Mexico RACE REPORT S8
The 2022 Mexico City E-Prix delivered sensational racing and plenty of action in front of a capacity crowd at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez today. NIO 333 Formula E Team drivers Oliver Turvey and Dan Ticktum fought some epic battles throughout the 45 minutes plus 1 lap contest to come home in P14 and P18 respectively.
Dan made a great start to Round 3, making up several positions on the opening lap, but ensuing damage inflicted on his #33 NIO 333 FE 001 meant that he was unable to capitalise on the momentum he had gained.
Oliver meanwhile fought hard from the team’s back row starting positions, taking on Sette Camara, Giovinazzi, Askew and Dennis. He was on a different strategy than Dan, which he executed brilliantly. He climbed the positions table whilst maturely managing the energy in his #3 NIO 333 001 challenger. Oliver took the chequered flag comfortably in P14 with, what he felt, even more ‘in the tank’ had the opportunity arisen.
Over the coming weeks the team will re-group before the all-electric racing series heads to the historic city of Rome, Italy for the start of the first European leg on the 2022 calendar.
Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #3
Qualifying Group A – Race Grid Position: P22
Round 3, Race Result: Provisional P14
“We tried lots of tests on the car in free practice but had a tough qualifying session. We started the race trying to save as much energy as possible and built up a big energy buffer over the competition. In the second half of the race, I was able to move forwards and overtake a number of cars to finish P14, but it was close at the end, and I feel that we had potential to finish higher with the energy we had. We have definitely learned a lot of things after today and it was a good race, so hopefully we can keep on learning and improving for the next race.”
Dan Ticktum, NIO 333 FE 001 #33
Qualifying Group B – Race Grid Position: P21
Round 3, Race Result: Provisional P18
“It was a tough weekend again, but I think we went forward today. I got a relatively good start, but contact with a car didn’t help and, had that not have happened, I think the race could have been very different. We are making some progress, so it’s on to the next race in Rome.”
Russell O’Hagan, Deputy Team Principal, NIO 333 Formula E Team
“It’s been an exciting few days with a lot of positives. The team operated well and the event itself had a real buzz about it. The atmosphere in the paddock was incredible today and it was a genuine pleasure to see so many enthusiastic fans sharing their passion for Formula E and the drivers.
Unfortunately, on the performance side we struggled with consistency in qualifying which left us with a lot of work to do. A determined approach to the race saw us move up the field with both cars. Dan was hampered early on with some frustrating damage which prevented him from progressing further. With Oliver we took a very bold strategy to conserve energy early on. We gambled hard on aiming for a top 10 finish which we were close to achieving had the last few laps unfolded slightly differently. Even so, to gain eight positions was a great effort and a strong reward for the teams ongoing hard work.”
The NIO 333 Formula E Team will now head back to its Silverstone HQ in the UK to prepare for its return to the Italian capital of Rome for Round 4 of the 2021/2022 FIA World Formula E Championship on 9th April.
