Pascal Wehrlein on second place finish: “That was a super start to the season”

Pascal Wehrlein was a man on a mission in the closing stages of the Mexico City E-Prix, after battling through the top five to claim a super second place finish at the season-opening round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Wehrlein started the first race of the Gen3 era in sixth, after being knocked-out at the Quarter-Final stage of the duels after being beaten by eventual race winner Jake Dennis. Nevertheless, sixth place was a solid starting position for the German driver, who looked strong all weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. When the race started, he quickly settled into the race and got past Dan Ticktum for fifth during the opening phase of the E-Prix, before sitting comfortably behind the top four.

As the race moved into its second half, a four-car group had formed from second to fifth, with Dennis having escaped out front. Wehrlein soon began to make his moves towards the podium places and got past André Lotterer for fourth. He then found himself behind Lucas Di Grassi and Jake Hughes, with Wehrlein having overtaken the latter on Lap Twenty-Six, whilst both Di Grassi and Hughes activated their second Attack Mode.

Wehrlein had significantly better pace than those amongst the top five, excluding Dennis, with his Porsche 99X Electric powertrain having been performing wonders. A couple of laps later and he made the move on Di Grassi for second, before clearing off into the distance. The 2022 Mexico City winner couldn’t quite make it back-to-back wins; however, second spot was an excellent achievement having started sixth.

The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver labelled his podium as a “super start” to the new campaign, with Wehrlein having confidence that the team’s car still has a “lot of potential”.

“That was a super start to the season. I’m very grateful for the car that the team gave me for this race. Everyone has worked so hard over the last few weeks to put us in a great position for the start to the new season. After this tremendous opening round, it’s now a matter of continuing to improve in the upcoming races. Our new car still has a lot of potential. For now, though, let’s enjoy what we’ve just achieved. Everyone in the team can be proud of themselves.”

“This is a banner day for Porsche” – António Félix da Costa

On the other side of the Porsche garage, António Félix da Costa enjoyed a solid debut for the German manufacturer, after managing to claim a points finish since making his move from DS Techeetah.

Da Costa narrowly missed out on the duels in qualifying and had to settle for a ninth-place start for the E-Prix, a position he maintained during the opening stages of the race. He was soon elevated to eighth thanks to Ticktum entering the pits to serve a penalty, following a power spike. The Portuguese driver was then able to get past rookie Sacha Fenestraz for seventh-place late on in the race, with the Nissan Formula E Team driver having tumbled down the order following some minor issues.

Seventh spot was where the former Formula E Champion eventually finished, marking a “good start” to life as a Porsche Formula E driver.

“I’m happy with my first race as a Porsche works driver. This is a banner day for Porsche. It’s fantastic to see that we have a good package. I’m new to the team so I still have a few things to get used to, but we work very well together. I’m pleased to have earned some points for Porsche on the first outing. That’s definitely a good start. The team is highly motivated and I’m certain that we’ll continue to improve.”

Credit: TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team