benefit from Massa's lack of pace only for a tag from Mitch Evans, Piquet's teammate, to send him spinning down to seventeenth in the stadium.[15] A furious Vergne rejoined with twenty minutes left on the clock, and duly set about picking his way back through the field, passing Dillmann with relative ease.[15] Ahead, Bird and Abt moved past the other NIO of Turvey with little issue, while quick fire moves from d'Ambrosio saw the Belgian move into seventh at the expense of Massa and Lotterer.[15]

The race again settled down until the closing stages, when Wehrlein's pace suddenly dipped as the German, and Mahindra, realised that they were on the verge of running out of energy if they failed to conserve now.[15] That allowed Rowland and di Grassi to close onto the back of the German with eight minutes to go, with Rowland opting to use Attack Mode on lap 34 to aid his bid for the lead.[15] However, the unusual line required to arm the boost through turn nine ensured that the Brit ran wide, allowing di Grassi to slip through into second, while Buemi was allowed to close right onto the back of his teammate.[15]

Wehrlein used that little break behind him to arm his own Attack Mode on the following tour, with di Grassi just falling shy of attacking the German as he did so.[15] Indeed, the Brazilian himself was using Attack Mode at the time, having armed his just before Rowland gifted him second, and so Wehrlein had to use the boost then just to keep di Grassi at bay.[15] The ploy would, ultimately, work for Wehrlein as he kept di Grassi at arm's length, and even managed to extend his lead, although the damage to his energy reserve would be revealed a few laps later.[15]

Indeed, with two laps to go Wehrlein was in serious energy trouble, with just 3% of his battery supply left to complete two whole laps of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.[15] He became increasingly defensive as he tired to conserve energy, with di Grassi throwing lunge after lunge at the Mahindra, only to be elbowed aside at every turn.[15] Their increasingly physical duel allowed Rowland, Buemi, da Costa and Mortara to all close up onto the back of the lead duo, although as Wehrlein started the final lap the race would take a dramatic turn.[15]

Buemi and Rowland were the first victims, the Nissan team having miscalculated their energy consumption to leave the pair a lap shy of the energy needed to complete the race.[15] They duly dropped out of the fight for victory and to the back of the field, just as di Grassi sent Wehrlein a dummy through the long turn two right hander, handing him the inside line for the entry to the first chicane.[15] Wehrlein squeezed the Brazilian and tried to hang on, but ultimately had to cut the chicane to try and hold onto the lead with just 1% of battery left in his Mahindra with two thirds of a lap to go.[15]

Ultimately, Wehrlein would run out of energy on the run out of the Peraltada Chicane, prompting di Grassi to almost literally throw his Audi around the Mahindra to claim victory on the finish line.[15] da Costa and Mortara, meanwhile, would just fall shy of passing the coasting Wehrlein as they came to the chequered flag, although were both retroactively promoted to the podium after Wehrlein was hit with a five second time penalty for cutting the chicane.[15] Indeed, the dramatic fight on the final tour ultimately resulted in the German finishing in sixth, with d'Ambrosio and Lotterer promoted into fourth and fifth at Wehrlein's expense.[15] Rowland and Buemi, meanwhile, would be classified in twentieth and twenty-first respectively having run out of energy with a lap to go.[15]

Result[]

The final classification of the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.

