--- title: "Di Grassi wins the inaugural Mexico ePrix" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/03/12/di-grassi-wins-the-inaugural-mexico-eprix/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Tim Lumb" section: "Formula E" published: "2016-03-12T23:28:01Z" modified: "2016-03-12T23:28:01Z" --- # Di Grassi wins the inaugural Mexico ePrix Lucas di Grassi won the inaugural Mexico ePrix and takes over the championship lead from Sebastien Buemi, who had a tense battle with Jerome D’Ambrosio. The Brazilian started fourth, but was able to get up into second by the time the drivers went into the pits. Not long after he overtook D’Ambrosio, and was able to pull out a lead while D’Ambrosio and Buemi fought on track. While the first chicane saw a few incidents and close calls in previous sessions, the start of the race was relatively clean. The two Abt Schaeffler teammates were battling through turn one and two, while a few drivers had to drive straight on at the chicane. Loic Duval passed Jean-Eric Vergne on the first lap, and by the end of lap two the DS Virgin Racing driver had fallen to the back of the grid. Later, Daniel Abt went straight on at the final chicane, and before he could give up a spot for gaining an advantage, championship leader Sebastien Buemi used the outside start-finish straight to pass Abt. ![Formuila E, Antonio Felix da Costa, Mexico ePrix](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2016/03/DaCosta-904x603.jpg) Antonio Felix da Costa’s race started badly with a ten place grid penalty before it began, and it took a turn for the worse not long after. Early into the race he was given a ten second time penalty as the team were still working on the car under parc ferme conditions, and on lap 14 he was given a black and orange flag due to a loose front wing. The Portuguese driver was also given a drive through penalty. Lucas di Grassi was making a few mistakes during his first stint, going straight on at a chicane on more than one occasion. With the energy levels of all the drivers at a similar level, and the Brazilian looking very quick, he made a pass on Nico Prost in the Renault e.dams car on the final lap before the majority of the drivers pitted. Not much changed during the pits, although Buemi was able to pass his teammate Prost during the changeover. Nick Heidfeld pitted his Mahindra car a lap earlier, while the two NEXTEV drivers stayed out one lap later. It didn’t take long for di Grassi to make his move. Having won the Fan Boost, he used it on the start of lap 25 to try to pass Jerome D’Ambrosio. The Brazilian locked up entering turn one, but was able to keep his car on track. ![Formula E, Renault e.dams, Mexico ePrix](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2015/11/EL0G1223-904x603.jpg) While the Abt Schaeffler driver had a simple second stint of the race, a tense battle started to brew between pole sitter D’Ambrosio and championship leader Buemi. The Swiss driver was close to passing D’Ambrosio on lap 27, but had to back out. Two laps later Buemi hit the back of the Belgian just before the final chicane, with the Renault driver complaining about his rival earlier in the lap. Around the thrilling battle, Sam Bird tried to pass Heidfeld in turn three. The Brit went past but missed the chicane, so Heidfeld was able to get the place back. Da Costa’s day got even worse on lap 34, after the driver went backwards into the barrier on the outside of turn seven. The battle for second and third continued, and heated up even further on lap 35. Buemi tried to pass D’Ambrosio on the outside of the straight, and passed the Belgian by going straight on at the chicane. His teammate tried to take a chance into the third chicane, but stayed in fourth. Coming out of the stadium complex, Buemi started to slow down, and his teammate was able to pass D’Ambrosio. Unhappy with this, and not getting his place back from the Swiss driver, he went straight on at the final chicane and was able to get his place back during lap 36. ![Formula E, Lucas di Grassi, Mexico ePrix](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2016/03/DiGrassi-904x603.jpg) Through the drama for the final podium positions, di Grassi was able to extend his lead to around ten seconds, while Prost was given a drive through penalty for an unsafe release during the pit stops, which looked to be a harsh decision. The Frenchman filtered into sixth after taking the penalty. While the podium fight started to settle down, Abt went into the wall at the second chicane on the penultimate lap. Duval was able to pass him, but the German was able to stay in fifth. Buemi was still very close to D’Ambrosio, but wasn’t able to get another chance in the final laps. They finished the podium in third and second respectively, while di Grassi was able to jump into the overall championship league by winning the inaugural Mexico ePrix.