Photo credit: ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, 2023 Mexico City E-Prix, (DPPI/Xavi Bonilla)
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship races back into life in Mexico City this weekend (13 January), with another fiercely-competitive campaign in prospect in the pioneering all-electric single-seater series.
For the second consecutive season, the action will begin at the legendary Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which eight years ago became the first permanent circuit to welcome the championship. Since then, its fast and technical 2.63km layout – whose lofty 2,250m altitude makes it the highest track on the calendar – has generated some electrifying entertainment in front of an enthusiastic audience. More of the same is unquestionably in store in Season 10.
Jake Dennis is the driver to beat following a home soil coronation in London last summer. The talented Brit dominated in Mexico 12 months ago, and will be targeting a repeat performance in his bid to get his title defence off to the perfect start. He is joined at Andretti Formula E by highly-rated Frenchman Norman Nato, who is relishing his big break.
In one of the most potent pairings on the grid, New Zealanders Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans – the latter a previous winner at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – team up together at Jaguar TCS Racing. The southern hemisphere countrymen wound up second and third overall last year and were the class of the field in the pre-season test in Valencia.
Defending Teams’ champion Envision Racing heads into battle with 2015/16 title-holder Sébastien Buemi – three times a podium-finisher in the Mexico City E-Prix – and Robin Frijns, who rejoins the squad with whom he has spent the majority of his Formula E career to-date.
TAG Heuer Porsche’s two drivers boast arguably the strongest record of all in Mexico. Pascal Wehrlein won from pole position two years ago – leading a commanding one-two finish for the German outfit – and was similarly in the hunt for glory in both 2019 and 2023, while Season 6 champion António Félix da Costa has twice finished as runner-up in the race and got closest to the Jaguar duo in testing back in October.
Lucas Di Grassi is the only driver to have triumphed more than once at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, taking the chequered flag first in 2017 and 2019 and reaching the rostrum there again last year. The Brazilian – who clinched the crown in Season 3 – has returned to his roots at ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, where he is partnered by the incumbent Nico Müller.
Fellow former title-winners Jean-Éric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne remain on-board at DS Penske. The Frenchman was a podium-visitor in Mexico in 2017 and 2022, while his Belgian stablemate will be looking to improve upon a challenging maiden campaign with the team.
Mahindra Racing has a refreshed driver line-up composed of series returnee Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, who finished respectively first and second in the standings in Season 7. The Swiss star ascended the rostrum at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2019, with the Dutchman scooping the bonus point for fastest lap three years later.
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team has put its faith in British racers Sam Bird and Jake Hughes. The former placed third in Mexico in 2017 and is aiming to rediscover his winning ways – having now gone almost two-and-a-half years since his last victory in the series – while Hughes is eager to build upon a promising rookie campaign that yielded a brace of pole positions.
ERT Formula E Team will be looking to recreate past glories in Mexico, having secured pole there in 2017 and a podium finish 11 months later. The team retains its duo of young chargers, Dan Ticktum and Sérgio Sette Câmara.
Maserati MSG Racing continues with Maximilian Günther while promoting former reserve driver Jehan Daruvala to a race seat, as Nissan Formula E Team renews its relationship with Oliver Rowland, who returns to the fray after sitting out the second half of Season 9. The British racer is flanked by Sacha Fenestraz, preparing to embark upon his sophomore campaign in the championship off the back of a head-turning rookie year.
With so many faces in new places and unpredictable plotlines to follow, Formula E’s tenth season of competition – the second with the ground-breaking Gen3 car – is shaping up to be its best yet. The lights will go out to signal the start of the title fight in Mexico City at 14:03 local time (21:03 CET) on Saturday, 13 January.
