• 16 February 2019
  • News

MAHINDRA RACING AND JÉRÔME D’AMBROSIO LEAD TEAM AND DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIPS AFTER MEXICO CITY E-PRIX

16 FEBRUARY 2019, MEXICO CITY – It was a day of mixed emotions at the Mexico City E-Prix for Mahindra Racing, round four of the 2018/19 FIA Formula E Championship. There was joy that the team rose to the top of the team championship standings, with a strong double-points finish, and Jérôme D’Ambrosio retook the lead of the driver’s battle after a brilliant race. But there was heartbreak after Pascal Wehrlein started from pole, led the race until the last corner and was classified sixth after having to coast over the line and incurred a five second time penalty.

Jérôme had a challenging qualifying, being forced to settle for a ninth row start from 18th after a difficult session where he encountered traffic on his fast lap. He turned things around in the race, however, making up seven positions on the first lap alone and had entered the top ten by the third lap. After an early red flag period, he carefully started picking his way through the field after the restart. In the closing laps he was running in seventh, but crossed the line in fifth after the two Nissans ran out of energy before the chequered flag. He gained another position after Pascal was handed the post-race time penalty to be classified fourth, collecting 12 championship points, which put him back in the lead of the driver’s standings.

After qualifying in second position last time out in Santiago, Pascal went one better in Mexico City, making it to Super Pole for the second consecutive race, and then scoring Pole Position which scored him three championship points – also marking back-to-back Poles for Mahindra Racing in Mexico. Starting from the top spot, he maintained the lead from the start to the very last corner, when he had to coast past the line to ensure he did not dip below 0% energy levels and was pushed by Lucas di Grassi. He then incurred a five second time penalty for cutting a chicane when he was defending his lead to di Grassi in the closing stages, which classified him sixth in the standings, collecting nine points. He picked up a bonus point for setting the fastest lap (1:01.916) on lap 12.

Mahindra Racing lead the team’s championship on 83 points, with Envision Virgin Racing ten points adrift. Jérôme tops the driver’s standings with 53 points, seven points clear of Antonio Felix da Costa. After his 12 point haul in Mexico, Pascal is now fifth in the championship with 30 points.

The fifth round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship takes place on Sunday 10 March in Hong Kong.

SEASON 5 STATS

MAHINDRA:- 1st 83pts
D’AMBROSIO:- 1st 53pts
WERHLEIN:- 5th 30pts

  • 1 WIN
  • 3 PODIUMS
  • 1 FASTEST LAP AWARD
  • 1 JULIUS BAER POLE POSITION
  • 2 SUPER POLE APPEARANCES
  • 83 POINTS
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“It’s a mixed day for us as a team. I think Pascal was in a good position to win the race so I am very sad for the team, but this is racing. From my side, it was an amazing race. To come from the back, have a great first lap and then finish where I did makes me really happy and it’s very positive where that puts us in the championship.”

Jérôme D'Ambrosio
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“Aside from the last lap, I’m happy with how today went and with my first pole position. We were fighting hard at the beginning, so we used more energy which made it harder to defend against di Grassi. I think we should’ve had second position without the penalty, but I’m looking forward to the next race.”

Pascal Wehrlein

“It’s a day of real mixed emotions and, although we come away leading both championships, I cannot help be disappointed that we missed out on a podium. Pascal performed to the highest level all weekend in only his second full race. He deserved another podium finish, but unfortunately, he has been hit by Lucas di Grassi twice in his three races. We have one of the strongest cars on the grid and Jérôme showed that by gaining 14 positions. I’m proud of everyone in the team and we will come back fighting in Hong Kong.”

Dilbagh Gill

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