2019 Mexico City E-Prix Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 45 1:13:15.422 1:01.277 25
2nd 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa FanBoost Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 45 +0.436s 1:01.463 18
3rd 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 45 +0.745s 1:01.441 15
4th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 45 +1.159s 1:01.450 12
5th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China DS Techeetah 45 +1.785s 1:01.603 10
6th* 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 45 +5.210s 1:01.112 12
7th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 45 +5.800s 1:01.397 6
8th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 45 +8.084s 1:01.557 4
9th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 45 +8.356s 1:01.522 2
10th 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 45 +8.438s 1:01.372 1
11th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 45 +9.044s 1:01.573
12th 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 45 +11.252s 1:01.491
13th 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 45 +19.153s 1:01.217
14th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 45 +20.471s 1:01.233
15th 8 Flag of the United Kingdom Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 45 +20.871s 1:01.514
16th 17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 45 +23.272s 1:01.599
17th 7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 45 +41.542s 1:01.398
18th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne FanBoost Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 45 +43.425s 1:01.154
19th 6 Flag of Brazil Felipe Nasr Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 45 +1:56.160 1:01.518
20th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 44 +1 Lap 1:01.206
21st 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi FanBoost Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 44 +1 Lap 1:01.557
Ret 3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 2 Accident 1:02.932
Source:[12]
  • FanBoost Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.
  • * Wehrlein hit with a five second time penalty for cutting a chicane.[12]
  • López awarded fifteen seconds worth of time penalties for multiple pit lane offences.[12]
  • Vandoorne was handed a five second time penalty for overuse of FanBoost.[12]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

The chaotic day in Mexico City had played havoc in the Championship table, with more sweeping changes to the overall order. Indeed, Jérôme d'Ambrosio had moved back to the top of the table, leaving Mexico with a seven point lead over António Félix da Costa. The Portuguese ace was now a point ahead of pre-Mexico leader Sam Bird, while Lucas di Grassi had leapt into fourth from thirteenth after his first victory of the season.

In the Teams' Championship it was Mahindra Racing who emerged at the head of the field, although the majority of the team were heartbroken having lost victory a few feet from the finishing line. Envision Virgin Racing, meanwhile, would drop to second, ten off the new leaders, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport moved into third at the expense of DS Techeetah. The factory Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler squad were next, a point off DS Techeetah, while HWA Racelab remained the only team yet to score in 2018/19.

 
2018/19 Drivers Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 53 ▲1
2nd Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 46 ▲1
3rd Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 45 ▼2
4th Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 34 ▲9
5th Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein 30 ▲4
6th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 29 ▲2
7th Dutch Flag Robin Frijns 28 ▼3
8th Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 28 ▼3
9th Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 28 ▼3
10th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 27 ▲2
11th Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 22 ▼4
12th Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims 18 ▼2
13th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 15 ▼2
14th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 6 ◄0
15th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey 4 ◄0
16th Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa 4 ▲6
17th Flag of Argentina José María López 2 ▼1
18th Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. 1 ▼1
2018/19 Teams Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of India Mahindra Racing 83 ▲1
2nd Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 73 ▼1
3rd Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 64 ▲1
4th Flag of China DS Techeetah 57 ▼1
5th Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 56 ◄0
6th Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 31 ▲2
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 29 ▼1
8th Flag of Japan Nissan e.Dams 21 ▼1
9th Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 4 ◄0
10th Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 2 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References[]

