Mahindra does well at Formula E, Senna fourth

Mahindra Racers Bruno Senna (L) and Karun Chandhok

29th June 2015. London, UK. Mahindra Racing this afternoon enjoyed their best result of the season as the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship reached a dramatic conclusion. Bruno Senna finished at fourth position in the race following a fantastic drive which included a solid pit stop by his Mahindra mechanics and a strong few laps of defending his position. The result also meant that Mahindra Racing move back up to eighth in the championship standings. Chandhok was 14thoverall following the conclusion of the race.

With three drivers able to clinch the championship, the Mahindra drivers approached the race with the aim of achieving as may points as possible.

However changing weather conditions during qualifying left a tricky track to contend with, as a result Senna who was in an earlier group ended in fifth while Chandhok who was caught out with the rain ended the session in 19th.

As the lights went out the London crowd were welcomed to their first racing start of the weekend; and as the cars had made their way to the second lap Senna was in sixth while Chandhok had enjoyed a storming launch to lay in 15th – gaining a strong amount of places.

Over the next few laps, the main drama came in the form of Heidfeld who was stuck in the pit-lane entry and pushing his car back. This was cleared relatively easily and meant that the track was soon green to go racing on once again.

As the pit stop window was complete following two strong car changes from the Mahindra Racing team the cars were released and soon enough a mistake from championship contender Buemi left the track clear for Bruno to claim his fifth position back.

Needless to say, whilst in the fight for the Drivers’ title, Buemi was not best pleased and used the final few laps of the race to push Senna hard. However the Mahindra Racing driver fought harder for the position and made the move impossible for the eDAMs racer, claiming fifth on the road which was elevated when race leader Stephane Sarrazin was handed a drive through penalty on the final lap.

Claiming fourth, Senna ensured that he secured the team’s best result of the season and elevated them up to eighth in the championship. Struggling at the very end with the temperature Chandhok came home in 13th.

In a press conference following the race, Senna said “This was the best result of the season for me and also for the whole Mahindra Racing team. I am very happy to finish the season on a high and to be able to fulfil our potential. The battle with Buemi was enjoyable but it was tough when he was tapping me from behind but that’s sometimes how it goes in racing. Overall I am very pleased with how the race went.”

Chandhok added, “The first stint was pretty good and I think that we could have got 11th. At the start I moved up places which was great for us around this circuit, however we ended up using more energy than we’d hoped as a result. So in the end we boxed one lap earlier which meant that we were forced to compromise our second stint. We ended up coasting to the finish. It’s great to see Bruno get fourth and end strongly for the team.”

Team Principal Dilbagh Gill was pleased We certainly saved the best for last. That was a brilliant performance from Bruno and from the entire team. We showed a lot of potential and signed off very well. I am pleased to have moved up in the championship ranking as a result and proud of all the hard work the Mahindra Racing engineers, mechanics and drivers have put in all season.’