The Inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix was highly anticipated by many, the track is the first of its kind to host Formula E in India and was sponsored by Greenko for its first outing in the calendar.
The introduction of the new track offered a challenge for all drivers, new and old, and the weekend was incident fuelled from start to finish. Pascal Wehrlein’s mysterious FP1 crash caused all Porsche powered cars to stay off track and investigate whilst he was taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Qualifying created a track limits bonanza with multiple drivers up and down the field having their lap times deleted and losing places in the duels – Vergne was promoted through the final despite being beaten by Sam Bird after Bird’s lap time was deleted.
The qualifying issues resulted in a messy grid, with title rivals Dennis and Wehrlein starting outside of the points and rookie Fenestraz on the second row.
Here are the winners and losers from the first ever Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix
Winner: DS Penske
DS Penske didn’t get off to a great start in Season 9, with the introduction of reigning champion Vandoorne alongside experienced 2-time champion Jean Eric Vergne not living up to the pre-season hype. The team came into Hyderabad with just 7 points on the board, lacking pace in both qualifying and the race. Neither driver was able to use their experience to bring the team forward into regular points paying positions… Until the Hyderabad E-Prix.
The two DS Penske teammates showed pace in the opening practice sessions in India before going into qualifying. Vandoorne was unfortunately eliminated in his group, not advancing to the duels. But Jean Eric Vergne made his way through the duel stages to finish in the final, where he was beaten by the Jaguar of Mitch Evans. JEV was in the middle of the track limits controversy when he was promoted despite losing to Sam Bird when Bird’s time was deleted. Vandoorne and Vergne started 17th and 2nd respectively.
In the race, Vergne quickly moved into the lead, battling with the Envisions of Cassidy and Buemi. He controlled the pace and remained calm, keeping himself free of the incidents behind and managing his energy to the exact percentile – Vergne crossed the line with 0.0% energy remaining. He came into the race with one points finish to his name and left with 3rd in the championship..
The other DS Penske of Vandoorne started from the back and made his way impressively up to 8th, picking up 4 points and consolidating a strong race for the team. The result could have been better if not for Vandoorne’s 5-second penalty, but nonetheless the team gained valuable points and moved up to 6th in the teams championship.
Loser: Jaguar
The Hyderabad E-Prix brought misery for the Jaguar TCS team, a double DNF overshadowing the elation of securing their first pole position in the Gen3 Era. Qualifying was a rollercoaster of emotions for the team, as Mitch Evans took the top spot of the grid whilst Sam Bird was an unfortunate victim of track limits, having his time deleted and not advancing through to the final. The Jaguars lined up 1st and 6th for their first visit to India.
Evans held onto the lead of the race for the first few laps before taking his first attack mode on lap 7 and slipping behind Buemi and Vergne. He would remain behind them even after they had taken attack mode, leaving him in P3. Bird managed to advance to 5th, with the two teammates separated by the Nissan of Fenestraz in between.
But disaster struck on lap 13 of the E-Prix when Sam Bird went deep into the hairpin and collided with his teammate. Evans was spun around by Bird as they collected Fenestraz and Gunther in the process, leaving both Jaguars with terminal damage. The incident marked the end of a dark day for the team.
“Words can’t even begin to say how sorry I am to everyone involved in my mistake today. I take full responsibility and want to take this opportunity to apologise to my team, my teammate and the other drivers involved.”
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing
Winner: Pascal Wehrlein And TAG Heuer Porsche
Pascal and the TAG Heuer Porsche team proved why they deserve to be leading both the drivers and teams championship. Wehrlein started alongside his title rival Jake Dennis, the two had a disappointing qualifying and started from 12th and 13th. Dennis quickly advanced to the front just as he had in previous races but a hit from behind by the Mclaren of Rene Rast left him with extensive damage to the rear of his car. Dennis dropped to the back of the field and didn’t recover from the incident. However, Wehrlein calmly and quietly progressed from his grid slot, finishing the race in 4th behind his teammate as both cars kept their nose clean in what proved to be a dramatic inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix.
As a result of Dennis’ misfortune and Pascal’s patience, the German leads the championship with an 18-point gap over his nearest rival. Porsche lead the teams championship by 23 points over Avalanche Andretti and Da Costa added some valuable points to his own tally after not scoring in Diriyah. The whole team leave Hyderabad with a good result behind them, looking to ride the momentum as they go into Cape Town in two weeks time.
