Pascal Wehrlein secured the victory after starting on pole position for the first round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to kickstart his championship challenge earlier on.
The electric series, in its tenth year got off to an explosive start, with the opening taking place in Mexico, a venue that has been used since the series infancy. Before the action even started, there was already some pre-race drama as Sergio Sette Camara’s ERT was withdrawn from competition due to a technical issue. And the drama didn’t stop there. Stoffel Vandoorne, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy all received a one place grid penalty due to not following red flag procedures in FP1.
After the drama, Formula E went green for the first time this year. It was a clean start for everyone through the first few corners with Dennis making his way up the grid after his disaster in qualifying. Di Grassi was the first victim in Mexico. Due to a brake issue, he hit the barrier and stopped on track, he managed to limp back to the pits and retire from the race.
Lucas di Grassi, ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, M9Electro Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Da Costa and Mueller had an incident a few laps later which resulted in the Porsche driver retiring from the race as he ended up in the wall after an ambitious move on the Abt driver. The incident was investigated after the race and Da Costa received a three place grid penalty for the next race. Everyone seemed to settle into the race, until more drama reared up, but this time from the steward’s room. Race control stated that three drivers were under investigation: the Andretti pair of Jake Dennis and Norman Nato and more critically, race leader Pascal Wehrlein. There was no further investigation for Nato but Wehrlein and Dennis were investigated after the race but both also received no further investigation from the stewards.
Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
The returning Envision Racing driver of Robin Frijns crashed at turn thirteen, just at the exit of the stadium arena. This resulted in a full course yellow and the safety car made it’s first appearance this season. Frijns managed to walk away on his own accord. It then emerged that Frijns had an issue with his car before the race so this could have been a factor in his crash. Before the race was declared green again, man of the drivers had attack mode remaining, including Buemi who was currently sitting in P2. Behind him, Guenther, Evans, Hughes, Dennis, Bird, Fenestraz, De Vries and Daruvala all had one attack mode remaining . The Season 7 champion Nyck De Vries had fallen down the pack at this point and was holding up Ticktum, Daruvala and Mueller, whilst current champion Dennis had a relatively quiet race.
The highlight in the latter stages was certainly the battle between Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans. They were having a fight of their own, as the Jaguar driver had to hold off the constant attacks from the two time world champion. It was first blood to Evans as he managed to pull a consistent gap of five tenths as energy conservation began to bite. Ticktum also struggled, falling back dramatically due to his overspending of energy earlier on in the race. Two additional laps were added to the end of the race due to the safety car earlier for the Frijns shunt. However, these did not stop Wehrlein as he held onto the lead and claimed victory in the Mexico City E-Prix for the second time. Envision Racing’s Sebastian Buemi finished P2, with championship contender Nick Cassidy taking the final podium. Maximilian Guenther finished P4 with Mitch Evans just holding off Jean-Eric Vergne for P5, Jake Hughes took P7 ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne in P8, current world champion Jake Dennis had to settle for P9 whilst Norman Nato rounded out the top ten.
Formula E returns in a few weeks with a double header in Diriyah!
After several months since the conclusion of FIA Formula E Season 9, we are back with more electric racing! Well…later this week, we are. The FIA Formula E championship returns this Friday for it’s tenth season. Round 1 will kick off in Mexico City, a staple of the electric series since it’s second season. Since we last went green, there have been quite a lot of changes, primarily in the driver market.
Drivers and Teams for Season 10:
Envision Racing:
Drivers: Sebastian Buemi and Robin Frijns
Powertrain: Jaguar I-Type 6
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 1st Place (Champions)
There is a shake up at the current teams champion with Nick Cassidy departing for Jaguar. Robin Frijns rejoins Envision after a year of absence, eager to make the Jaguar powertrain which has been so dominant in the last few years a success of his own.
Jaguar TCS Racing:
Drivers: Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy
Powertrain: Jaguar I-Type 6
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 2nd Place
Jaguar has arguably the most anticipated pairing going into the tenth season of Formula E. The New Zealand duo of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, both in the title hunt and collecting race wins throughout the last few seasons, it will be all to play for this season.
Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6 Image Credit: Simon Galloway
Andretti Formula E:
Drivers: Jake Dennis and Norman Nato
Powertrain: Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 3rd Place
The current world champion will have a new livery design, helmet design, a new number and a new teammate. The Andretti duo will support a white livery as Nato joins the American team of the departing Andre Lotterer after a decent season last year where saw him scoop a podium.
Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team:
Drivers: Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa
Powertrain: Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 4th Place
One of three unchanged driver pairings from last season, Wehrlein and Da Costa both racked up race wins throughout their season 9 campaign and they will be wanting to aim to equal these stats or higher in season 10 as Porsche hopes to go from strength to strength.
DS Penske:
Drivers: Stoffel Vandorrne and Jean-Eric Vergne
Powertrain: DS E-TENSE FE2
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 5th Place
The two former World Champions remain at DS Penske for a second season as they aim to go up the standings, it was a very subdued season for them last season with double champion Vergne the only bright light with a handful of podium appearances, but this could change.
