Season nine of the Formula E World Championship kicked off last weekend in Mexico City, where 40,000 fans gathered to watch 22 all-electric cars vie for victory.

Not only did the race in the oldest capital city in the Americas mark the beginning of the next season of exciting racing, but it was also the debut race for the Gen3 cars, ushering in a new era of the championship with faster cars and a revamped set of regulations.

As the sun rose on race day, there was everything to play for on one of the fastest circuits on the calendar at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

At 2,250m above sea level, the drivers would soon sweep through the chicanes, blast down the straights and take a quick dance around Foro Sol stadium.

Sam Bird of Jaguar TCS Racing in action in his Jaguar I-TYPE 6 in Mexico City. (Photo: Handout / Jaguar Racing via Getty Images)

Mahindra Racing’s Lucas di Grassi and Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis battled it out into the final qualifying stage, but it was the Brazilian Di Grassi who pulled out the quickest time, earning him the first pole position of the year. Rookie Dennis Hughes in the papaya NEOM McLaren car put on an impressive display, lining up P3 on the grid on his debut.

Di Grassi had a clean getaway off the line, holding onto his lead as the pack made its way through the first turn, but Dennis was on his heels. The Brit’s moment came at lap 12 as he slipped past on the inside of Di Grassi for the lead.

While the Mahindra driver fought to regain his lead, Dennis was unstoppable after that, pulling away from the pack.

Meanwhile, Tag Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, who had qualified sixth, was climbing up the grid, and eventually made the move on Di Grassi for second place on lap 29.

Come the chequered flag, Dennis pulled off a comfortable victory as he picked up the fastest lap and came home a massive seven seconds ahead of Wehrlein, followed by Di Grassi who finished off the podium.

“It was such a physical race. These cars are so hard to drive physically and with the lower grip as well, it makes everything more challenging. But it’s even more rewarding, especially when you win by [seven] seconds,” Dennis said after the race.

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“My team and I have such a good relationship together. We just work so well. It didn’t look like it was happening in qualifying, we turned it round, made some small adjustments for the race and absolutely nailed it. Big kudos to my guys, this is a small repayment to them, and [I] hope to have more success.”

Hughes, who had been hanging onto the back of the leaders, just lost out on fourth place to Avalanche Andretti’s André Lotterer on the final hairpin of the race. Though he is probably not too disappointed with coming home fifth in his first Formula E performance. 

The race was not without some drama, as Robin Frijns’s ABT CUPRA quickly became the first of four to not finish when he collided with the Nissan of Norman Nato at turn nine, taking them both out of the race. Unfortunately, it was not just the end of Frijns’s drive, as he also broke his wrist in the collision and had surgery shortly afterwards.

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A few laps later, Sam Bird, who narrowly avoided being caught up in the previous incident, was forced to retire owing to technical issues. On lap 19, Edoardo Mortara brought out another safety car when he spun his Maserati out into the wall at Turn one.

After his stellar season in 2022, in which he took the Season Eight title, all eyes were on reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne in the black and gold DS PENSKE.

Briton Jake Hughes of the Neom McLaren Formula E Team competes as the Formula E World Championship gets under way in Mexico City. (Photo: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

While the Belgian only won a single race last year, he put in a consistent and measured performance that would see him collecting points week in and week out to secure ultimate victory.

It would, however ,be a disappointing weekend in Mexico for Vandoorne, as he lined up 14th on the grid after a poor qualifying. In the race, he made a few key moves, but only managed to pick up a single point. DM