Mortara denies Wehrlein redemptive Formula E win in Mexico

Mortara made a great start to sweep around the outside of Wehrlein to move into second place at Turn 1, before jumping polesitter Oliver Rowland during the Attack Mode phase.

The Swiss-Italian driver kept his cool despite coming under attack from Wehrlein in the closing stages to score his and Venturi’s first FE win since the 2019 Hong Kong E-Prix.

In becoming the eighth different winner from the opening nine races of the 2021 season, Mortara has moved into a 10-point championship lead.

Wehrlein closed to within a couple of tenths of Mortara and looked determined to seal a redemptive victory after losing a win in the opening race of the weekend due to a controversial disqualification that his Porsche team has since appealed.

But a wide moment at Turn 7 meant Wehrlein dropped over a second behind Mortara, a mistake which ultimately cost him the shot of victory.

However, the ex-Sauber Formula 1 driver finds himself under investigation for the second time in two days for maximum power overuse and could yet be stripped of his podium.

Virgin’s Nick Cassidy overtook Rowland in the closing stages to score his maiden FE podium, while BMW’s Jake Dennis completed the top five.

Alex Lynn was sixth for Mahindra, ahead of the second BMW of Max Gunther.

Double FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne had to settle for seventh after a costly spin at Turn 9 dropped the Techeetah driver down the order from fifth.

Jaguar’s Mitch Evans finished ninth, while Audi’s Rene Rast turned in a stunning recovery drive from the very back of the grid to snatch the final point on offer after passing former points leader Robin Frijns on the last lap.

It was a hugely disappointing race for a number of championship frontrunners, with reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa and Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries both crashing out.

Click here for full race results from the second race at the 2021 Puebla E-Prix.