Mahindra Racing wrapped up the second FIA Formula E Championship with a seventh double points finish, narrowly missing a podium. Nick Heidfeld finished in P4 but was deemed to have used too much energy in his final charge to the line, demoting him to P7 and promoting Bruno Senna from P10 to P6.
Mahindra wraps up season with double points finish
Nick Heidfeld started the race in P5 and, following the first corner collision ahead of him, held P2 for most of the first stint. Losing one position during his pit stop, Heidfeld found himself in P4 for the final laps of the race, bearing down on the car in front. Pushing to overtake on the final lap, Heidfeld exceeded the allowable energy use limit before he crossed the finish line, earning him a penalty and a final classified position of P7.
Bruno Senna started the race out of place in P13 due to issues with getting heat into his tyres during qualifying. Through precise energy management and avoiding the incidents around him, Bruno succeeded in managing his race strategy and gained positions while defending from cars behind. He was finally classified in P6.
#21 Bruno Senna said: “Considering all the chaos that was going on around me, I am very happy that we came away with a strong final result. We had great pace in the car and learned a lot from yesterday’s race. We have a consistent car and increasingly strong race pace. I was disappointed not to start from further forward but I was behind a slower car during qualifying and couldn’t get the tyres working before my 200kW hot lap.”
“Unfortunately I suffered from a technical issue during the race which caused my car to go into false neutral on some downshifts, so I needlessly lost some positions but I am happy to come away with this strong result and more points for the team. We can be so proud of what we achieved this season.”
#23 Nick Heidfeld said: “I’m disappointed to have lost an opportunity to finish on the podium today. It was decided I should push on the final lap to catch the car in front and in doing so we exceeded our allowed energy use. It’s always tough to swallow a disappointing finish, especially when losing a potential podium but overall we can be proud of the results we have had all season and the gains we have made in all areas.”
Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal of Mahindra Racing Formula E Team, said: “This has been an emotional weekend for the team. It’s easy to look at today’s result as disappointing but it will still stand as yet another high double points finish and a continuation of the reliability and strong race strategy, which has been our greatest strength all season.”
“We ticked every box we set out to this season. We have scored podiums, multiple double points finishes and fastest laps, and gained many championship positions compared to our season one result. We will take a moment to reflect on that achievement, but only a brief moment. We have every intention of continuing this upward trajectory. It feels odd to retire the M2Electro now but the preparation of the M3Electro is already in its final stages.”
“I would like to thank the team for their ingenuity, passion and relentless drive that has aided us in our mission to establish Mahindra Racing as a strong competitor on the world stage. We now have two seasons under our belt and as far as I am concerned, season 3 has now begun.”
Tags: FIA, FIA Formula E, Formula E, Mahindra Racing, Motorsport, Motorsports, Nick Heidfeld
