Supported by a thorough engineering work carried out in preseason to tune its Gen3 single-seater, Porsche started the 2023 Formula season with great results in Mexico City.
Pasa Wehrlein‘s second-place finish set a good tone for the Stuttgart-based manufacturer from the outset, finishing with four of its powertrains in the top seven in Round 1.
The result mirrored Porsche‘s dominance in Mexico last season, the site of the German marque’s inaugural victory and one-two in the series. Wehrlein is motivated and wants to keep the podium streak going throughout the season.
Staying on top
“We were very competitive in every session of the weekend,” said Wehrlein. “Actually, qualifying with P6 was the worst session for us. To get back to P2 from P6 during the race was amazing and I think everyone in the team can be proud of their hard work.
“It looks like our pace in the race was very good. Even in qualifying, all the Porsche-powered cars were super strong. So, we hope it’s not a one-off. We are going to keep working hard,” assured the driver.
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Board of Directors’ Satisfaction
From the top management of the team, they celebrated the good start in such an expectant stage as the Gen3 era of Formula E. “What a tremendous start to the season,” said Thomas Laudenbach, VP of Porsche Motorsport.
“A one-two victory and four Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 cars in the top seven – that’s an outstanding result. We have shown what we can deliver. Now it’s about maintaining this level for as long as we can for the rest of the season. We are delighted with this great performance and hope to keep it up,” he stressed.
For his part, Florian Modlinger, Formula E Factory Motorsport Director, highlighted that Mexico represented a successful debut. “Both factory cars qualified in the top 10. In the race, Pascal quickly made his way through and ended up scoring our team’s first podium result of the season.”
On Antonio Felix da Costa, the team’s new acquisition, he explained that he was struggling in positions outside the podium, but also managed to make progress.
“Now we know where we stand. Congratulations to our victorious customer team Avalanche Andretti. In the end, all four Porsche finished in the top seven – we can be very happy with this. It was an outstanding start to the season for Porsche,” concluded Modlinger.
