Mahindra Racing's M5Electro race car made its India debut today and in full race livery. The debut comes just days ahead of the start of the fifth season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship . Season 5. The first race is scheduled for December 15 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia with a total of 13 races across various cities in the world. The M5Electro is based on generation two of the Formula E race car, and comes with a new EV powertrain technology. It will be able to touch 100kmph in just 2.8 seconds and go on to a top speed of 280kmph. The design sees an evolution of the team's iconic red, white and blue colour scheme, updated and created to reflect the exhilarating new design of the Gen2 car. The new team kit draws inspiration from iconic Indian symbols, the Bengal tiger and the Lotus flower.
Mahindra Racing had already announced its driver line-up for the Formula E Championship Season 5 and the Indian team signed up Jerome d'Ambrosio and Pascal Wehrlein as its two drivers. The new drivers replace Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld at Mahindra Racing, with the latter moving into an advisory role within the team as a reserve and test driver. D'Ambrosio, is already a Formula E veteran, having won the championship twice and has been a part of the championship since inception. The Belgian driver moves from Dragon Racing to Mahindra. Wehrlein, meanwhile, is a 2015 DTM champion and is better known for his stint in Formula 1 with Sauber. The German driver had confirmed earlier this year to about his decision to mutually split with Mercedes' junior programme at the end of this year, clearly making way for his Formula E debut.
The design sees an evolution of the team's iconic red, white and blue colour scheme, updated and created to reflect the exhilarating new design of the Gen2 car.
There have been some changes made to the Formula E races in the new season. The race will now last for 45-minutes and an extra lap without any pit stops. Drivers can use the 'Attack Mode', which will help them pick up an extra bit of power and to arm this they will need to drive their cars off the racing line, through the Activation Zone. As a reward for taking a slower line through the corner, they will be able to collect an extra 25 kW of power. Moreover, five drivers who receive the highly-acclaimed Fanboost from fan voting ahead of the race, will be awarded a significant burst of power, which they can deploy in a five-second window during the second half of the race.
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Chairman, Mahindra Racing said "Formula E represents the cutting edge of EV technology and plays a strategic role in realizing Mahindra's vision of the Future of Mobility through our 'Race to Road strategy. Racing is at the pinnacle of global EV motorsport, it puts Mahindra on the fast track toward the development of an entirely new generation of EVs that offer clean, exciting yet affordable mobility to our customers. We are geared up to begin racing in Season 5 of Formula E in the next few days and will push hard toward victory. We look forward to growing interest and support from our Indian fans for a championship that is helping to develop sustainable mobility solutions for the future."
