A sizzling hot Mexican win puts the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team among the front-runners for Season 8. What have we learned? And what can we look forward to?
Just three races in, and the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is already shaping up to be a flat-out thriller. For the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team, the double-header opening event in Diriyah was tough going, with success painfully elusive. Yet, all that was quickly forgotten in the excitement and ecstasy of Mexico City on 12 February, where we dominated the third fixture with an historic win – a convincing one-two finish.
As we eye up the next two-day spectacle in Rome (9-10 April), now’s a good time to take stock of what we’ve learned from the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the past three races.
Let’s roll back to 28 January, where this year’s Championship kicked off in sultry style in Diriyah, the Saudi Arabian desert city. With a racetrack skirting a 15th Century UNESCO World Heritage Site, the two-day event guaranteed drama in more ways than one. Not only were both races held at night, to avoid the merciless desert sun; this season saw a slew of changes in the Formula E regulations. These affected both the racing format (new knockout Qualifiers and extended race time) and the cars themselves (extra power in top speed and Attack Mode).
While having more power on tap is all very well, it also puts more pressure on energy consumption and tyre wear. For the team, it was a lesson hard learned: both cars ran low on energy in the first race. Then, although they managed to address this for the second race, fate intervened. The arrival of the Safety Car effectively froze all positions for the last few laps, denying André Lotterer the chance to make a bid for a podium place and keeping Pascal Wehrlein out of the Top 6.
Mexico City was another story entirely. This time the team were ultra-focused on their energy management strategy – and it paid off. In the heated, fiesta-like atmosphere of the iconic Foro Sol stadium both drivers kept cool heads. Starting in pole position, Pascal held the lead until about halfway through the race, then fell back to third place, with teammate André close behind him in fourth. Then, in the final phase, the team’s meticulous planning paid off. Both drivers surged forward to claim first and second place, taking the flag almost 10 seconds ahead of their competitors.
For the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, there’s no question about our intentions: we’re going all-out. Now we’ve planted our feet on the podium, we’re even more determined to dominate Formula E. Can we dominate at Rome? On 9 April, come and see.
As we eye up the next two-day spectacle in Rome (9-10 April), now’s a good time to take stock of what we’ve learned from the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the past three races.
Let’s roll back to 28 January, where this year’s Championship kicked off in sultry style in Diriyah, the Saudi Arabian desert city. With a racetrack skirting a 15th Century UNESCO World Heritage Site, the two-day event guaranteed drama in more ways than one. Not only were both races held at night, to avoid the merciless desert sun; this season saw a slew of changes in the Formula E regulations. These affected both the racing format (new knockout Qualifiers and extended race time) and the cars themselves (extra power in top speed and Attack Mode).
While having more power on tap is all very well, it also puts more pressure on energy consumption and tyre wear. For the team, it was a lesson hard learned: both cars ran low on energy in the first race. Then, although they managed to address this for the second race, fate intervened. The arrival of the Safety Car effectively froze all positions for the last few laps, denying André Lotterer the chance to make a bid for a podium place and keeping Pascal Wehrlein out of the Top 6.
Mexico City was another story entirely. This time the team were ultra-focused on their energy management strategy – and it paid off. In the heated, fiesta-like atmosphere of the iconic Foro Sol stadium both drivers kept cool heads. Starting in pole position, Pascal held the lead until about halfway through the race, then fell back to third place, with teammate André close behind him in fourth. Then, in the final phase, the team’s meticulous planning paid off. Both drivers surged forward to claim first and second place, taking the flag almost 10 seconds ahead of their competitors.
For the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, there’s no question about our intentions: we’re going all-out. Now we’ve planted our feet on the podium, we’re even more determined to dominate Formula E. Can we dominate at Rome? On 9 April, come and see.