Videos and Images:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 'ABB FIA Formula E Championship Season 5', info.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 07/06/2018), http://info.fiaformulae.com/season-5-calendar/, (Accessed 07/06/2018)
  2. 'CBMM Niobium to expand existing collaboration with Formula E', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 25/11/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/november/cbmm-niobium-to-expand-existing-collaboration-with-formula-e/?fbclid=IwAR3GZQVKF0ZH7XARqa4JJKp7zLfXlXKYZoYf45JyTC5POQuGtvYymbUhnVM, (Accessed 26/11/2018)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sam Smith, 'Mexico City to Host Third In-Season Test', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 23/11/2018), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/mexico-city-to-host-third-in-season-test/, (Accessed 22/11/2018)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Wehrlein scoops Julius Baer Pole Position in Mexico City', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/02/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/february/qualifying-mexico-2019, (Accessed 17/02/2019)
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 'Madness in Mexico sees di Grassi clinch miraculous win in epic photo finish', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/02/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/february/race-report-mexico-2019, (Accessed 17/02/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sam Smith, 'Nasr to Replace Guenther at GEOX Dragon', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 05/02/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/nasr-to-replace-guenther-at-geox-dragon/, (Accessed 05/02/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Sam Smith, '‘Stop the Clock’ Procedures Likely Later in Season', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media LLC., 13/02/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/stop-the-clock-procedures-likely-later-in-season/, (Accessed 13/02/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 John Dagys, 'Ford Continues Formula E, EWRX Talks as Deadlines Loom', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 28/01/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/ford-continues-formula-e-ewrx-talks-as-deadlines-loom/, (Accessed 31/01/2019)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sam Smith, 'London E-Prix Talks Intensify', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 30/01/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/london-e-prix-talks-intensify/, (Accessed 31/01/2019)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Jake Kilshaw, 'Extreme E Launched in London for 2021 Debut', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 31/01/2019), https://www.motorsport.com/offroad/news/formula-e-to-run-extreme-e-suv-series/3167320/, (Accessed 31/01/2019)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Alex Kalinauckas, 'Extreme E to use Formula E-developed tech', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 31/01/2019), https://www.motorsport.com/extreme-e/news/extreme-e-formula-tech/4331273/, (Accessed 31/01/2019)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 'Round 4 - Mexico City ePrix: Results Booklet', fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/02/2019), http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/Results/04_2018-19/06_R04%20Mexico%20City/93_ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/56_R04%20Mexico%20City%20Booklet.pdf, (Accessed 17/02/2019)
  13. 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 'The season so far: 2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix, fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/02/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/february/season-so-far-mexico-2019, (Accessed 16/02/2019)
  14. 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.16 14.17 14.18 14.19 14.20 14.21 14.22 14.23 14.24 14.25 14.26 14.27 14.28 14.29 ABB Formula E, 'Qualifying LIVE! 2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix | ABB FIA Formula E Championship', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 16/02/2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZARFO6qcGs, (Accessed 16/02/2019)
  15. 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 15.21 15.22 15.23 15.24 15.25 15.26 15.27 15.28 15.29 15.30 15.31 15.32 15.33 15.34 15.35 15.36 15.37 15.38 15.39 15.40 15.41 15.42 15.43 15.44 15.45 15.46 15.47 15.48 15.49 15.50 15.51 15.52 15.53 15.54 ABB Formula E, '2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix (Season 5 - Race 4) - Full Race', youtube.com, (YouTube:FIA Formula E, 23/02/2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtGJGw_zgI, (Accessed 25/02/2019)
2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Entrants
Audi Sport ABT SchaefflerBMW i Andretti MotorsportDS TecheetahEnvision Virgin RacingGEOX DRAGONHWA RacelabMahindra RacingNIO Formula E TeamNissan e.DamsPanasonic Jaguar RacingVenturi Formula E Team
Manufacturers
AudiBMWDSJaguarMahindra & MahindraNIONissanPenskeVenturi
Cars
Spark SRT05e
Audi e-tron FE05BMW iFE.18DS E-Tense FE 19Jaguar I-Type IIIMahindra M5ElectroNIO Sport 004Nissan IM01Penske EV-3Venturi VFE 05
Drivers
2 Sam Bird • 3 Nelson Piquet Jr./Alex Lynn • 4 Robin Frijns • 5 Stoffel Vandoorne • 6 Maximilian Günther/Felipe Nasr • 7 José María López • 8 Tom Dillmann • 11 Lucas di Grassi • 16 Oliver Turvey • 17 Gary Paffett • 19 Felipe Massa • 20 Mitch Evans • 22 Oliver Rowland • 23 Sébastien Buemi • 25 Jean-Éric Vergne • 27 Alexander Sims • 28 António Félix da Costa • 36 André Lotterer • 48 Edoardo Mortara • 64 Jérôme d'Ambrosio • 66 Daniel Abt • 94 Pascal Wehrlein/Felix Rosenqvist
E-Prix
Ad DiriyahMarrakechSantiagoMexico CityHong KongSanyaRomeParisMonacoBerlinBernNew York City INew York City II
Tests
ValenciaAd DiriyahRookie TestMexico City
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