Maserati MSG Racing:
Drivers: Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala
Powertrain: Maserati Tipo Folgore
Season 9 Team Championship Position: 6th
At the Trident team, Guenther remains at the team after picking up a victory in 2023, he has proven to be a consistent driver throughout his time in the series. He is partnered by the only rookie in this season as Jehan Daruvala takes the slot. Replacing veteran Edo Mortara, Daruvala raced in Formula 2 last season.
Nissan Formula E Team:
Drivers: Sacha Fenestraz and Oliver Rowland
Powertrain: Nissan e-4ORCE 04
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 7th
Nissan will be hoping to reignite some of the old magic, they retain 2023 rookie Sacha Fenestraz which was excellent last year, and the departing Norman Nato is replaced by familar face Oliver Rowland, who had some success with the manufacturer a few seasons ago.
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team:
Drivers: Sam Bird and Jake Hughes
Powertrain: Nissan e-4ORCE 04
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 8th Place
The Papaya team retain Jake Hughes for 2024, who had a stellar season. Rene Rast departs, leaving Sam Bird, arguably one of the most talented and experienced drivers at the helm.
ERT Racing:
Drivers: Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara
Powertrain: ERT X24
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 9th Place
The team formally known as NIO 333 have had a branding change to ERT. The lineup of Ticktum and Sette Camara remains unchanged and they will be eager to go up the standings and pick up some points.
Mahindra Racing:
Drivers: Nyck De Vries and Eduardo Mortara
Powertrain: Mahindra M9Electro
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 10th Place
Mahindra, on the other hand, have completely revamped their line up. Nyck De Vrie,s the former world champion rejoins the Indian outfit after his stint at Alpha Tauri in Formula 1 and studying at Harvard. He will be joined by Eduardo Mortara, a stalwart of the series.
Nyck de Vries, Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M9Electro Image Credit: Simon Galloway
Abt Cupra Formula E Team:
Drivers: Lucas Di Grassi and Nico Muller
Powertrain: Mahindra M9 Electro
Season 9 Teams Championship Position: 11th Place
Abt Cupra retains Nico Muller while Lucas Di Grassi joins the team after departing Mahindra. The German team will be wanting to put an end to its podium draught after ending Season 9 with zero podiums, the first in the team’s history while competing in Formula E.
Calendar for Season 10:
There are some major changes from Season 9 in terms of the Calendar, the Jakarta ePrix is scrapped, and the inaugeral India ePrix has also been cancelled, the iconic Rome ePrix has been replaced by a race in Misano.
Round Number
Race
Date
Previous Winner
1
Mexico City ePrix
13th January 2024
Jake Dennis
2
Diryah ePrix
26th January 2024
Pascal Wehrlein
3
Diryah ePrix
27th January 2024
Pascal Wehrlein
4
Sao Paulo ePrix
16th March 2024
Mitch Evans
5
Tokyo ePrix
30th March 2024
Debut Event in Season 10
6
Misano ePrix
13th April 2024
Debut Event in Season 10
7
Misano ePrix
14th April 2024
Debut Event in Season 10
8
Monaco ePrix
27th April 2024
Nick Cassidy
9
Berlin ePrix
11th May 2024
Mitch Evans
10
Berlin ePrix
12th May 2024
Nick Cassidy
11
Shanghai ePrix
25th May 2024
Debut Event in Season 10
12
Shanghai ePrix
26th May 2024
Debut Event in Season 10
13
Portland ePrix
29th June 2024
Nick Cassidy
14
Portland ePrix*
30th June 2024
Nick Cassidy
15
London ePrix
20th July 2024
Mitch Evans
16
London ePrix
21st July 2024
Nick Cassidy
What to look out for in 2024 for Formula E:
As the number of Formula E seasons enters the double digits (they grow up so fast!) here are some highlights which will be on the radar of many people throughout the entire season:
The Battle For The Top Spot at Jaguar:
As mentioned, Jaguar TCS Racing will have a duo of Kiwi drivers this season: Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. Although Cassidy is the new guy on the block, he shone brightly last year and came close to claming the championship title. Their inter team battle will be one to watch throughout the entire season as Evans will want to hold onto top dog status while Cassidy will want to prove himself in his new team.
Champion Comeback:
With Jake Dennis signing a multi year contract with Andretti and the Season 7 champion Nyck De Vries returning to Formula E, there will be 7 champions on the grid who will want to reclaim the title crown of electric motorsport with Dennis certain to want to equal Vergne’s back to back title wins.
Nyck de Vries, Mahindra Racing and Jake Dennis, Andretti Global Image Credit: Simon Galloway
New Venue Debuts:
With season 10 of Formula E, there will be 3 new venues: Tokyo, Misano and Shanghai. With only the Tokyo ePrix circuit layout being unveiled (as of right now), it will be fascinating to see how each of these new venues play into the championship.
What do you think about Formula E Season 10? Do you have any predictions ahead of the Mexico City ePrix?
