Mahindra Racing, a potential outsider?
Part six of our preview of the teams and drivers for the 2016/2017 Formula E season, which kicks off on the streets of Hong Kong on October 9. Our focus here is on Mahindra Racing.
The team led by Dilbagh Gill is part of the Indian group Mahindra & Mahindra, an automobile and agricultural tractor manufacturer, created in 1945. The Formula E structure is thus embedded in a vast network; Mahindra Racing is also involved in the Moto 3 World Championship. In this regard, the electric branch receives innovations directly related to the two-wheel segment. Proving its strength, the group currently holds 51% of the shares of Peugeot Scooters, considered the fifth-largest manufacturer of motorized two-wheelers in Europe.
Present since the inception of Formula E, the first season was challenging for Mahindra Racing with a mere fourth place as the best result in the last race in London. This season ended with 58 points and a disappointing eighth place in the constructors’ standings. The 2015/2016 season proved to be more fruitful with two podiums in Beijing (Nick Heidfeld) and London (Bruno Senna), after the first race. Thus, a fifth place in the standings awaited the team, with a more promising score of 143 points on the board. The team can still hope to progress in the rankings, although the competition is very fierce in this part of the table; if the new season turns out to have the same competitive landscape as the past season, with little gap between the third place (occupied at the time by DS Virgin Racing) and the fifth.
#FormulaE: The ‘laboratory’ for tomorrow’s urban transport – Featuring our own @anandmahindra https://t.co/S0KlW6CSUr #Electric #CNN 🔋📰
— MahindraRacing (@MahindraRacing) 10 septembre 2016
Nick Heidfeld: Just like Stéphane Sarrazin with Venturi (41 years old), the 39-year-old German is another veteran of the grid. Moreover, followers of the discipline remember that he almost became the first winner at the 2014 Beijing ePrix, before flying into the barriers on the last lap after a robust contact with Nicolas Prost.
#TBT to the first ever ePrix in Beijing! What a moment 😱 #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/bd7YF0lcWP
— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 15 septembre 2016
He raced for his first season with Venturi, with more or less success. Often penalized by team errors or bad luck, he still secured a podium in Moscow to finish twelfth in the championship with 31 points. For season 2, he joined Mahindra, teaming up with Bruno Senna. The season was less challenging although he had to miss the Punta del Este race due to a wrist injury. Again, he stepped on the podium once, this time in Beijing, and achieved more consistent results. He totaled 53 points in the drivers’ championship, resulting in a tenth place overall in the championship.
It should be noted that the German participated in the Formula 1 championship from 2000 with the late Prost Grand Prix, until 2011 with Lotus, passing through Sauber, Jordan, and Williams. In addition to his involvement in the discipline, he has participated in the WEC championship with the private LMP1 team Rebellion since 2012, alongside Nicolas Prost, among others. Nick Heidfeld, who has beaten his two Formula E teammates, will need to rely on further performance improvements from his team to achieve good results. He will undoubtedly have to assume the role of leader, with the arrival of young Félix Rosenqvist on the other side of the garage.
Felix Rosenqvist: The 24-year-old Swede is part of the newcomers in Formula E for this third season, replacing Bruno Senna. Not clumsy in single-seaters, he won numerous championships, most notably the F3 Europe in 2015, by winning the very famous Macau Grand Prix. Like Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, this Mercedes protégé participated in numerous disciplines this season, in Indy Lights, in Blancpain Series, and in DTM for the end of the 2016 season. For his first season in Formula E, he will have to learn to handle these new types of single-seaters and get used to compact weekends. However, his career in single-seaters will be a major asset.
#LatestVideo – Reigning @fiaf3europe champ @FRosenqvist looks at how #F3 prepared him for the move to @FIAformulaE pic.twitter.com/uaDncSIXC4
— FIA (@fia) 14 septembre 2016
