Mahindra’s Gen3 rise no fluke; best is yet to come in Formula E: Mortara
Mahindra Racing’s transformation from Formula E midfielders to genuine front-runners has been a three-year journey rather than a sudden breakthrough, according to driver Edoardo Mortara, who believes the Indian manufacturer can aim even higher when the championship enters the Gen4 era. Mahindra heads into the London season finale with two wins and four pole positions, just one point adrift of third place in the Teams’ Championship.
For Mortara, however, the significance of the campaign goes beyond the numbers. The Swiss-Italian driver, who joined Mahindra three years ago alongside Nick de Vries, sees the team’s rise as the result of sustained development that has gradually changed its standing on the grid.
“You have to analyse a little bit deeper than only this season. It’s kind of like a journey that I started three years ago when we first joined with Nick,” Mortara told PTI.
“If you look at the trajectory, the trajectory is very positive. We’ve been improving year after year, making more and more results. I think that this year has been the most successful one for Mahindra so far.” Mortara believes the team has crossed a psychological barrier by arriving at the final weekend with a mathematical chance of fighting for the Teams’ title.
“We are seeing contention actually for the team’s championship. Mathematically, yes, but realistically maybe third or fourth. But that means that we are still in the fight. This is something that has never been achieved,” he said. “We have never come to the last race weekend being able to mathematically have a chance to fight for the title, so that means that a good job has been done and good progress has been done.”
Mahindra’s consistency at the sharp end of the grid has perhaps been the biggest change for Mortara. The team is no longer merely capable of producing an occasional qualifying surprise; its drivers have increasingly found themselves battling the established front-runners. “I think there were almost no races where I was not a top driver in the top five or in the top three. I consistently started at the front, with the top contenders. And actually, as a driver, it makes a lot of fun. This is where you enjoy yourself because the most you are battling with the best,” Mortara said. The 38-year-old has himself been one of the standout performers, with four pole positions this season. He admitted, however, that Mahindra could have collected more points had circumstances gone its way.
“There is always the possibility to do better. As a group, I think that there were definitely some missed opportunities,” he said.
A fire extinguisher issue in Sanya cost the team, while rain in Shanghai and Tokyo forced Mahindra to make conservative tyre-pressure decisions when it was running at the front.
