Mortara & de Vries score 18 points at Formula E season opener - has Mahindra really built a "rocket ship"?

In between all the chaos in Sao Paulo, Mahindra - somewhat surprisingly - got the season off to a good start. After Formula E testing in Madrid, the team had already expressed satisfaction with its pre-season work for season 11. With 18 points collected by Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries in Brazil, the Indian team positioned itself in fourth place in the teams' championship. But is the new Mahindra really the "rocket ship" that many in the paddock have been talking about?

It took Mahindra Racing 13 races to score 18 points in season 10 - in a calendar with a total of 16 races! In addition, de Vries was able to contribute just 18 points to the teams' standings in the entire last season. He now has eight points after just one race, and his team-mate Mortara already has ten.

Mahindra probably also benefits from race dynamics

Qualifying at the Sao Paulo E-Prix still left some doubts. Although the usual strong Mortara made it into the duels, he had no chance against Maximilian Günther, whose DS E-Tense 24 did not appear to be a candidate for victory either. For de Vries, however, the time trial was much more disappointing. The former world champion set the slowest time of all the drivers and was only allowed to start ahead of Mitch Evans, who was unable to set a lap time. "We were a little disappointed with qualifying on our side of the garage, we didn't get it right," said the Dutchman.

How the Mahindra powertrain would have performed in a normal race, however, remains a mystery for the time being. It is very difficult to draw any clear conclusions from the race in Sao Paulo as to where the cars rank in terms of performance. The new Attack Mode paired with two red flags clearly distorted the overall picture, as energy efficiency in particular played almost no role whatsoever.

However, Mortara and de Vries can in no way be denied their good performance in the race. Both drivers survived the start phase without any damage and positioned themselves cleverly in the race. They were also able to make good strategic use of both Attack Modes, which was crucial for the good result. The fifth and sixth place marked the best season opener ever for Mahindra (together with season 9).

Cautious optimism in the team

De Vries was therefore satisfied with the E-Prix: "Fortunately, we were able to catch up in the race and stay out of all the chaos. But there is still a lot for us to learn ahead of the upcoming races. All in all, a good start."

Mortara was also satisfied, but not over the moon: "Personally, I'm happy with P5 in such a chaotic race." The Swiss driver still expects a lot of potential in the new car: "We have a brand-new car, so a lot is still possible with this package. The fact that we finished the race helps us to understand what we need to do to improve further."

It seems as if Mahindra itself is not sure whether it will be able to race at this level again in January. Mahindra's team principal Frederic Bertrand also urges modesty: "I am very proud of the team, but we should remain focussed and modest ahead of the Mexico City race." The aforementioned race in Mexico will take place on 11 January 2025.