The 2024 race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez sets the tone for the upcoming season. What insights, including Jake Dennis’s domination last year here, does the race plot for the 2023 edition provide? What is Jehan Daruvala as the new rookie facing in qualifying and energy management. While not high in overtakes, the season opener promises significant insights and data, making it an intriguing start to the 10th season.
The season – opener for the historic 10th season is upon us. There is nothing stopping it and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is all decked up to host another season – opener as it has now done for a while. The high-altitude permanent circuit with a stadium section that formerly hosted baseball, serves a great stage for the carnival to get going with it being a well – known track, wide as well as narrow at portions, a stadium sections that is able to house one of the most advantageous Attack Mode activation placements, and a flow in the Formula E nature. Presenting a never – seen before look at the 2023 edition’s race and what can be understood about the season opener for 2024!
A race that started as a Formula E mix sandwich with the two Mahindra cars as the bread ended in a victory for Jake Dennis that set the tone for his season to the championship win, and also produced the Mahindra’s best finish at P3. As can be seen in the plot, in Mexico, as soon as the cars are free to race with the green flag being waved, the gap starts to build, and while it isnt much, it can extend to more than a second between the cars given how the track doesn’t keep the cars as tight and doesn’t make it very easy to follow either because of how open it is, how hot components can become in the high altitude less dense air, and how here is space to move around. Which means, there isn’t a constant active tussle for position, or a potent threat but rather a simpler lingering threat in the background. There is space for both attack and defense down the main straight, back straight and the stadium section and a mix of long fast straights and sweeps as well as a technical middle sector that requires a lot of car control, especially if the tyres start to lose grip. A reminder that there is only one set available for a single round.
The second half of the race opens up a new dimension, as more of energy saving starts to factor in, especially with the added laps due to the low energy usage behind the Safety Car not allowing the cars to go flat out. And this is where Jake Dennis in his Porsche car driven by the Avalanche Andretti team, starts to show the domination. Having already built a gap before the last Safety Car period, since then, he gradually keeps his pace the best as the others start to fall off in two separate groups like a peloton. The only person able to match him at times, and be away from the chaos behind was Pascal Wehrlein, driving for the Porsche works outfit. For some the addition of the new chicane, which breaks up the back straight and adds another braking zone, shall help manage regen and energy better for what is also essentially a one lap – shorter scheduled race at 35 laps. The teams have also had a whole season with the GEN3 car to further optimize software on energy deployment.
Attack Mode placement has moved slightly, It was previously a corner earlier in the stadium section and on the straight section, making the time loss and accuracy much better for the driver taking it as they lost less time and could easily take the inside line and get a good high-power exit. Now, it is in the middle of the corner no. 15, on the outside, making it a bit of a challenge to have to go to the outside and take it the drivers are experienced with that in terms of driving and strategising. What it might do though is make the position interchanges a bit more prominent in those small groups that form of a few cars. A constant interchange, or atleast change in interval between them can be seen. Drivers often, especially those who aren’t confident of their laps and overtaking in the 350kWh mode later on, given if their opponent is actually good on the higher power laps, they are guaranteed a overtake here, the slower ones might go with the faster drivers into the Attack Mode activation and follow on. The Porsch and Jaguar cars run by Andretti and Envision respectively as well have an upper hand on the field.
THE ROOKIE INDIAN DARUVALA
One driver not on that graph is the new rookie on the grid – Jehan Daruvala. He has many things to conquer including the Formula E qualifying format that requires consistency for the ultimate reward, a necessity against the likes of Dennis and Hughes. For Daruvala, that has been a weak point – fast qualifying laps, especially consistently. And only the top 4 from each group qualify. He can hope that Maserati start him off in a possibly easier Group 2 while it is in their hands before the championship positions decide them. A challenge here could also be bringing in the right tyre temperatures in the limited two possible attempts in group qualifying and the single laps in the duels, for him.
In the race, he will need to get a grasp of energy management, and this isn’t the best starter circuit if you want a fun experience, but Jake Hughes showed us what is possible last year. And in the race, Daruvala goes brave when he feels the need to and that is rewarded in this series, and on this track. He has been good with tyre management and pace management whenever in the front in races, and that could translate to maintaining position in the race. And its in a team that can operate in such extreme conditions.
Overall, a mega season opener awaits us maybe not in terms of the number of overtakes and overall action but the intrinsic data and understanding. Be prepared for the acceleration.
spielens 