Mysterious technical error led to violent Mortara crash at Formula E in Monaco - investigation underway

Formula E driver Edo Mortara had a serious accident on the fourth lap of the Monaco E-Prix last Saturday. He became a passenger in the Louis Chiron chicane and crashed heavily into the TecPro barrier. Following the crash, which the Swiss driver escaped unharmed, Mahindra is investigating how it happened. It is clear that human error was not the direct cause. Nevertheless, there was still a lot of guesswork at the Indian manufacturer after the race.

"There was a technical problem on the car, which made it impossible to avoid hitting the wall," explained Mortara, who was able to get out of his Mahindra by himself a few minutes after the impact. "We need to work quickly to understand why it happened, and then look forwards to Berlin."

Mortara was on the outside of the long left-hand bend along the harbour. He already lost a position at the entrance to the bend and then Dan Ticktum got alongside him on the inside lane. Instead of braking and turning in before the chicane, the Mahindra slid into the track barrier almost without braking. The TecPro barrier absorbed a large part of the impact energy and had to be repaired during the subsequent safety car phase.

Another look at the incident that brought out the @PorscheRaces Safety Car.#MonacoEPrix pic.twitter.com/Q3PrF8jYa8

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 27, 2024

Mortara: "It's pretty clear what happened"

"A technical problem led to contact with the crash barriers on the inside of the Louis Chiron chicane," is how Mahindra briefly and simply described the accident. The Indians have not yet released any more information, although Mortara told racingnews365.com: "I think it's pretty clear from the data what happened."

"We can see the problem, but we don't yet fully understand why it happened, because it obviously happened in the worst place," Mortara continued. Mahindra must now find the exact cause and then try to find a solution, he says.

? SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED ?

Mortara makes contact with the wall in the swimming pool complex. The @MahindraRacing driver is now out of the car.#MonacoEPrix @PorscheRaces pic.twitter.com/UWfGXXHtsw

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 27, 2024

Mortara and his team will be keen to find the error as quickly as possible because the Formula E double-header in Berlin is just two weeks away (11 and 12 May 2024). Mortara certainly doesn't want to push his luck again...