Points in London to end season 9
Mumbai / Banbury, July 30, 2023: Mahindra Racing finished Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship by scoring more valuable points towards the championship after a difficult year for the team.
Lucas Di Grassi finished in sixth place at the end of race one, securing eight points ahead of the final round of the season, held today at London’s ExCel. After getting caught up in the aftermath of two accidents through no fault of his own, Lucas did his usual job of progressing through the field making up 13 places. In a race littered with red flags and safety cars, both Mahindra cars made it to the chequered flag with Roberto Merhi bringing the #8 car home in P15.
Race two began under a Safety Car after the rain began to fall earlier that afternoon. After multiple attempts to start the race, Lucas and Roberto battled to hold on from 17th and 21st on the grid to finish 18th and 20th respectively once the race finally began. Once the race did start, almost 90 minutes later than billed, all drivers cautiously made their way round the track, with minimal overtaking opportunities.
Mahindra Racing CEO, Frederic Bertrand, said: “This weekend has been very much like our season as a whole – filled with ups and downs. We had a great start to the weekend with a sixth-place finish for Lucas in race one, but today’s race was more complicated with the addition of the wet weather. Of course, it would have been good to have held on to our ninth place in the championship, but this was not a position we were happy fighting for in the first place. Next year is now the focus. We are glad this season is over, but we are taking what we have learnt and moving into a new phase of Mahindra Racing, with a new structure and renewed backing to allow us to be where we need, want and deserve to be.”
Pleased with a sixth place finish, Lucas Di Grassi said: “It’s been a very tough season. We got eight points over this weekend, with a sixth position, which was good for us. Today we did the best we could in difficult conditions. The car was hard to drive and we couldn’t really make any progress. The race was a bit of a procession. It shows we need to work hard and improve for next season. It was a good year to learn how to get better and to make next year more successful.”
After joining the team mid-season, Roberto Merhi said: “It was a difficult weekend. We were missing a good bit of pace. The difference between the indoor and outdoor surfaces seemed to affect the car quite a bit. We have done a lot to improve so it is not what we were expecting. In race one I was running as high as 11th at one point, very close to the points, which showed promise. I have really enjoyed my time with the team and I have learnt a lot racing in Formula E.”
The team now moves onto preparing to come back fighting for Season 10, with testing beginning in October at Valencia, Spain.
Mahindra Racing has a strong set of partners, including Official Powertrain Partner ZF and e-fluids partner Shell. Maurice Lacroix, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, continues as the Official Timekeeper, while Tech Mahindra continues as Digital Transformation Partner.
