Could we see the 2023 Formula E World Championship be won back at the factories as opposed to on the track?
After lighting up the timing screens in the pre-season test in Valencia, all signs pointed to Maserati MSG Racing being favourites heading into the weekend.
However, as their Team Principal James Rossiter highlighted in the press conference on Friday, their lead could easily slip away, with teams working hard to understand the Gen3 practice.
With testing time being at a minimum for all teams due to supply chain and reliability issues throughout the winter break, all teams and drivers emphasised how much they still have to learn about the cars.
The standout surprise of the weekend was the improvements made by Avalanche Andretti drivers Jake Dennis and Andre Lotterer. Both Andretti and their supplier Porsche were pessimistic about their package after the Valencia test.
However, the German manufacturer ended up with three of their four Porsche-powered cars in the top five.
With two weeks between Mexico and the double-header in Saudi Arabia, the teams that unlock the most from their cars in the next fortnight will likely be the ones we see take the limelight in Diriyah.
Development in the early parts of the season will be crucial for any team or driver wanting to mount a title challenge.
With five races coming in the first seven weeks of the championship, those with an early understanding of their machinery could be the ones we see at the top end come the season finale in London.
What can be certain is teams who experienced early DNFs in Mexico will already be at a disadvantage with half of the race-based data other teams have to utilise. Moreover, plenty of emphasis has been placed on the benefits of having customer teams, with double the data on race efficiency and reliability to play with.
The action in Mexico answered a lot of questions, and silenced many fears about the reliability of the Gen3 car.
With speeds still not as high as expected for the power of these cars, pressure is on the engineers to extract what they can from the machines – and reap the rewards in doing so.
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