Mahindra disappointed with Mexico Formula E result

Mahindra Racing returned empty handed from the Mexico City ePrix last weekend after collision in the closing stages of the race.

With the Indian outfit unable to score for the second consecutive Formula E race, team boss Dilbagh Gill feels the pace the M3Electro possess hasn't materialised on the track yet.

Both Nick Heidfeld and Felix Rosenqvist were involved in hefty battles early during the Mexico race, with the German defending his podium place from Techeetah's Jean-Eric Vergne as the Swede fought for a Top 5 finish with the Renault eDams and DS Virgin cars.

But an incident during the end stages, where Renault's Nico Prost spun Heidfeld which led to Rosenqvist colliding with his teammate, resulted in a disappointing end for Mahindra, to what looked like a double points finish.

"We were having a good race but unfortunately one stone took two birds out," said Gill after the race.

"The team had really strong race pace but unfortunately a competitor took us out and we leave Mexico City with a heavy heart and no points to show.

"The true pace of the car still hasn't yielded the results it deserves but we are confident of our chances for the rest of the season."

Heidfeld lamented the chain of problems during the race, where he first lost his podium position due to a faulty pitstop from the Andretti team and then was unfortunate to be in the wrong position to take the hit from Rosenqvist.

"The problems started in the pit stops with the Andretti team not realising the minimum pit stop time," explained Heidfeld.

"In Formula E, the car in the fast lane has priority and this allowed Sam Bird to jump me. Then, even though I had more pace and more energy, I wasn't able to overtake.

"Prost spun me quite hard, and I was stationary in the middle of the circuit. Luckily I was unhurt, but the car was damaged and near un-driveable.

"But I was able to keep going to finish the race. It's not what you wish for when you pit in second place and it was just bad luck that the others messed up."

The German still went on to finish 12th in the order, while Rosenqvist was unable to see the chequered flag due to the heavy damage sustained to the car.

"The race was going well before the crash. Both M3Electro cars were really good for the race and we were able to follow everyone and use less energy," said the Swede.

"The race didn't really pan out in our favour but we were still up there fighting at the front. We were quite unlucky with the safety cars - while we saved a lot of energy it became a flat-out race in the closing stages.

"There was a lot of chaos with Nico Prost and I couldn't avoid Nick. I was launched in the air and my race ended there.

"This was the toughest track for us this year, especially for me in qualifying, but Monaco should be better suited."

The race was dramatically won by Abt Audi's Lucas di Grassi with Vergne second and DS Virgin's Sam Bird third.

After the completion of the four rounds, the Indian team sits fifth with 37 points in the teams' standings, six points adrift of third-placed DS Virgin with Techeetah slotting in at fourth.

In the drivers' classification Rosenqvist is sixth with 20 points and Heidfeld eighth on 17, which is led by Renault eDams' Sebastien Buemi.

The Formula E bandwagon now heads to the returning Monaco street circuit with the race to be held on May 13.

[Lead image courtesy: Mahindra Racing. Facebook: www.facebook.com/MahindraRacing/?fref=ts | Twitter: twitter.com/MahindraRacing | Website: www.mahindraracing.com]

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