- DS Automobiles took a double points finish at the Mexico City E-Prix, with Jean-Éric Vergne sixth and Stoffel Vandoorne eighth
- The Frenchman crossed the symbolic benchmark of 1000 points scored in the all-electric championship
- Following the opening round in Mexico, Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship resumes in Saudi Arabia from 26-27 January
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship got underway on Saturday at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, located within the Magdalena Mixhuca park in the northeast of Mexico City.
The 10th season of the all-electric single-seater championship started well for DS Automobiles and its partner PENSKE AUTOSPORT, with two cars in the points that allowed the French premium constructor to occupy joint fourth place in the provisional teams’ standings.
With both DS E-TENSE FE23 cars in the top 10 after qualifying, the DS PENSKE team has served notice of its intent as a force to be reckoned with this season. Having got through to the duels by setting the second-fastest time in his qualifying group, Stoffel Vandoorne was eighth on the starting grid, two places ahead of his team mate Jean-Éric Vergne.
Throughout the race, JEV underlined his talent and experience once more by rapidly climbing up to sixth. Shadowing Mitch Evans during the second half of the race, the Frenchman couldn’t quite find a way past on a track where it’s notoriously hard to overtake. By taking home eight points for sixth place at the finish, the only two-time champion in the history of the sport passed the symbolic benchmark of 1000 points scored in Formula E since starting in 2014.
Stoffel Vandoorne also delivered a solid performance after crossing the finish line in eighth. Just like his team mate Jean-Éric Vergne, the Belgian clearly had the potential to improve his final result towards the end of the race but remained stuck in a chasing pack where the positions stayed mostly fixed.
After this opening event on the American continent, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will resume in a fortnight on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 January, with two rounds at Diriyah in Saudi Arabia.
Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance Director:
“We’re pleased with the way that the season has started. This first race has given us some precious feedback on the quality of the huge amount of work we have got through over the last few months. Our goal was to improve compared to last year, and we did that. Our DS E-TENSE FE23 cars performed strongly in qualifying as well as in the race. It was important to bring both cars home in the points, which is vital for the championship. But we’re still not yet at the level of some of our rivals and that’s why we have to keep on working even harder in order to reduce that gap.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018 and 2019 Formula E champion:
“On the whole, I’m really satisfied with the level of performance we showed and it was clearly a good improvement compared to the start of last season. It’s a shame that a few details stopped me from doing better in qualifying, because I had a really good race pace. At the end of the race I was considerably quicker than Mitch Evans, but it was impossible to pass him as the grip was very limited off the racing line. Nonetheless, we gained four places by using the strategy and attack modes well and we had one of the most competitive cars out there in terms of race pace. It’s clear to see too that there’s a very good feeling within the team. That’s all really positive and it bodes well for the future. The goal in Diriyah will be to do better in qualifying, but with the hard work taking place within the team and the current dynamic, I’m feeling quite confident.”
Stoffel Vandoorne, 2022 Formula E champion
“For the first race of this new season, I didn’t think it was so bad. There have been a few changes within the team, and from my point of view it was the first time that I had worked with my new engineer. The most important thing was to have a clean weekend without any major mistakes, and that’s what we did. The team placed two cars inside the points, which shows the progress made since last year. But what really makes me happy is to see the potential of the car and the team. It’s clear that we want to bring home better results than we did today, but we’ve got all the tools at our disposal to do that.”
Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:
- 106 races
- 4 championship titles
- 16 victories
- 47 podiums
- 22 pole positions
