Lucas di Grassi delivered a lesson in composure to his Formula E championship rivals on Saturday by claiming an emphatic victory in the Mexico City ePrix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Starting third on the grid, di Grassi managed to pick off Renault e.dams’ Nicolas Prost for second place just before the car swaps, before then using his FanBoost to dispose of pole-sitter and early leader Jerome d’Ambrosio one lap after pitting.
Di Grassi was not able to shake off his rivals at first, with d’Ambrosio and Prost having been joined by championship leader Sebastien Buemi and Daniel Abt, but was given the break he needed when chaos ensued just behind.
Keen to not lose sight of his championship rival at the front, Buemi attempted a move on d’Ambrosio just one lap after di Grassi had passed, only to be blocked off. A frustrated Buemi tried again a few laps later, second guessing d’Ambrosio by trying to sell a dummy - only to make contact with the Belgian.
Both drivers continued without losing a position, leaving Buemi to have a third bite of the cherry with eight laps remaining. The Swiss driver slung his e.dams around the outside of d’Ambrosio at the first corner, cutting the chicane in the process and therefore being left to give the position back.
As Buemi slowed, the train of cars behind him bunched up, much to the frustration of d’Ambrosio who now found himself at risk of losing a place to Prost. Angered by Buemi’s antics, d’Ambrosio cut the final chicane to take back second place that he believed to rightly be his, restoring the status quo.
All of this gave di Grassi a healthy buffer at the front, culminating in his third Formula E victory and a return to the top of the championship standings.
D’Ambrosio edged out Buemi in a dash to the line for second place, much to the chagrin of the e.dams driver who was left to settle for P3. However, both drivers were called to see the stewards after the race, with no decision on their tangle being made at the time of writing.
Loic Duval benefitted from the late drama to finish fourth ahead of Prost, who dropped back after receiving a penalty for an unsafe release from the pits. Robin Frijns worked his way up to sixth for Andretti Autosport, while Sam Bird ended the race seventh for DS Virgin Racing.
A late spin dropped Abt down to eighth place come the checkered flag, while Nick Heidfeld and Stephane Sarrazin rounded out the points in P9 and P10 respectively.
The next Formula E race takes place in Long Beach, California on April 2.