Wehrlein confirmed winner of season opener in Mexico after throttle map investigation

Formula E

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Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein won the first Formula E race of the season in Mexico City, after surviving a post race technical investigation.

Wehrlein led from pole to beat Sebastien Buemi over a relatively tame opening round in Mexico.

However, the winner was one of two drivers investigated by the stewards following the race for a throttle mapping technical infringement, but no further action was taken after the stewards could not determine a breach of the regulations had occurred by either driver.

Wehrlein had defeated Buemi in the earlier qualifying duels to secure the first pole of the season and the first three bonus points of the year. When the lights went out, Wehrlein leapt out into the lead at the first corner, with Buemi holding off a challenge from Maximilian Guenther to keep second place. The two Jaguars of Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans were fourth and fifth, with Jake Hughes sixth for McLaren.

Wehrlein was the first to take his first Attack Mode on the third lap of the race, dropping into second behind Buemi, who took over the lead. After his two minutes were up, Buemi opted to take six minutes’ worth of Attack Mode on the fifth lap, moving the Porsche driver back into the lead.

Wehrlein led Buemi away from pole
Wehrlein opted for six minutes of Attack Mode at the next opportunity, using up all of his required time for the race and dropping him into second place once again. However, the stewards announced that Wehrlein was under investigation for a ‘technical infringement’, putting the Porsche driver’s chances of victory under jeopardy.

A Full Course Yellow was called on lap nine when Robin Frijns crashed his Envision on the exit of the Foro Sol stadium section. With Frijns’ wrecked car pointing across the track, leaving only a narrow lane for cars to pass, the Safety Car was deployed to neutralise the field.

The race resumed at the start of lap 12 with Buemi ahead of Wehrlein, but with two minutes of Attack Mode still remaining. Buemi took them soon after the restart and handed the lead back to Wehrlein, with both leading drivers now having used up their Attack Mode allocation before half distance. Behind, Cassidy moved ahead of Guenther into third place, with Evans sitting in fifth.

Wehrlein pulled out a lead of over two seconds but Buemi pulled it back. However, the Envision driver did not get close enough to put the Porsche under significant pressure.

Due to the Safety Car, the race distance was extended by two laps beyond its 35 original laps. Wehrlein continued to lead, but as the additional laps began, the stewards announced that Wehrlein’s investigation for his unspecified ‘technical infringement’ would now be investigated after the race, along with reigning champion Jake Dennis.

Wehrlein crossed the line just over a second ahead of Buemi to claim the first win of the season despite under the cloud of a potential penalty. Cassidy claimed the final podium position in third, two seconds back, with Guenther almost four seconds further back in fourth.

Wehrlein was confirmed as the winner after investigation
Evans took fifth in the second Jaguar, with Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth ahead of Jake Hughes, Stoffel Vandoorne and the two Andrettis of Dennis and Norman Nato, who rounded out the top ten.

Hours later, the stewards announced that no further action would be taken against Wehrlein or Dennis, as they could not determine that either had failed to respect the homologated primary throttle pedal map as alleged. That confirmed the provisional results of the race and Wehrlein’s victory.

The second and third round of the championship will take place over a double-header weekend in Diriyah on the weekend of the 26th and 27th of January.

2024 Mexico City Eprix race results

Pos. No. Driver Team Car
1 94 Pascal Wehrlein Porsche Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
2 16 Sebastien Buemi Envision Jaguar I-Type 6
3 37 Nick Cassidy Jaguar Jaguar I-Type 6
4 7 Maximilian Guenther Maserati Maserati Tipo Folgore
5 9 Mitch Evans Jaguar Jaguar I-Type 6
6 25 Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske DS E-TENSE FE23
7 5 Jake Hughes McLaren Nissan e-4ORCE 04
8 2 Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske DS E-TENSE FE23
9 1 Jake Dennis Andretti Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
10 17 Norman Nato Andretti Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
11 22 Oliver Rowland McLaren Nissan e-4ORCE 04
12 23 Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Nissan e-4ORCE 04
13 48 Edoardo Mortara Mahinda Mahindra M10Electro
14 8 Sam Bird McLaren Nissan e-4ORCE 04
15 21 Nyck de Vries Mahinda Mahindra M10Electro
16 18 Jehan Daruvala Maserati Maserati Tipo Folgore
17 51 Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Mahindra M10Electro
18 33 Dan Ticktum ERT ERT X24
19 4 Robin Frijns Envision Jaguar I-Type 6
20 13 Antonio Felix da Costa Porsche Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
21 11 Lucas di Grassi Abt Cupra Mahindra M9Electro
22 3 Sergio Sette Camara ERT ERT X24

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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13 comments on “Wehrlein confirmed winner of season opener in Mexico after throttle map investigation”

  1. Coventry Climax
    14th January 2024, 9:26

    Throttle? In an electric car?
    You would think that part would be called potentiometer or any such.

    1. COTD!

  2. Quite boring race for Formula E standards… No overtakes, except from an out-of-postion Frijns. Nobody seems to be doing anything with Attack Mode. Teams seem to be finding it a disadvantage instead of an advantage…
    I have been watching Formula E with interest since the start. But I hope this will not become the trend of a series “growing up”…

    1. I thought it was me but i saw very little overtakes on this more realishtic circuit. The difference between normal and attack mode is marginal on long straights. Those modes work more in narrow 90 degree corners sprint to the next corner i think.

  3. Typical Formula E. Just because someone’s crossed the line first you still never know if they’re actually the winner or not…

    1. RandomMallard
      14th January 2024, 12:05

      It’s a typical symptom of many FIA series at the moment. They never want to finish an investigation during the race, and will typically wait hours afterwards before announcing the outcome of any investigation. On some occasions its valid, but many of them seem to be easily resolvable during the race.

  4. Didn’t even know there was a race this weekend. Hopeless. How do the intend to attract and retain fans ?

    1. This – absolutely this – no idea where to watch it in the UK now, not seen any advertising for it either.

      1. RandomMallard
        14th January 2024, 18:25

        @ahxshades In terms of watching it, unfortunately FE have signed an exclusive deal with TNT Sports (the rebranded name for BT Sport), so it now sets back UK viewers £30 a month (which can have just one race in at points) just to watch it.

        1. Imagine paying for this rubbish…

    2. Looks like the 40’000 + k people at the circuit knew that there was a race weekend!
      Maybe the problem is in the UK?

    3. I follow a website called ‘f1 calendar com’ tells you all the dates for different events. Quite good for seeing what is on at the weekend, and especially what times race starts at.

  5. It is being replayed in the US right now. Tried watching but wife kept making comments about racing golf carts. She drives an Audi and commutes 50 miles each way to work. She’s not impressed by this racing series at all.

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