It's finally happened! Mahindra Racing has secured its maiden Formula E race win of the season, thanks to home hero Alex Lynn's stellar drive in London.
The Formula E World Championship stopped by in London for rounds 12 and 13 of this year’s championship and the 24 racers were greeted by an all-new track. Well, it wasn’t just new! In fact, the new ExCel circuit in London proved to be a world-first for international motorsport – an indoor/outdoor circuit around the historic Royal Docklands. So, naturally, the London double-header was expected to be nothing but a spectacle.
Race 1
This was a special round for Mahindra Racing, as it was their driver Alex Lynn’s first-ever race weekend on home soil. Enthused by the cheer of his home fans, Lynn wasted no time in converting his excitement into results and took pole position for the opening race. Behind him, another Brit – BMW’s Jake Dennis, was enjoying a similar home soil confidence boost as he secured the second spot on the starting grid.
However, despite Lynn leading for a significant portion of the race, a costly lock-up at Turn 10 relegated the Mahindra driver to third, while the top spot was left open for Jake Dennis’ taking. While Dennis mastered his energy management and ultimately took the chequered flag ahead of everyone, Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries clambered through the pack from ninth-place to claw himself back into title contention, as he secured second place.
Race 2
After starting the race from third on the grid, Alex Lynn sparked wild celebrations in the Mahindra Racing garage as he secured an emotional maiden Formula E victory that also happened to be Mahindra’s first race win of the season. Plus, the fact that Lynn achieved this milestone on home turf only sweetened the deal. Behind Lynn, Mercedes-EQ driver Nyck de Vries once again brought home a second-place finish. The top three were rounded off by Jaguar’s Mitch Evans.
As soon as the Safety Car period ended on Lap 13, Nissan’s Oliver Rowland lunged rather aggressively on race leader Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) that resulted in a nasty tangle, forcing both into retirement. This paved the way for de Vries to lead the race briefly. However, a potent Attack Mode activation from Lynn and a not so successful one for de Vries allowed the former to take the chequered flag ahead of the pack, while the latter had to settle for second place.
Speaking about the win, Alex Lynn said, ‘It’s hard to put my feelings in words, but to be honest, I can’t believe this has happened – it’s as special as it gets! Formula E has been an interesting journey for me, so, to win is unbelievably special. We had to make it happen today and we did. I get the pleasure of driving the car and I am thankful to the whole team.’
Heading into the final round of the 2020/21 season, Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries leads the drivers’ championship with 95 points – only six points ahead of Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns. Another eight points behind Frijns, Jaguar’s Sam Bird and BMW’s Jake Dennis are tied for third place, with 81 points each. Therefore, the championship is headed for a very exciting conclusion in Berlin, Germany, as the title fight is still very much wide open.
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