After three incredible street races to start the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship it is going to be a whole new challenge at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – and I have a feeling a move to a traditional track could see a very ‘F1’ result.
During the CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix this Saturday at 10pm broadcast on BBC iPlayer, Red Button and Sport website I’d be keeping an eye on the young blood at Mercedes-Benz EQ – Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries.
With this being a more traditional F1 track these guys are used to and familiar with the racing lines then it could suit them as the street tracks require a completely different style of driving where every inch matters.
Stoffel looks like he’s entering his pomp and is right up there for Mercedes-Benz but De Vries is the one everyone was talking about at the start of the season so I think this could be where we see the reigning F2 champ really show his worth.
His story is interesting as Mercedes clearly value his worth, they’ve told him to hold his horses and see what happens with Lewis and the like but they’ve clearly said ‘we want you as part of our brand and we’ll get you race experience.’
They’ll be looking at this race as a real opportunity to get their first victory and really cement their foothold in Formula E early on.
But it won’t go all their way especially with the manufacturers their up against - you have to ask yourself why are Audi so good in Mexico having won the last three in a row? This could be the race Lucas di Grassi or Daniel Abt kick-start their season.
You look at Max Guenther, who became the youngest ever Formula E race winner last time out for BMW i Andretti Motorsport, could he continue his transition into looking a pretty special driver we all hope he can become.
But on the other hand, you’ll have a few characters heading into this race with a bead or two of sweat on their head after having a bit of a nightmare last year.
I love Pascal Wehrlein, he’s one of my top-five favourite lads on the track – he’s young, he’s funky and I think he could be a real poster boy for Formula E and I was as gutted as anyone by his last second loss of the race win to Di Grassi last year after running out of usable energy on the line.
It was just a misjudgement, but it shows the fine margins in Formula E and he’ll want to be spot-on this year. Same goes for Nissan e.dams who ran out of usable energy with a whole lap to go. It was a huge miscalculation and Sebastien Buemi was absolutely mortified; I saw him afterwards and he couldn’t believe it.
But fair play to Nissan’s boss Michael Carcamo; he held his hands up, admitted it was a rookie mistake and they want on to have a decent season.
Either way this is one of my favourite races of the season – drivers always take that bit more of a risk here without those high walls on street tracks to worry about. Although I hope they keep that risk to the track rather than risking the food from the street vendors on the way to the track as we experienced last year…
I tell you who won’t be taking any risks and who could end up being the unsung heroes of this race – the number tappers behind the scenes.
I was catching up with Sam Bird this week and he said a race of this length and in this the heat could mean it could end up being all about energy preservation. Sam said he thought they might not touch the brake pedals and just generating their own energy and whoever can save the slightest amount of energy will benefit. I think this is going to add some real spice – if you’ll forgive another food pun.
Sam’s team Envision Virgin Racing certainly sounded very confident having run a million scenarios. It was great to catch up with Sam who really seems to have a renewed focus this year with a great team and a great teammate in Dutchman Robin Frijns. They’re a great combo, the rock star and the Dalai Lama.
As for pressure I think there is a fair bit on DS TECHEETAH – they’re the champs and haven’t really got going yet. I think this could be the first Formula E season where consistency could crown the champion of the series.
Last season there were the usual complaints about the qualifying format, which sends out the top of the Championship first, but I feel this year the really good teams and drivers might prove themselves with a bit more regularity on the podium.
I can’t finish without mentioning the show we put on for Formula E which will be live on BBC iPlayer, Sport website, Red Button and Eurosport and the innovations being made such as Driver’s Eye which will continue this race.
Being able to see the race from the drivers’ perspective was amazing and just showed how outrageously talented these drivers are to work at the speed and within the space they do. It was unchartered water and I loved it.
Sometimes people think motorsport can get stuck in its ways but not Formula E, which is what makes it so exciting.
It’s more accessible and inclusive approach, which is mirrored by the teams and drivers in the series, is exactly how its building its fanbase so quickly and why more and more are turning in every week.