Loser: Mclaren
Much like their rivals Jaguar, the NEOM Mclaren team also suffered a double DNF to round off a disappointing weekend from the new team that has shown so much potential in the opening races. Mclaren have started the year off strong, with their first pole position and first podium secured in race 3 in Diriyah. They were certainly riding a high coming into the Hyderabad E-Prix, looking to capitalise on the performance so far and bring in vital points in their battle against Jaguar and Envision in the standings.
The weekend started off with issues, as Jake Hughes topped the times in Group A but a technical infringement with the pits meant he had to start from the back of the grid. Rast made it into the duels for the 3rd race running but a mistake in his lap led to a track limits violation – Rast was banished from the duels and the Mclarens started the race from 8th and 21st.
The struggles of qualifying followed the team into the race, with Papaya bodywork painting the streets of Hyderabad. Neither driver managed to move massively up the field in the opening laps, with the only benefit arising from the four car pileup caused by the Jaguar of Bird as Rast gained the four places.
The safety car was deployed on lap 22 of the E-Prix after Hughes hit the wall, he reported that the incident was caused by his mirror falling behind the wheel and sending him straight into the barriers. This was his first DNF after an impressive run of results for the rookie in qualifying, though his more experienced teammate Rast has had the measure of him in terms of race pace and energy management.
Mclaren left Hyderabad with a disappointing show, they were overtaken in the standings by Envision after they took advantage of the double DNFs of both Mclarens and Jaguars.
Winner: Sergio Sette Camara
Sergio brought home NIO’s biggest points haul since their 2019 restructure, and scored his best result in over 2 years. So far this year, the NIO 333 team has struggled with energy management and this has translated into a poor race pace, despite qualifying well.
Sette Camara started the E-Prix in 15th place but kept his nose clean and remained calm to pick up the positions lost by others. As those fighting further up the grid tangled, Sergio was brought back into the fight and slowly made his way into the points when the flag dropped.
In addition to benefiting from the collisions up front, the NIO 333 driver gained positions due to penalties for Rowland and Vandoorne, as well as energy dramas for Buemi and Di Grassi. In the end Sergio Sette Camara brought home a P5 finish and 10 points for his team, and amazing result from a race they were looking to struggle in.
Loser: Jake Dennis
Dennis set the season alight in the first 3 rounds, sticking to Wehrlein like glue and trying to make the championship a two horse race. Dennis opened the season with a win and two 2nd places, having to fight from the mid-pack for his fortune. The Brit came into Hyderabad with a glorious season record, riding the momentum of his success and looking to take back the championship lead from his German rival.
The two once again started alongside each other in the mid pack but Dennis did what he does so well and moved up the field at a rate of knots, up to 2nd by lap 16. He dropped behind the two Envision cars after taking attack mode and had a scary moment at the hairpin, almost running into the back of Buemi and taking both of them out of the race. Though this proved to be a foreshadow of what was to come in only a few laps time
The Mclaren of Rast ran into the back of Dennis on the safety car restart, destroying his own wing and giving Dennis serious rear end damage. The Avalanche Andretti limped to the pits and rejoined the circuit after some repairs. By the time he returned to racing Dennis was too far behind to hope for anything other than last place, he crossed the line in 16th and took a serious hit to his championship points tally. Jake now sits 18 points behind leader Pascal Wehrlein, a lead that will be hard to fight back from if he cannot find the motivation to move past the incident that took vital points away from him, through no fault of his own.
Winner… and loser: The Hyderabad E-Prix
The Hyderabad E-Prix brought one of the most exciting races of the season, tight racing, close battles, and thrilling fights. But the event was not without controversy and confusion.
Coming into the weekend, turn 1 was the cause of concern for many as it was deemed to be dangerous due to the speed carried into turn 3. The corner was converted into a chicane to add extra regenerative braking ability and lower the speed to allow for a safer turn 3, but the drivers were somewhat unhappy and pushed the limits of the exit with each lap. This forced the FIA to strictly police track limits there and led to chaos in qualifying as lap times were deleted and the order was mixed up after the duels had already taken place.
The qualifying fiasco was confusing to fans and drivers as the deletion of times took such a huge delay. Vergne was forced into an awkward solo semi-final run as his rival had their earlier time deleted.
Alongside the track limits confusion, the circuit suffered an intrusion from travelling commuters being allowed onto the circuit. This caused a sizable delay to the start of FP1 and did not set the weekend off on a good note.
Despite the chaotic elements, the circuit provided some of the richest racing we have seen, providing the perfect mix of action and incident. The E-Prix was the first of 4 new venues added to the calendar, and proves that Formula E is a series that warrants the respect and stock it has gained since its inception.
