Nick Cassidy brings Citroën first Formula E win in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY, Mexico–It was classic of the Formula E genre in Mexico City as the series marked its 150th race, as Nick Cassidy strategically sliced through the field from thirteenth to take the race victory.

The celebrations flowed freely as the Kiwi celebrated his fourth win in five races– returning to the top step after a streak of victories to end the previous season–and taking Citroën Racing to the top on just their second weekend in the championship.

"This is unbelievable!' said Cassidy.

"In front of all these amazing fans, this atmosphere is second to none in Formula E, so to get a win here with Citroën, what a dream start we’ve had. I’m just so happy for my team and thanks to them for believing in me, for bringing me to be part of this project. I think there are some really cool times ahead - what a moment. 

"I didn’t think until the last lap that we were okay. I was happy with the P4 today, starting P13, my radio was very much like ‘let’s secure a good result’ but my engineer has always been making the right calls. This one is very much for him as it is for me and the whole team. It’s the team, the car, the package and the strategy that enabled us to win that race - you can’t win this race with a bad car."

Polesitter Sébastien Buemi was pressured into a mistake while defending from Taylor Barnard at the start, with the young Brit taking the lead before being squeezed out by the more experienced pack in the following laps.

Edoardo Mortara, then Nico Müller, then Pascal Wehrlein were through in quick succession from lap five, with Wehrlein leapfrogging his rivals to take the race lead by lap six.

Müller was back in the lead by lap nine, with the Porsche teammates now leading the race, briefly losing the top spot to Mortara before Müller went ahead once again and a full course yellow neutralised the field.

The leaders had left it late to take their Attack Mode power boost, and Cassidy timed his activation perfectly, waiting until lap 30 to make his move.

He was chased down by Jake Dennis, who took his Attack Mode on lap 32, but was unable to make it past Mortara and had to hold station in third.

Cassidy had space to the chasing pack but not much–the top five all within half a second through the stadium section and with positions alternating in the minor placings.

The Kiwi held on to take victory as Mortara and Rowland completed the podium, while Taylor Barnard was able to recover to fourth by the chequered flag.

For Cassidy, a slightly unexpected award was waiting after the race.

“I made a deal with Jean-Éric Vergne on Thursday," he said, "that if I won I’d shave my head."

"There’s a statistic that whoever wins this race wins the championship so I wasn’t giving that one up - if we win the championship I’ll shave my head anyway!"

The Citroën Racing driver now leads the championship on 40 points, narrowly ahead of Dennis on 36 points and Rowland on 34.

The FIA Formula E World Championship returns on 31 January in Miami.