Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Mexico City E-Prix

  • R2 – Mexico City E-Prix

    Barnard started off well and forced Buemi into defensive manoeuvres in order to keep a hold of P1. The Swiss looked to have done just that but outbraked himself into Turn 1 gifting the DS PENSKE driver the lead – with the Envision finding himself all the way down in 18th.

    Wehrlein, down in P8, was the first to jump for his initial of two mandatory 50kW all wheel driver ATTACK MODE boosts.

    Meanwhile, on lap 5, Mortara put the pressure on Barnard for the lead into Turn 1, with Mueller able to follow.

    Wehrlein led Mortara, Mueller, Dennis, Barnard, Guenther, Evans, Ticktum, Rowland and da Costa on Lap 6.

    Da Costa and Maloney, 10th and 17th respectively, were next to take ATTACK on Lap 8 – the rest of the pack still held on.
    Meanwhile, Mueller slipped by Mortara for second into Turn 1 on Lap 9 and dispatched his teammate for P1 at the hairpin.

    Lap 11 and the pace began to pick up. Jake Dennis, Sao Paulo’s winner sat seventh with 0.5% energy in hand on the rest of the top 10.

    Mortara hit the front again, with Mueller, Ticktum, Wehrlein, Barnard, da Costa, Dennis, Guenther, Evans and Rowland the top 10 – and ominously, four Porsche powered cars in the top five positions.

    The scrap on the edge of the points-paying positions lit up at the half way stage as impatience looked to be building. Three-wide won’t work all that often through the hairpin.

    A full course yellow was required with Nyck de Vries Mahindra needing recovery – leaving Rowland’s Attack Mode ticking to zero under caution, as Jaguar’s Da Costa avoided Barnard and swerved in front of the Brit and onto the grass at the hairpin.

    The race was back green on Lap 22 with Mueller, Mortara, Wehrlein, Dennis, Evans, Ticktum, Da Costa and Rowland the top 10.

    Several drivers came to blows at the hairpin as the field squeezed. Vergne, da Costa and Guenther looked to be the ones most entangled on Lap 26.

    Dennis was next to make moves, on Lap 32. He was told he had a lap’s energy to the good on the lead few by his engineer and was able to make it as far as third.

    From there, it looked like Cassidy’s to lose – the Kiwi having gained 12 spots from his grid slot. Mortara was his closest competition with two minutes more ATTACK MODE to use to hunt the Citroen driver down.

    With the top 10 all in ATTACK, reigning champion Rowland made it by Mueller and Dennis in one swoop for third at Turn 1 on Lap 35, only for Dennis to return the favour half a lap later.

    The whole top five were within half a second of each other through the stadium on Lap 36 – Rowland squeezed back by Dennis the final podium spot.

    Cassidy held on in style to lead Mortara and Rowland home for the French giant Citroen’s first Formula E victory in their second outing.

    The top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Mortara, P3: Rowland, P4: Barnard, P5: Dennis, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Marti, P8: Vergne, P9: Mueller, P10: Nato.

  • RND 1 – Mexico City E-Prix

    FP1-

    The FIA Formula E World Championship got underway with Free Practice 1 in Mexico City. 22 drivers took to the 2.63km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, but it was NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes who set the early pace with a 1m 14.364s.

    However, no sooner had the British driver gone top of the timesheet’s, he had made a mistake and ended in the barrier. TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein finished in second, with ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller making a surprise appearance in third.

    Getting the laps in under the hot Mexican sun, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans started quickest. However, green flag conditions didn’t last long as Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther brought a stop to the session.

    Guenther managed to slide his way around the final corner in dramatic fashion, kicking up a tonne of dust in the process. But although the move might have looked stylish, the four-time race winner damaged his suspension in the process.

    The dirty track made for lots of close calls coming out of the final corner, with Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz almost replicating the same slide as Guenther but with better consequences as he just ran wide over the kerb.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hughes, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Muller, P4: Frijns, P5: Dennis, P6: Da Costa, P7: Evans, P8: Fenestraz, P9: Rowland and P10: Nato.

    FP2-

    Mitch Evans topped the timesheets on the first session of race day in Mexico City. The Kiwi driver, who will start the E-Prix with a one place grid penalty for not following red flag procedure in FP1, finished with a time of 1m 13.606s.

    Maserati’s Maximilian Guenther finished in second which would be a welcomed result after hitting the wall the day before, and third was Envision’s newest recruit Robin Frijns.

    It was a cold start to the second Free Practice session as it got underway at 7:30 local time. The low temperatures meant drivers would take a few more laps than usual to warm up their tyres.

