Written by Vyas Ponnuri and Jake O’Callaghan
A new Formula E season got underway at Sao Paulo, with new faces, new liveries and the usual unpredictability headlining the first race weekend of season 11. But who found themselves on the front foot after round one? And who’s got ground to make up? Vyas and Jake give you the full lowdown on this…..
Winner: Mitch Evans
Jaguar went into Season 11 as one of the favourites, having mounted increasingly competitive championship challenges in recent seasons. However, their start to the season was difficult.
Despite topping the times in the pre-season test at Jarama, their car was plagued with reliability issues. These issues continued into Sao Paulo, where Mitch Evans’ car broke down in the first part of qualifying, leaving the Kiwi at the very back of the grid for the race.
However, once the lights went out, Evans left all of those issues behind him. Taking advantage of a tumultuous race, interspersed with multiple safety cars and red flags, he drove through the pack, and showcased the true speed Jaguar wields when they can put it all together.
He managed to drive all the way to first, and held off a charging Antonio Felix Da Costa and Taylor Barnard to seal a statement victory in the opening round. Evans became the first driver in Formula E history to win from last on the grid, and certainly deserves to be in the winners column this week.
Loser - Nico Müller
Heading into season 11, Nico Müller looked to carry on his form with ABT Cupra from season ten, and bring home big results for Andretti, in what he had dubbed as a move he was really looking forward to making for the season.
However, it all got away from him over the weekend. Contact with the barriers at turn six in FP1 forced the Swiss driver to return to the garage for repairs, robbing him of valuable track time for the first weekend of the season.
Despite finishing eighth in FP2, in a more improved showing, Müller couldn’t translate his form into qualifying. The Andretti driver qualified only 15th for the race, failing to make it into the duels.
As he tried to make up ground early in the race, contact with the Kiro of David Beckmann on lap two sent the Andretti off on a tangent, and into the path of a stricken Jake Hughes at turn six, ending both drivers’ races on the spot.
A tough pill to swallow for Müller, whose first outing with the team came to an abrupt end even before it began. It was the beginning of a difficult day for Andretti, with teammate Jake Dennis’ retirement meaning both cars failed to score in the season opener.
Winner: McLaren
McLaren are showing Sao Paulo to be one of their strongest tracks. Following a stunning win in last season’s race, where Sam Bird made a last lap overtake to seal the team’s first Formula E victory, their strong race pace on the streets of Brazil’s largest city reared its head again.
After a difficult qualifying where Bird along with rookie teammate Taylor Barnard ended up 16th and 17th respectively, they quietly rose through the field in the race. Barnard in particular had the best energy saving in the field, having two to three percent more than everyone else in the closing laps.
The papaya duo managed to keep up with the front two of Evans and Da Costa, but unfortunately could not progress beyond them. The duo finished an impressive third and fourth, with Barnard becoming the youngest podium sitter in Formula E history, at just 20 years old.
This result, along with Evans’ climb through the field, showed just how competitive Formula E is, as three of the top four qualified outside the top 15.
Loser - Jake Hughes
While McLaren managed to bring home big results, their close rivals for the past two campaigns, Maserati MSG, endured a first outing that would’ve been well below their expectations.
With Jake Hughes moving over from McLaren after two campaigns, the expectations for the weekend were higher than anticipated, given Hughes qualifying speed at McLaren, and a maiden podium appearance at Shanghai.
However, a difficult qualifying left Hughes down the order, as he qualified only 18th on the grid for the main race.
Starting at the rear of the field means you’re always vulnerable to incidents. Hughes, unfortunately fell foul of racing in the pack, damaging his front wing due to earlier contact on lap two.
He then went into the barriers at turn six, having damaged his front wing, and was collected by Müller a few moments later.
All in all, it capped off his tough start to the season, and while Vandoorne salvaged a point for Maserati, Hughes would be looking to open his tally at Mexico City in January.
Winner: Dan Ticktum
Cupra Kiro are an outfit that have struggled in recent years, with points often hard to come by. Their last points finish before Sao Paulo was in April at Misano.
In their previous guises as ERT, Nio 333, and before, they used their own bespoke powertrain. This was often underpowered and inefficient, and the team struggled massively.
This year however, with a new identity, new owners, and a new powertrain deal with Porsche, Cupra Kiro came into this season with a new energy, and that translated onto the race track.
Dan Ticktum, continuing on with the team after impressive showings in recent seasons, had a strong race and was in the conversation for points throughout. In the end, he took advantage of some top drivers encountering bad luck, finishing in a strong eighth place and with it, four points for the team.
