Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi stormed to a sensational victory at the Mexico City ePrix, bouncing back from a lap one clash with a bold strategy.
Di Grassi struggled in qualifying but numerous grid penalties for rivals meant he lined up in 15th place on the grid, but he was clattered by Maro Engel at Turn 3, forcing him to make an early stop at the end of the second lap.
With a new rear-wing fitted whilst the track was under a safety car, with marshals clearing debris from the Lap 1 incidents, the Brazilian was able to remain on the lead lap, but dropped to the very back of the field as he rejoined the circuit.
Di Grassi started to make steady progress up the field before another safety car was deployed, in order to clear Oliver Turvey’s stranded car, the NextEV NIO racer having led the opening stint from pole position, before suffering a battery-related issue.
The Abt Audi Sport outfit opted to go for a risky strategy and pitted di Grassi shortly before the end of the safety car period, with the BMW i8 appearing a little later on to help eke out his energy usage.
Faraday Future Dragon Racing’s Jérôme d'Ambrosio opted for a similar strategy and held second. With their rivals having much more energy to use, the final 15-lap run to the flag left the two leaders in a battle to keep quicker cars behind.
D’Ambrosio’s Dragon car held up the chasing pack, enabling di Grassi to pull out a comfortable advantage. It was enough for him to make it to the chequered flag with enough energy to win his first race of the season.
Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne was a contender for victory throughout the race, but struggled to pass d’Ambrosio in the closing stages before making a move at Turn 2 to steal second and finish runner-up.
Sam Bird came home in third place, with d’Ambrosio hitting 0 per cent energy and plummeting down the order in the final moments. Jaguar’s Mitch Evans escaped late drama to score his best Formula E result so far in fourth.
Nicolas Prost was fifth despite tipping Nick Heidfeld into a spin at Turn 8, which also eliminated the second Mahindra of Felix Rosenqvist. José María López recovered to sixth, having taken over the lead when Turvey retired and been in the hunt for the win before a spin.
Daniel Abt took pole but was sent to the back of the grid for illegal tyre pressures. He rallied back to seventh, with Adam Carroll escaping trouble to finish eighth.
Nelson Piquet Jr was the sole NextEV NIO to reach the finish in ninth, with Esteban Gutierrez picking up a point on his Formula E debut for Techeetah on home soil after a quiet race.
Championship leader Sébastien Buemi had made early progress but spun at the same time as López, dropping down the field and ending up behind d’Ambrosio in 14th. Di Grassi's win slashes Buemi's championship lead to just five points.
