The season-opening round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was a hugely memorable one for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, who started the Gen3 era of the all-electric series in brilliant fashion at the Mexico City E-Prix.
Gen3 couldn’t have started much better for the German manufacturer, with their Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 powertrain having looked incredibly impressive all weekend in Mexico City. Three of the four Porsche-powered cars made it into the qualifying duels ,with all four then going on to claim a points finish at the season opener. For the factory team, Pascal Wehrlein claimed a well-deserved second place finish, whilst António Félix da Costa finished seventh on his debut for the team after narrowly missing out on the duels.
Wehrlein formed part of a Porsche one-two in Mexico City, as Porsche customer team Avalanche Andretti Formula E claimed victory. It was Jake Dennis who cruised to the first win of the season, with the British driver having put on one of the most dominant displays in Formula E history. Former Porsche Formula E driver André Lotterer claimed fourth for Avalanche Andretti, on his debut for the American team.
It meant that Porsche had all four of their powertrain-powered cars in the top seven, something that no other powertrain supplier came close to achieving. Team Principal Florian Modlinger labelled the first race as “successful”, with the start of the season and Gen3 having been “outstanding” for the German manufacturer.
“That was a successful first race day of season 9. Both factory cars qualified in the top 10. In the race, Pascal quickly worked his way up the field and ended up scoring our team’s first podium result of the season. Antonio kept getting entangled in duels further back but also managed to progress.
“We now know where we stand on the racetrack like Mexico compared to the competition. Congratulations to our victorious customer team Avalanche Andretti. In the end, all four Porsche finished in the top seven – we can be very happy about this. It was an outstanding start to the season for Porsche.”
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, echoed Modlinger’s comments and added himself that the season opener was “tremendous” for the Germans, who “can continue” in this fine form.
“What a tremendous start to the season. A one-two victory and four Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 in the top seven – that’s an outstanding result. We’ve shown that we can deliver. Now it’s about maintaining this level for as long as we can over the rest of the season. We’re delighted with this great performance. It can continue like this.”