DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne held on to his lead to win the first-ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India. His victory was cheered by a sell-out crowd of over 25,000 people which included a host of dignitaries, Bollywood celebrities and sports stars. The last time Verge was on top of the Formula E podium was in April 2021 at the Rome E-Prix.
The 32-year old French driver, who has been in the all-electric single-seater championship Formula E since 2014, Vergne fought hard in the final third of the race to stay ahead of Envision Racing pair Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi. Although Buemi finished third, a post-race penalty dropped him further so it was Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) who inherited his position.
Vergne made his way to the front of the pack on lap 15 of 32 (plus one lap following a Porsche Taycan Safety Car), the double champion sweeping by Buemi at the hairpin after the Jaguar TCS Racing pair removed one another from the equation two laps prior.
That incident saw Sam Bird make a lunge on the dirty side of the track on fourth-placed Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan Formula E Team). The Brit could not slow his I-TYPE 6 in time, colliding with teammate Mitch Evans – who was in third at the time – pitching the Kiwi’s car into a spin.
Both Jaguars were ultimately forced into retirement with the unlucky Fenestraz also left tumbling down the order in a race where a podium double looked a possibility for Jaguar. Vergne led the way from that moment but had his mirrors full of Cassidy’s Envision Racing machine as the chequered flag drew closer.
The New Zealander had managed to gather an extra 4 percentage points of usable energy on Vergne during the closing stages of the race. However, Vergne is regarded as the consummate Formula E fighter and used every trick in the book to keep Cassidy at bay and cross the line first in what many will regard as one of his best wins.
Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E) was the victim of an over-enthusiastic Rene Rast move on lap 26 at the hairpin – the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver outbraking himself and rear-ending Dennis’ car. That proved costly for the Brit, who was running comfortably in fourth and on for a strong points haul – particularly given the strong finish for the other man out front in the standings, Pascal Wehrlein.
Buemi crossed the finish line in third but an overpower infringement saw him demoted to 15th spot via 17-second penalty, equivalent to a drive-through. That promoted TAG Heuer Porsche’s da Costa onto the podium in his 100th race, the Season 6 champion having started the race in 13th.
During the race, Oliver Rowland made a move for the podium on Buemi – not aware of the Swiss’ impending penalty at the time – with just a lap to go. It didn’t work out and saw him shuffled to sixth. Nevertheless, Rowland collected his first points of the season for Mahindra Racing in the team’s home race, while Norman Nato steered to seventh and the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap.
Reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) finished in eighth for his best result of the season so far, while Andre Lotterer(Avalanche Andretti Formula E) and Edoardo Mortara (Maserati MSG Racing) rounded out the top 10.
“I like new tracks – I think it’s cool. Especially this one – it’s a lot of fun. When there is a lot of little secrets to find on the track, I probably find them quickly enough,” said Vergne. “I’m very, very happy. It was a tough race – I had to defend quite hard at the end but we somehow managed to win it. It was a clean race, no mistakes. Very happy with the win today. It’s good for everyone’s heart in our team. For the first few races, it’s good to boost it with a good race like that so couldn’t be happier.
Round 5 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on February 25 will be in another new venue – Cape Town in South Africa. Hyderabad and Cape Town are among the four new venues in this year’s Season 9, along with Sao Paolo in Brazil and Portland in the USA.
