ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi stormed to a clear victory at the inaugural Formula E Mexico City ePrix, after a mid-race pass for the lead.
Dragon Racing’s Jerome d’Ambrosio started from pole position, ahead of Nicolas Prost and di Grassi. Despite a tight first corner, the order remained largely unchanged on the opening lap, with some minor contact.
D’Ambrosio managed to hold off Prost and di Grassi through the first stint. It was a close fight, with the top five separated by just a few seconds as the pit stops approached. Di Grassi dived up the inside of Prost on lap 22 before the majority of the field pitted to swap cars on lap 23.
The Dragon and Abt cars emerged close together and di Grassi used his Fan Boost to perfection, moving into the lead with a brave move at the first corner. The fights behind helped di Grassi increase his lead and he finished over 10 seconds clear of the chasing pack.
D’Ambrosio and Buemi were caught up in several intense scraps, with the two making contact on Buemi’s first overtaking attempt. A few laps later the Swiss driver tried a move around the outside but did so cutting the first corner.
He tried to give the place back but chaos ensued behind, with Prost diving up the inside and Abt moving into the battle too. D’Ambrosio lost several places and then cut the chicane to catch up to Buemi again, with the Renault e.Dams then giving second place back.
The two ran close together for the final laps and finished side-by-side, with the Dragon ahead of the Renault. Loic Duval was fourth, with Prost dropping to fifth after a late drive-through penalty for an unsafe pit release.
Robin Frijns kept out of trouble for sixth, with Sam Bird a quiet seventh for Virgin Racing. Daniel Abt crashed on the penultimate lap but reached the flag in eighth, ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Stephane Sarrazin.
Bruno Senna, Oliver Turvey, Mike Conway and Nelson Piquet Jr were next up. Simona de Silvestro slipped to 15th late on, with Salvador Duran 16th, Jean-Eric Vergne 17th after a terrible first lap and Antonio Felix da Costa failing to finish after numerous penalties and a crash.
The below results have since changed following Lucas di Grassi's exclusion.
Formula E 2015/16: Mexico City – Race Result
Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Points |
1 | Lucas di Grassi | ABT Schaeffler Audi | 25 | |
2 | Jerome D'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | 5.416 | 20 |
3 | Sebastien Buemi | Renault e.Dams | 5.522 | 15 |
4 | Loic Duval | Dragon Racing | 16.774 | 12 |
5 | Nicolas Prost | Renault e.Dams | 30.953 | 10 |
6 | Robin Frijns | Andretti | 33.893 | 8 |
7 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 34.444 | 6 |
8 | Daniel Abt | ABT Schaeffler Audi | 35.467 | 4 |
9 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra Racing | 41.789 | 2 |
10 | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | 42.707 | 1 |
11 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra Racing | 43.019 | 0 |
12 | Oliver Turvey | NextEV TCR | 44.014 | 0 |
13 | Mike Conway | Venturi | 44.206 | 0 |
14 | Nelson Piquet | NextEV TCR | 47.767 | 0 |
15 | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti | 49.387 | 0 |
16 | Salvador Duran | Team Aguri | 68.498 | 0 |
17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS Virgin Racing | 1 Lap | 0 |
18 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Team Aguri | 11 Laps | 0 |