Pascal Wehrlein ‘would’ve climbed back in the cockpit the next day’ after Cape Town error

Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein is targeting a strong weekend at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix, after the German made a costly error at the most recent round in Cape Town.

After a four week break the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is back this weekend, with Wehrlein aiming to further extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship after making a surprising error in South Africa. Wehrlein failed to even complete the opening lap in Cape Town, after crashing into the back of Sébastian Buemi, resulting in too much damage to his Porsche 99X Electric.

Luckily for Wehrlein, his lead in the standings took no damage, after Jake Dennis also failed to score any points in South Africa. It was certainly a lucky escape for Wehrlein, who can’t afford another point-less race in Brazil. Reflecting on the most recent round, Wehrlein admits that he wishes there wasn’t such a big gap between South Africa and Brazil, with the German having just wanted to climb “back in the cockpit” and right his wrongs.

Whilst he’s been unable to do this, he’s spent his four week break wisely following a “very demanding” start to the 2022/23 season.

“If it were up to me, I would’ve climbed back in the cockpit the next day. After a poor result, you always want to get back into the car as quickly as possible to replace the bad with a good performance. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to the break. The start of the season was very demanding – with a race every two weeks in different time zones plus simulator work in between.

“I used the time off to review the races so far, analyse data and spend time with my family. In São Paulo, our team will be back on the grid with freshly charged batteries.”

Wehrlein enters this weekend’s inaugural Formula E race in Brazil knowing that he still boasts an eighteen-point lead in the standings. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver has performed brilliantly so far this season, with his retirement in South Africa having been the first time this season where he’s finished outside the top four.

Whilst he’s disappointed with what happened in Cape Town, he remains “very happy” with how he’s started the Gen3 era, with the German manufacturer boasting “an incredibly positive energy” as a result.

“Overall, I’m very happy with my start to the season. I won two races, finished second once and scored a load of points. I’m leading in the world championship, as is our team. That’s a tremendous success. We’ve evolved fantastically as a team. There’s an incredibly positive energy among us. We all have the same goal.

“Everyone works hard towards that, everyone wants to achieve the maximum result in every race. I’m very proud of the team and to be a part of it. As a driver, it gives me a lot of pleasure to show what we’re capable of in such a great car.”

“São Paulo is something of a home race for me” – António Félix da Costa

Credit: TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

Whilst Cape Town was a forgettable race for Wehrlein, for team-mate António Félix da Costa it was “definitely one of my best”. The Portuguese driver claimed a sensational victory in South Africa, despite having started the race in eleventh. Da Costa was unbelievable, with the relief of having finally claimed his first win for Porsche having been evident.

That result will have likely filled him with so much confidence, given that the start of his life at Porsche hadn’t been going brilliantly up to that point. Looking back on his famous Cape Town win, Da Costa is convinced that the victory has “united” the team whilst having also made them “even stronger”.

“There have been a few races in my Formula E career where I’ve come from far down the field to the very front. Cape Town was definitely one of my best, I’d place it in my top 3. The fact that it was my first victory with Porsche makes it special, of course, especially because my start to the season wasn’t easy. But with the support of my team, I fought my way out of that slump.

“I’m firmly convinced that this has united the team even more and made us even stronger. I feel much more comfortable in my car and hope that we can now gain momentum and experience more races together like the one in Cape Town.”

Da Costa’s newfound confidence will be sky-high this weekend in Brazil, with the Season Six Champion treating it as his home E-Prix. The Portuguese driver has loved having more time to explore São Paulo before the weekend, with the drivers schedules having been more relaxed due to the four week break since Cape Town.

The recent winner sees absolutely no reason why he can’t be towards the front in Brazil, with him having finished on the rostrum at the recent new E-Prix’s in India and South Africa, suggesting that he has a knack for mastering the new venues.

“Since Formula E doesn’t race in Portugal, São Paulo is something of a home race for me. I love Brazil. I race a stock car there every year, and I always get a very warm welcome from the fans. I’m not quite as popular with the drivers because I usually win or at least finish on the podium. Still, I get on well with everyone. We had a bit more time before São Paulo than before the previous races.

“This allowed us to dive a little deeper into the analysis to find out where we can still improve. In Hyderabad and Cape Town, we fared quite well on the new tracks. I don’t see why we shouldn’t manage something big in São Paulo as well.”