Jake Dennis opens the Gen3 ball by winning the Mexico E-Prix

Jake Dennis, forever the first of Gen3. The Andretti driver became the first winner of the new era of car en Formula E by winning the Mexico E-Prix, the first of 16 meetings in season 9.

The Briton dominated the rest of the field despite multiple race interruptions. Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and pole sitter Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra) completed the podium in Mexico. The first Frenchman, Jean-Éric Vergne (DS-Penske), finished in 12th place.

⚡ @JAKEDENNIS19 WINS IN MEXICO!!!#MexicoCityEPrice pic.twitter.com/uTuDUf8yx1

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 14, 2023

A choppy start to the race in Mexico

For the first start of the Gen3 era, all the drivers were relatively good. No incidents occurred at the first corner – contrary to what many feared – and Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra) was able to maintain control of the E-Prix. No notable changes in the top positions.

The moment our GEN3 cars made their race debut ⚡#MexicoCityEPrice pic.twitter.com/Jyh42SV6p1

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A clean first lap... or almost, since the first retirement of the year can be attributed to Robin Frijns (Abt-Cupra). The Dutchman completely missed his braking in turn 10 and crashed into Norman Nato's Nissan. Parked in a dangerous location, Frijns' single-seater caused a first safety car.

As for the unfortunate Norman Nato, victim of the Batavian's error, the Mexico E-Prix came to an end: the French driver was forced to retire because his car was too damaged. After the race, Abt-Cupra said that Robin Frijns suffered a broken left hand, which could jeopardize his participation in the Diriyah E-Prix (Saudi Arabia) in two weeks (January 27-28). ).

After 5 laps of neutralization, the Safety Car disappeared... before reappearing one loop later on the track. After a few hectometers, it was Sam Bird's Jaguar which died at turn 3. The Briton, victim of multiple problems since the start of the weekend, also had to retire.

Jake Dennis untouchable, Di Grassi makes the stopper

The peloton is regrouped again for 4 laps, before the 2nd restart of the race. Di Grassi remained in the lead ahead of Dennis (Andretti) and Jake Hughes (McLaren). Stoffel Vandoorne (DS-Penske) and Nick Cassidy (Envision) were the first to use their Attack Mode.

As a reminder, the duration of Attack Mode is now chosen by the driver, within a quota of 4 minutes maximum for the Mexico E-Prix. Enough to spice up strategies for overtaking.

It didn't take long for Dennis to catch up with Di Grassi, before overtaking him on lap 13, at turn 4. The Briton attempted to escape and even managed to open up a significant gap, before his efforts were annihilated by the intervention of a 3rd safety car.

This time, it was Edoardo Mortara who caused the Safety Car. The Maserati found itself in the Tec-Pro of turn 1 after the Swiss lost the rear of his car during re-acceleration. A dark day for the 3rd in the 2022 championship, who was the favorite after excellent pre-season testing last December.

After 3 laps under Safety Car, Dennis was able to restart the race and immediately take a few meters ahead of his Brazilian pursuer. Di Grassi, 2nd and slower than the leader, then formed a small traffic jam behind him and came under pressure from Jake Hughes and Pascal Wehrlein.

The German quickly got the better of the McLaren thanks to the activation of his Attack Mode a lap before the British rookie. Unleashed, the Porsche driver went inside on Lucas di Grassi at turn 12 four laps later and moved into 2nd. 

The French far from the count

Due to the multiple interventions of the safety car, the race management decided to add 5 additional laps to the Mexico E-Prix. The positions remained frozen at the top of the classification during the last third of the race, despite the pressure exerted by André Lotterer (Andretti) on Hughes at the end of the race. Finally, the three-time winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans found the opening on the McLaren on the very last lap to cross the finish line in 4th place. 

In the middle of the pack, Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) got off to a good start before losing his place in the points in the last two laps. The Frenchman was forced to slow down to reach the finish, due to a lower battery percentage than the rest of the field.

Result: no Habs finished in the Top 10. Jean-Éric Vergne, then 9th at the start of the last lap, lost 3 places in the last sector. The DS-Penske crossed the line without a front wing, victim of contact with Mitch Evans (Jaguar). The Franco-American team scored a sad point with 10th place for reigning world champion Vandoorne.

In the championship, it is Jake Dennis who becomes the first leader among the drivers with 26 points, ahead of Pascal Wehrlein (18 points) and Lucas di Grassi (18 points). Among the manufacturers, (almost) full score for Andretti with 34 points, which is ahead of the Porsche factory team (28 points). The Stuttgart (Germany) brand, which powers Andretti, therefore places its two teams in the first two places in the championship.

The ranking of the Mexico E-Prix: 

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