MAHINDRA RACING CELEBRATES MOMENTOUS DAY WITH MAIDEN FORMULA E VICTORY IN BERLIN
10 June 2017, Berlin: Mahindra Racing has secured an historic maiden victory in the FIA Formula E Championship today with a double podium in the first of this weekend’s two Berlin ePrix races.
Rising Swedish star Felix Rosenqvist scored his own maiden win with a mature drive at the temporary Tempelhof Circuit, finishing on the top step of the podium with his German teammate Nick Heidfeld in third.
For Mahindra Racing, its improving results position the team as a genuine contender in the highly competitive allelectric championship with its M3Electro racecar.
The two drivers began the race from third and fourth positions respectively after an intense Super Pole qualifying shootout. It setup a thrilling race with both Rosenqvist and Heidfeld vying for the win from the outset. By the exit of the first corner, they had taken second and third, holding those positions until just before the optimum pit stop window.
Rosenqvist overtook competitor Lucas di Grassi for the lead at the exact halfway point of the race on lap 22. It was a lead he would not lose, despite di Grassi deploying his extra 100kJ of energy awarded by public vote in the series’ unique FanBoost initiative.
Heidfeld, wearing a special Berlin ePrix Sparco race suit created by #DrivenByDesign competition winner Tejas Manek, was able to put pressure on di Grassi in the later stages of the race. Despite not being able to overtake, third place is his third consecutive podium after Monaco and Paris last month.
Today’s double podium further strengthens Mahindra Racing’s third place in the teams’ standings with just five races remaining, including tomorrow’s second Berlin ePrix.