Audi’s Daniel Abt has secured his first Formula E victory by winning the Mexico City ePrix, as pole-sitter and early race leader Felix Rosenqvist retired with a battery shutdown issue.
Abt started the race fifth, immediately passing Andretti’s Antonio Felix da Costa before challenging Sebastien Buemi for third.
Rosenqvist, who held first off the line, had extended his lead to 2.3 seconds over second-placed Oliver Turvey during the first 15 laps before his Mahindra stopped at the final corner. Despite restarting the car, he then stopped a further two times before switching to his second car early – a move eventually leading to retirement.
Having taken second from Buemi, Abt then jumped Turvey during the pitstop to take the lead. Building a lead of four seconds, Abt led throughout the final stint to take the victory.
While he stood on the top step of the podium in Hong Kong earlier this season, Abt was stripped of victory due to an administrative barcode issue with his car. His win in Mexico is, therefore, his first FE win and Audi’s first of the season.
Turvey claimed his maiden FE podium, finishing second after defending from Buemi in the closing stages. The Renault e.dams driver had to pass Jean-Eric Vergne earlier in the second stint after the Frenchman had jumped him during the pitstop cycle.
Strategy helped Nelson Piquet Jr to fourth. He extended his stint in his first car by one lap, utilising an additional seven percent of usable energy versus his rivals in the closing stages.
Piquet passed his team-mate Mitch Evans and then cruised by Jean-Eric Vergne in the closing stages. He caught the Turvey and Buemi battle in the final laps but was unable to mount an attack.
Vergne retained the championship lead with a fifth-place finish. His Techeetah team-mate Andre Lotterer was on course to finish seventh before being handed a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release. He dropped to 13th as a result.
Reigning champion Lucas di Grassi scored his first points of the season with a ninth-place finish, along with the bonus point for fastest lap, for a total of three points.
Starting last following a 10-place grid penalty – plus the addition of a further 10-second time penalty – as a result of having changed the inverter after his Santiago retirement, di Grassi had climbed to 17th by the end of lap two.
Contact at Turn 1 with Jose Maria Lopez cost the Brazilian time in the second stint, but he was still able to break into the top 10 late on.
Joining Rosenqvist was Mahindra team-mate Nick Heidfeld as the only retirements from the race.