    With ever-changing conditions, the times were always improving. Several drivers were pushing their Gen3 cars to their limits, with reigning champion Jake Dennis exploring all of the track and NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird going straight on at Turn 1.

    ERT Formula E’s Sergio Sette Camara brought out some double-waved yellows with seven minutes left of the session. The Brazilian made a similar mistake making contact with the barriers in shakedown.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Gunther, P3: Frijns, P4: Cassidy, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Buemi, P7: Rowland, P8: Vergne, P9: Dennis and P10: Hughes.

    Qualifying-

    Formula E’s first qualifying of the year got underway, with drivers wasting no time heading out onto the track.
    During Group A, Norman Nato kissed the barriers on the entry to the iconic Foro Sol stadium and narrowly managed to avoid any serious damage and contact with the wall.
    Not only this, Lucas di Grassi had a whack with the barriers, on what is the team’s 100th E-Prix in Formula E. Dan Ticktum was on a strong lap, before he was impacted by debris from di Grassi’s incident.

    In Group B, it was much less eventful on track, with Maximilian Guenther going top. Joining him in the duels were Hughes, BUemi and Evans.
    There was plenty of eyes on Nyck de Vries in the Mahindra car as the Season 7 Champ makes his return to Formula E.

    TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein started Round 1 in the best possible fashion, sealing Julius Baer Pole Position in Mexico City. He has tied the Formula E record for the most pole positions at a single circuit.

    Wehrlein took on Envision’s Racing’s Sebastien Buemi in the final of the duel, with both Jaguar TCS Racing drivers being knocked out of the semis.
    Reigning champion, Jake Dennis was knocked out during the Group stages and will start 14th in a shocking twist as he fights to retain his title in Season 10.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Buemi, P3: Cassidy, P4: Evans, P5: Gunther, P6: Hughes, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Frijns, P9: Fenestraz and P10: Vergne.

    Round 1-

    TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein repeated the feat of two seasons prior, where he secured his and Porsche’s first Formula E victory, as the German driver sealed another well-managed drive to the top step.
    He lead home, Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi and Jaguar TCS Racing debutant Nick Cassidy.

    Wehrlein, who was a title contender in Gen3’s inaugural campaign, threw down the gauntlet with a controlled drive from lights out and pole to the chequered flag, only briefly losing the lead through Attack Mode and a spell under Full Course Yellow.

    Robin Frijns, fell all the way back through the pack from seventh on the grid to 15th, thanks to a technical issue, causing a knock-one melee in mid-pack which forced him into making up a lot of places.

    At the start of lap 3, it was as you were in the top six with Wehrlein still leading. Meanwhile, contact between the sister TAG Heuer Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa and Nico Mueller saw the end of the race with broken suspension for the former and the latter in the wall and to 19th and last.

    On lap 9, Robin Frijns – perhaps to make up for his slow start – found the wall, over cooking it on the exit of the Foro Sol and finding the wall in a big way, having just rounded Edo Mortara’s Mahindra.
    A full course yellow would be required for his car’s removal from the circuit.

    With the race reaching its climax, Wherlein looked comfortable and capable to managing things from P1 – with Buemi being held back by some two second with eight laps to go plus two added laps for time lost from the full course yellow.

    The top 10 is- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Buemi, P3: Cassidy, P4: Gunther, P5: Evans, P6: Vergne, P7: Hughes, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Dennis and P10: Nato.

  • Round 1- Mexico City E-Prix

    Round 1 is now complete, lets take a look at all the action from our first ever Gen3 race and first round of Season 9.

    FP1-

    There was no hanging about in the first session of Mexico City E-Prix, as all 22 drivers got a chance to lock in laps in their all-new cars…

    With only pre-season testing under their belts the half an hour session, proved extremely valuable for the drivers. Teams will be keen to compare the data from the first practice session to pre-season testing in Valenica.

    Rast saved a big spin in the final moments of the session but was left with damage to his rear-left wheel and suspension. Several drivers, including reigning champion, Stoffel Vandoorne complained of issues with their rear axels locking at certain points around the 19 turn circuit.

    But it was Jean-Eric Vergne who topped the timesheets with a 1m 13.294s, with rookie Jake Hughes following him closely in 2nd and Sergio Sette Camara rounds out the top 3.

    FP2-

    The early morning session, brought a very cold track and air temperature at just six degrees celsius; which is highly unusual conditions for a Formula E race weekend, but it brought a new challenge for the Gen3 cars and Hankook tyres.