Loser: Andretti
Andretti had a simply nightmarish Sao Paulo ePrix. Nico Mueller, on his debut with the team, qualified 15th. His race ended prematurely, ending up in the wall on lap three.
Mueller’s teammate and longtime Andretti driver Jake Dennis had a strong qualifying, starting the race in third. He also started the race well, making up to second place in a few laps.
The season 9 champion was on to have a really strong finish when, on lap 22, he had a brake failure. The Briton went off track at turn one and his car became stranded.
Additionally, the race had to be red flagged after his car remained electrically live, prompting specialist safety crews to respond to the stricken Andretti car in order to make it safe. Overall, a double DNF certainly qualifies Andretti as one of this week’s losers.
Winner - Modern Safety Standards
Although several drivers celebrated their opening weekend success in Sao Paulo, while some pondered over their losses and difficult days, the entire paddock certainly let out a sigh of relief on seeing Pascal Wehrlein unhurt.
The German was involved in an intense battle for the points, before Nick Cassidy bumped into him at turn six, flipping the Porsche well up into the air.
The impact was such that it sent Wehrlein into the barriers, before the Porsche briefly rebounded in the air, landing in a precarious position with its wheels up, before dragging along the tarmac and eventually coming to a halt.
Wehrlein initially reported he was okay, but he was trapped underneath the Porsche, which lay upside down on the exit of turn six.
Albeit visibly shaken, Wehrlein was transported to hospital for precautionary checks, before returning to Sao Paulo and being watched on by family members.
The fact that Wehrlein was able to walk away from such a scary impact is a big feat in itself.
The halo once again served its importance, while the strength and build quality of the Formula E cars ensured Wehrlein was able to walk away uninjured.
There’s no doubt he will get enough time to rest and recover from this impact, before the grid returns to racing in January.
Loser: Pascal Wehrlein
Reigning Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein got his weekend off to a strong start, putting his Porsche on pole after a brilliant showing in qualifying. The German was beaten by Oliver Rowland off the line, dropping back to second place in the first lap.
He dropped back to a further fifth through the first Attack Mode cycle, however he and Porsche teammate Da Costa recovered to lead one-two in the midpoint of the race.
The Porsche duo seemed to have the race under total control, that was until Dennis’s car failure brought out the red flag. On the restart, the Porsches lost multiple positions, and were embroiled in an intense melee for the big points.
Wehrlein was battling with Cassidy with six laps to go, when contact at turn two flipped Wehrlein’s car, impacting the wall upside-down, his car laying wheels-up on the ground as the second red flag waved. Wehrlein was able to climb out of his car with no major injury, but his race was obviously over.
An unfortunate DNF, though not through any fault of his own, when he could have converted pole into a strong podium finish cements Wehrlein as one of this week’s losers.
Winner - Mahindra Racing
The São Paulo ePrix weekend proved to be one to savour for Mahindra Racing, with both Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries finishing in the points for only the second time as teammates.
While de Vries started second last, ahead of Evans who hadn’t set a time in qualifying, Mortara made it through to the duels, starting the race in seventh.
Mortara ran a steady race in the top ten, while de Vries took advantage of misfortunes and a highly attritious race to climb up into the points-paying positions.
A late red flag allowed him to climb further positions, as he eventually finished the race in seventh, before being promoted to sixth after Nissan’s Norman Nato’s penalty.
Fifth and sixth was only the second time both Mahindras finished in the points, having done so earlier in 2024, at the season finale in London in July.
It only highlighted the progress the Indian manufacturer had made across the off season, and delivered a potent challenger capable of finishing in the points.
Should they continue this form across the year, there’s no doubt Mahindra will be able to cement themselves into the mid-pack on a regular basis, and potentially even be challenging for victories later in the season.
Losers - Nissan
Despite showing plenty of pace and potential on the racetrack, Nissan would be gutted to leave São Paulo with no points to their name.
Oliver Rowland made it into the duels, before losing out on pole to Wehrlein by less than a tenth of a second.
The British driver made an excellent start off the five red lights, though, soaring past his rival into the opening corners of the race.
Rowland repeated the same start after the first red flag, jumping past Da Costa into the lead at turn one.
However, his joy was short-lived, for he was served a drive-through penalty for ‘overpower’ during the race restart, which dropped him well out of the points.
Even though teammate Nato had fallen foul of the overpower issue, he had recovered to sixth by the flag. Yet, he was penalised for a restart position infringement, dropping him out of the points.
While Nissan certainly had the pace to win, and come away with big points, they will be gutted not to secure a single point in the opener.
The team will be intent on sorting out this overpower debacle before the upcoming round in Mexico City.
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