Mahindra Racing has had a lacklustre season up until now, but the penultimate round of the 2021-2022 Formula E season finally helped Mahindra Racing get some silverware this season. Oliver Rowland stormed to pole for the Round 14 Seoul E-Prix, and in the final of the duel battles he went head to head with veteran racer and former Formula E champion Lucas Di Grassi - who is set to join Mahindra Racing next season - and out qualified him by 0.6 seconds. After starting the race from P1, he managed to finish in second place, claiming his and Mahindra Racing’s first podium finish of the season in its 100th race in the all-electric series, and helping the team gain one place in the standings.
Mahindra Racing completed 100 races in Formula E.
Also Read: Mahindra Racing Signs Lucas Di Grassi For 2022-2023 Season
Speaking on the podium finish, Rowland said, “The race was tricky. Overtaking is difficult on this track especially at the beginning when we couldn’t use much energy. So, getting Lucas back on the first lap was key to maintaining the second-place result.” He further added “At one point, I started to apply pressure on Mitch [Evans] but then had a close-call with the wall so had a word with myself, decided to be sensible and took second place.”
“That feels like we got the monkey off our back! I think we were really strong today. To secure the pole position Rowland drove really well in difficult conditions” Dilbagh Gill, team principal of Mahindra Racing said. “Race pace was really strong for both cars so now we get our heads down again and make sure we take full advantage of our package tomorrow”, he added.
Lucas Di Grassi is set to join Mahindra Racing next year.
The start of the race proved tricky for Rowland has he had wheelspin off the line due to the water on the track and the paint on the P1 grid position, and he dropped behind Di Grassi and Mitch Evans, who got great starts from P6 and P4. Evans soon made a move on Di Grassi to claim the lead of the race on the opening lap itself, and Di Grassi was then also passed by Rowland. The track has a nature of being difficult to overtake, and Rowland’s early move on Di Grassi helped him secure P2 in the race. Di Grassi came home to finish third, claiming his 39th podium finish and surpassing a tally of 1000 points in his 99th race, making him the first driver to do so in Formula E.
Mitch Evans kept his title fight alive by winning the race.
Mitch Evans secured the race win to keep his title fight alive and cut into the points lead of championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne, who finished fifth in the race. With the championship decider happening this Sunday, Mitch Evans is now 21 points behind Stoffel Vandoorne, meaning that Vandoorne already has one hand on the championship trophy, but Evans still has an outside chance to win the title. However, to do that, Evans must win the final race of the season and get the fastest lap, while Vandoorne must finish eighth or lower, but with Evans qualifying in P14, it would be an incredible challenge for him to do so.