    The top 18 drivers were split by just a second, with only 0.865s diving Wherlein at the top of the timesheets and McLaren’s Rene Rast in 17th.

    As seen in FP1, drivers were still finding the limits of their new cars. A handful of drivers were still going straight on at Turn 1.

    But it was Pascal Wehrlein who took the top spot with a 1:13.496, JEV continues his run of good form as he finished second and then Sergio Sette Camara makes it two top 3 finishes as well as he rounded out the top 3.

    Qualifying-

    Mahindra Racing’s Lucas di Grassi strode to Julius Baer Pole Position for the Mexico City E-Prix taking advantage of Jake Dennis’ slip in the final.

    Both Di Grassi and Dennis were fighting hard to keep their cars in check over what set out looking like a scruffy final effort for both drivers. Ultimately, Dennis did fall foul, with a real deep dive into the hairpin at Turn 5 costing him.

    Rookie, Jake Hughes impressed once again with the NEOM McLaren driver winding up third on the grid after bypassing Dan Tickum in a sharp looking NIO 333 in the quarters, the latter lining up fifth. Fellow rookie, Sacha Fenestraz fired his Nissan into eighth after also making the duels.

    Neither DS Penske or Maserati could count a driver in the duels – massive turn around given their benchmark pace in testing. That meant reigning champion, Vandoorne would settle for 14th on the grid with it all to do.

    Round 1-

    Dennis soaked in the adulation of the Foro Sol and the packed grandstands watching on, with ultra-passionate Mexican fans here to be a part of the first race of Formula E’s latest generational leap.

    The Andretti driver made what would be the race-winning move on lap 12. From there, Dennis stretched his legs through three safety car periods, he was able to run away with lead – eventually heading home Wehrlein by a huge seven seconds. Wehrlein produced a storming driver, as last year’s winner pulled out an eventual 11 second margin on third place di Grassi.

    Robin Frijns was one driver who didn’t make it through the first few turns of the race which brought out an early safety car. As he went into the back of Norman Nato’s Nissan at Turn 9, with the ABT driver breaking his wrist.

    One lap after the restart, Sam Bird then grounded to a halt with another technical issue on the inside of Turn 2.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Lotterer, P5: Hughes, P6: Buemi, P7: Da Costa, P8: Evans, P9: Cassidy and P10: Vandoorne.

    We are back racing in just under two weeks for a double header of night races in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on the 27th & 28th January.

  • Mexico City Preview

    The season opener is finally here as we head to Mexico for Round 1 of Season 9; the 2023 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix, where we are jumping into the Gen3 era!

    Mexico has always been a mainstay on the Formula E calendar, since its initial appearance. With the first race taking place in Season 2, Mexico City has been on the calendar every season since apart from Season (with Puebla filling the gap).

    The 19 turn, 2.630km circuit is a perfect mix of long, fast straights and a technical infield section that passes right through the legendary Foro Sol stadium – housing tens of thousands of fans.

    With race-ready surface and long corners, Mexico City is not only of the fastest tracks on the calendar but its also the highest at 2,250m above sea level.

    The Mexico City E-Prix will be running on a new track layout with a chicane being added after Turn 8, down the back straight. The 19 turn layout will be the fourth different configuration across the seven Mexico City E-Prix.

    Last years visit to Mexico saw Pascal Wehrlein claim his maiden Formula E victory, with the German leading home Andre Lotterer for a Porsche 1-2.

    The last three Julius Baer Pole Positions in Mexico City have been claimed by German drivers, however pole position isn’t always the spot to be in Mexico, with three of the six pole sitters having failed to make it to the chequered flag.

    Weekend Schedule-

    Friday 13th January-

    • Free Practice 1- 22:30pm – 23:00pm (GMT)

    Saturday 14th January-

    • Free Practice 2- 13:30pm – 14:00pm (GMT)
    • Qualifying- 15:40pm – 16:55pm
    • Race- 20:03pm – 21:00pm
  • Round 3- Mexico

    Round 3- Mexico

    Round 3 is here for Formula E and we are in Mexico City, lets take a look and see how the day went!

    FP1-

    Twenty of the twenty-two drivers were within a second on the time-sheets, with Lotterer’s benchmark set inside the final five minutes of the session. He and Wehrlein had set the early pace, as the circuit continued to clean and come to the drivers.

    Buemi’s late lap split the Stuttgart team on the timing screens, with Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns wrestling through the stadium section and around the Peraltada to go 4th fastest.

