Mahindra’s Formula E resurgence continued in Mexico City with another points finish for Nyck de Vries.
The team endured a difficult 2023-24 season with five points finishes across its two cars over the 16 race season, but a busy off-season which included a raft of staffing changes on the technical side and the development of an all-new powertrain is already paying dividends.
“Overall, it’s been a solid weekend, and it’s good for the team to come away with another points finish,” said de Vries. “Of course, there are areas we still need to keep improving and developing in, but compared to 12 months ago, to start the season with two decent points finishes is a good step forward.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1394]
“We have a month until the next two races in Jeddah, which is a good opportunity for us to keep working and continue the positive trend in results we have had so far.”
The race result wasn’t the only high point for the team, with team principal Frederic Bertrand also pointing to Edoardo Mortara’s qualifying performance, where he made it into the duels for the second race in a row and qualified eighth. Ultimately, Mortara wasn’t able to back that up with a strong race result, a puncture ending his hopes of adding to the team’s points haul.
“Consistent points has always been the team’s ambition this season, so it’s satisfying to demonstrate the step forward we have taken again in Mexico City this weekend,” said Bertrand. “That was clear from qualifying, where Edo had decent one-lap pace and put us into the Duels again.
“Nyck drove a strong race to bring the car home in eighth, and without the puncture, there’s no doubt Edo would have been up there in the mix with him – it could very easily have been double points again, like in Sao Paulo.
“We have a month now to go back, analyse where we can continue to keep improving and then arrive in Jeddah ready to keep this run going.”
Mortara insisted that another points finish was on the cards, and despite his own difficult race, was buoyed by de Vries’ performance.
“We made a good start to the race and it’s clear that points were possible, but I was hit from behind and that caused a puncture,” he said. “At that point, it’s very difficult to recover without a lot of luck, so unfortunately, we have to put it down as one of those days.
“There are definitely some positives – Nyck has gone on to show what was possible, and now we have a month to analyze these first two races of the season and see where we can go from here in Jeddah.”
