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Formula E in India: Who can outsmart Wehrlein and Porsche?
- GPblog.com
The season in Formula E is only three races old (one in Mexico, two in Saudi Arabia), but already Pascal Wehrlein is in a luxury position. The championship leader has by far the best car in the field with his Porsche and knows he is championship contender number one. Who can stop him from a third win in India, during the third FE weekend of the season?
Three races, at two different circuits. It seems far too early to bombard Wehrlein as the favourite. Yet there is a clear indication that Wehrlein is the man to beat. After all, the tracks in Mexico and Saudi Arabia were the absolute extremes of each other (in terms of height above sea level and layout), all other circuits are in between. The popular opinion in the paddock is that a car that was dominant at both tracks should also be dominant at the others.
Only Andretti Avalanche can keep up
Only the Andretti Avalanche team could keep up with Porsche during the opening weekends. Not surprisingly, since Andretti is Porsche's sister team with the same powertrain. The opening race was even won by Jake Dennis of the American team (ahead of Wehrlein). In Saudi Arabia, Dennis finished second twice, but could never claim a win. The combination of Porsche and Wehrlein was too strong for that.
Formula E organisers often cite the adage that the winner in the electric racing class can never be predicted. This year, with the dominant Porsche drive, that seems to have changed. However, the battle for the final spot on the podium is exciting. Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra), Sam Bird (Jaguar) and René Rast(McLaren) already managed to secure a podium spot.
Mahindra in front of their home crowd
For Mahindra, it will be a weekend where expectations are going to be high. For the first time, Formula E will visit India, in the metropolis of Hyderabad (population of almost seven million). The home crowd is expecting a lot from the car brand. Whether an impressive result will be on the cards on the circuit, which is less than three kilometres long and characterised by three long straight sections, remains to be seen. After Di Grassi's third place, the team did not manage to break any more records.
Robin Frijns is also missing in India due to injury. The ABT Cupdra Dutchman is recovering from several fractures in his forearm and is again replaced by Kelvin van der Linde. Frijns hopes to return in South Africa.
New intro
So for Formula E, it will be the first time in India. The FE organisers are taking advantage of the race to also introduce a new intro for the start of the race. The music track - like Formula 1 has one - can already be heard in the video.