• Mahindra Racing’s Jérôme D’Ambrosio gains 11 places in 5 Formula E race regains the lead of the driver’s championship.
• Pascal Wehrlein also added to his points tally, crossing the line in tenth.

13 APRIL 2019, ROME, ITALY – For the second year, the centre of Rome played host to the seventh round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. After another dramatic season 5 Formula E race, Mahindra Racing’s Jérôme D’Ambrosio came back from a challenging qualifying session to gain 11 places in the race to finish eighth, collecting four championship points and regaining the lead of the driver's championship. Pascal Wehrlein also added to his points tally, crossing the line in tenth.

Disadvantaged by qualifying in group one on a cold track, Jérôme struggled for grip in the final sector of his qualifying lap and, with lap times falling as the track warmed up and gained grip, he was forced to start from the tenth row of the grid from 19th. Pascal set his qualifying lap in group 2 and qualified in tenth position, but was handed a post-session grid penalty for speeding under a red flag and began the race from 14th.

On the extremely tight Rome E-Prix circuit, which was damp from a downpour ahead of the start of the race, both Mahindra Racing drivers had a clean start, with Pascal and Jérôme in 15th and 18th respectively by the end of the first lap. However, an ensuing incident involving Jose Mario Lopez, Jean Eric Vergne and Gary Paffett blocked the track and brought out the red flag.

After a lengthy 45-minute red flag period, Pascal and Jérôme restarted the race in 15th and 17th and set about working their way up the order in the remaining 40 minutes of the race. With ten minutes to go, Jérôme was in a points-scoring tenth place, with Pascal just outside the points in 12th. With two minutes remaining, Pascal was able to move up into 11th place and then, with Jean Eric Vergne handed a drive through penalty and Jérôme gaining a late position, Jérôme and Pascal were classified in the points in eighth and tenth.

We stay in Europe for the next round of the championship, which will take place in two weeks' time in the heart of Paris on Saturday 27 April.

JÉRÔME D’AMBROSIO

"It's been a challenging day but it's good to be leading again! It’s super tight and competitive out there but, at the moment, with us always having to qualify in group 1, we are at a disadvantage. This means when we should be fighting for a podium with the pace we have, instead we're fighting for a few points. I think we had a good strategy but you find yourself racing with guys that shouldn’t be at the front because of the qualifying format. For the fans its entertaining, but it’s sometimes frustrating for us this season. We have to take the positives that we kept it clean and scored again and we have to keep extracting the maximum out of every weekend."

PASCAL WEHRLEIN

"For me it was a neutral race. We changed our set-up a bit for today which helped in the race and our pace was a lot better than in qualifying. I’m not really sure why qualifying didn’t go so well; I wasn't really happy with the balance and then we got the grid penalty, which didn’t help. We know we can be fighting at the top and winning races."

DILBAGH GILL, TEAM PRINCIPAL

"Overall it was a decent day. Unfortunately, we started at the back because of the format of the qualifying groups; it was through no fault of our own and was luck of the draw. What we did do was make the maximum amount of overtakes today as a team to keep progressing forward and finishing with both cars in the points. In a chaotic race, we kept our nose clean and kept moving forward. I'm happy that we are leading the driver’s championship again and fighting at the top of the team’s championship."

MAHINDRA RACING
Mahindra Racing is one of ten founding teams – and the only Indian team – to compete in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first all-electric racing series. Mahindra Racing has impressive credentials; after scoring it’s breakthrough win at the Berlin E-Prix in 2017, the squad now has four race victories to it’s name in addition to 18 podiums, and seven pole positions since season one. After four seasons with the first generation race car, all eyes now turn to season five. Mahindra Racing has high ambitions with the Gen2 M5Electro, a technical innovation that will see the car last the duration of a race as Formula E continues to push the limits of technology and electrification.

ABB FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship is the world’s first fully-electric single-seater racing series, competing on the streets against the backdrop of some of the most iconic cities - including Hong Kong, Marrakesh, Paris, Berlin, New York and Montreal. The championship represents a vision for the future of the motor industry, serving as a platform to showcase the latest innovations in electric vehicle technology and alternative energy solutions. Future seasons will see the regulations open up further allowing manufacturers to focus on the development of motor and battery components, which in turn will filter down to everyday contemporary electric road vehicles.

MAHINDRA GROUP
The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume.It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, speedboats, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defence and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 240,000 people across 100 countries.Learn more about Mahindra at www.mahindra.com

Media contact details

ANKITA UPADHYAY
MAHINDRA GROUP
[email protected]
+91 (0)8826 946 333