    The top 10 are: P1: Lotterer, P2: Buemi, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Frijns, P5: Da Costa, P6: Guenther, P7: De Vries, P8: Cassidy, P9: Dennis and P10: Vergne.

    FP2-

    Antonio Felix da Costa ended Free Practice 2 on top of the time-sheets, with a late full power run. Shoving Lotterer into 2nd place, with da Costa’s teammate Jean-Eric Vergne finishing third- the top 3 being split by just 0.052 seconds.

    Several drivers struggled to get the balance right, with grip and the front and rear of the car not yet fully in sync.

    The top 10 are: P1: Da Costa, P2: Lotterer, P3: Vergne, P4: Buemi, P5: Cassidy, P6: Evans, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Rowland, P9: Bird and P10: Di Grassi.

    Qualifying-

    Pascal Wehrlein took the Julius Baer Pole Position ahead of Round 3 in Mexico City. The driver kept his cool as the temperatures rose in Mexico City to post a 1m 07.100s while Edoardo Mortara crossed the line sideways, loosing his early Finals advantage to slip to P2 by 0.273 seconds.

    Both Mercedes, ended up being out in the quarter finals- the pace just not being there as they scrapped through the group stages. Jake Dennis aswell, not even making the quarter finals. The Porsche’s were just on fire so far today, having pace throughout all free practices and qualifying too.

    The top 10 are: P1: Wehrlein, P2: Mortara, P3: Lotterer, P4: Vergne, P5: Da Costa, P6: De Vries, P7: Frijns, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Cassidy, P10: Guenther.

    Race-

    WHAT A RACE!! Pascal Wehrlein has FINALLY got rid of his bad luck in Mexico! He turnt his pole position into the race win, with his team-mate coming home in second making it a 1-2 for the Porsche team. Jean Eric Vergne comes home in 3rd position!

    No safety car was needed for this race, we had two retirements one being Sims where he stopped on track early on in the race, the other being Antonio Giovinazzi, he had to pit once then went in again to retire.

    The top 10 are: P1: Wehrlein, P2: Lotterer, P3: Vergne, P4: Da Costa, P5: Mortara, P6: De Vries, P7: Frijns, P8: Di Grassi, P9: Buemi and P10: Guenther.

    Now onto, the championship, Mortara still leads with 43 points, with Nyck de Vries still keeping his position in 2nd with 37 points. But Wehrlein moves up to P3 with 30 points, Lotterer moves up to P4 with 30 points. Di Grassi and Vandoorne drop down to P5 and P6.

    We have a long wait now until the next race, which is on the 9th and 10th of April where we have round 4 & 5 for the Rome E-Prix.

  • A look into Mexico City

    A look into Mexico City

    Round 3 of the 2022 season is just a few days away, and we are in Mexico! We are returning to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit after a brief visit to Puebla last season.

    Last time we was here, we saw Mitch Evans take the win after starting 2nd, Antonio Felix da Costa finishing 2nd and Sebastian Buemi taking the last podium place, 3rd.

    But looking at the past two rounds, can Edoardo Mortara extend the lead in Championship or will both of the Mercedes be wanting to see if they can grab it of Mortara. Or maybe even Jake Dennis, he may be able to grab a few points and move up a spot or two…

    Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit-

    The arrival of Formula E came in 2016, where the street course makes use of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, with race-ready surface and long corners. Mexico city is not only one of the fastest tracks on the Formula E calendar, as well as this its the highest too at 2,250m above sea level.

    The track layout for the E-Prix, features a mixture of long and fast straights and a technical infield section through the legendary Foro Sol stadium. Starting with the traditional start/finish straight, the Formula E grid will be go down into turn one, where its home to some late-breaking.

    After a long and fast Turn 2, the pack will make their way around Turn 3, which then breaks off left into a four turn sequence. Looping back around a hairpin, Turn 6 and 7 get technical with a straight and sharp right-hand bend (Turn 8) leading into the stadium section (Turns 9-13). The drivers then leave the stadium area, in which they will jostle for position out of the Peraltada curve in the run up to the finish line.

    Picture from Formula E website: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/championship/race-calendar/2021-2022/mexico-city/race-info

    Times-

    Saturday 12th-

    Free Practice 1: 08:00am to 08:30am (local time), 14:00pm to 14:30pm (GMT). Free Practice 2: 09:50am to 10:20am (local time), 15:50pm to 16:20pm (GMT).

    Qualifying: 11:40am to 12:55pm (local time), 17:40pm to 18:55pm (GMT). Race: 16:04pm (local time), 22:04pm (GMT).