Ex-F1 driver storms to brilliant victory in season opener

Formula E

Ex-F1 driver storms to brilliant victory in season opener

Pascal Wehrlein claimed pole position and the victory in Formula E's curtain raiser

Chris Deeley

Sunday 14 January 2024 21:57

Former Formula 1 driver Pascal Wehrlein has won the first round of the 2024 Formula E championship in Mexico, beating out fellow F1 veteran Sebastien Buemi.

Wehrlein, driving for Porsche in the electric series, looked in control for much of the race - having also taken pole position earlier.

The German-Mauritian has enjoyed success in Mexico, taking all four of his Formula E pole positions in the country - and now two of his five race wins. 2023 was by far his best season in the series, collecting three wins to take him to fourth in the championship, and he looks to be starting 2024 in style.

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Among the other notable performers, reigning champion Jake Dennis could only take home two points for a ninth-placed finish, while one-time champion Nyck de Vries could only manage 15th of the 18 finishers.

Pascal Wehrlein has made a new start in Formula E

Pascal Wehrlein spent a number of years in Mercedes' system

German-Mauritian Wehrlein has driver for Mahindra Racing and Porsche in Formula E

Wehrlein reveals off-season focus

“A pretty good day with pole position and the race win,” Wehrlein told the series' website after the race. “Our focus in the off-season was especially in qualifying as that was one of our weaknesses in the last half last season.

“Nevertheless, I was really happy about the pole position, probably as happy as I was about the race win to be honest! The race was not an easy one. It probably looked easier than it was because I was leading almost the whole race and could save a lot of energy - just always a little bit to increase my targets”

Nyck de Vries Porsche