Formula E championship order gets shaken up

The upcoming Gen-2 Formula E grabbed quite a few eyeballs as the racing in Santiago gave us new championship leaders.

Amid the hype generated by the reveal of its striking new car for the 2018 – 19 FIA Formula E Championship season, the all-electric series made its way to the third round of the season in Santiago, Chile. 

The new car is a landmark among FIA-sanctioned racing series, as it’s the first car that has been designed by the global motorsport governing body itself. While not everyone is a fan of the design of the Gen-2 Formula E car, it’s widely acknowledged as striking and capable of grabbing one’s attention. Looking very much like a car that Batman would drive to join Superman, Wonder Woman and other Justice League members, the car is also a big step forward in performance. 

With double the storage capacity of the current car and double the range, the new generation car is expected to be able to complete the current race distance of 160km without the driver needing to switch to a new car during the mid-race stop. And more importantly, the manufacturers involved in it will be able to make their own powertrains. Porsche and Mercedes are going to be the new entrants to the series, and we can’t wait to see how Mahindra Racing will hold its own against the newcomers. 
Coming back to the present, Mahindra had a bit of an off day in Santiago, where it ended up losing its lead in both the drivers and teams championships that it had been leading until then. 

Chinese owned Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne fended off his team-mate Andre Lotterer in a tense fight around the streets of the Chilean capital to claim his second victory in Formula E and the first one-two in the history of the electric street racing series. The pair exchanged blows in the closing stages of the race with a gaggle of cars waiting behind to pounce, ensuring a nail-biting finish of the inaugural E-Prix in the Chilean capital.

Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist was its highest placed driver, salvaging fourth place after starting from 14th on the grid. His teammate Nick Heidfeld was unable to finish the race after starting 15th on account of his car running out of electrical energy before the end of the 37-lap race around the 2.46km long, 12-turn circuit. 

The month of March will see two races in Mexico and Uruguay, before the Formula E circus heads to Europe in April.