Mahindra Racing Team Principal Frederic Bertrand has accepted that the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has become a season for “learning and rebuilding”, after another couple of challenging races in Jakarta.
The Indian manufacturer again found themselves at the back at the Jakarta E-Prix, as Lucas Di Grassi and debutant Roberto Merhi failed to score a point. Whilst Di Grassi salvaged fourteenth in both races, qualifying was again the side’s biggest downfall.
Qualifying ahead of the bottom two rows seems like an impossible task currently, with Mahindra leaving themselves with too much work to do in the races. Despite their struggles which have seen them fall to tenth in the Constructors’ Championship, Bertrand is convinced that his side will eventually get back towards the front of the field, as a result of the team’s “fighting spirit”.
“What a hot weekend in Jakarta! Of course, we would have hoped for more, but we now know that this season is turning into more of a learning and rebuilding year. Lucas did a great job making up multiple places during both races and Roberto settled into the team and the car more and more each session. It is the first time he has driven a car of this kind and I think he handled it really well.
“Of course, we still have a lot of work to do, and we don’t pretend that it is going to be an easy end to the season results wise, but thankfully our team has a good fighting spirit and we will not give up. We have the support from our partners and crucially, the wider Mahindra Group to make the necessary changes to bring Mahindra Racing back to the front of Formula E.”
