Closed Circuit: Mahindra Racing in Paris

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Mahindra Racing arrived in Paris hoping for a repeat of their double points finish in Long Beach last time out. However only Bruno Senna was able to make it into the points due to a qualifying crash for Nick Heidfeld.

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After a best ever finish in Long Beach, Mahindra came to Paris on a high, but they couldn’t continue that positive momentum in the first European race. The practice sessions went well for the team, but they struggled in qualifying with Bruno Senna qualifying 13th and Nick Heidfeld starting at the back of the grid after crashing with Mike Conway on his qualifying run.
In the race, the narrow, slippery circuit made it difficult to overtake, but both drivers managed to make up places throughout the race. Senna was making up places in the first stint before getting stuck behind Qing Hua Ma, who was a lap down. He finished 9th. After starting at the back of the field, Heidfeld made up a few places, setting a fastest lap in the process, but couldn’t finish inside the top ten.
Mahindra believe the pace and consistency they showed in Paris is promising for the remainder of the season, but they only left Paris with four points.

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[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Dilbagh Gill: “We leave Paris having scored points with both drivers in the race for the fifth time this season in seven races. That’s a solid result but of course we will always want more. The fact that Nick recorded the fastest lap is very encouraging and reflects the true pace of the M2Electro.”[/pullquote]

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The day in Paris started well for Bruno Senna. After finishing ninth in the first practice session, he improved to sixth in the second. But he couldn’t find the same pace in the qualifying session.
A mistake with the set up put the Brazilian on the back foot and he qualified thirteenth. It wasn’t the best, especially when the challenging circuit would make it difficult to overtake during the race.
But overtake Senna managed, moving up two places on the very first lap and overtaking on track. His move up the field was stopped by Antonio Felix Da Costa, who Senna couldn’t get past, and then by back marker Qing Hua Ma, who frustrated the Brazilian when the new driver didn’t allow him past.
Senna finished the race in ninth, taking home two points for the team. Along with team-mate Heidfeld, he also managed to stop a lap later than most of the field, as in Long Beach.

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Best time in FP1: 1:03.570 (P8)

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Best time in FP2: 1:01.841 (P6)

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Best time in qualifying: 1:02.915 (P13)

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Best time in the race: 1:03.018 (Lap 33)

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Pit stop time and difference to minimum pit stop time: 1:07.472 (1.472 above minimum time)

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[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It is good for me to finish in the points for the fourth time in a row this year. Of course, we would always like more and my pace this morning showed that more was possible but this is the kind of consistency we need to maintain at the very least.
It was a frustrating race because I was gaining positions but I was held up by a lapped car which wouldn’t respond to the blue flags to allow me to overtake. We lost energy and time because of this.”[/pullquote]

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Free practice 1 was the best session of the day for Nick Heidfeld, but he couldn’t repeat his performance in the second session, when he finished fifteenth of the eighteen drivers.
Qualifying also didn’t go the way Heidfeld wanted. After travelling sideways through a corner on his qualifying run, Heidfeld stopped. When he got started again, he found himself driving into the same spot as Mike Conway, ruining both driver’s qualifying sessions and putting the German at the back of the grid.
Heidfeld had a difficult race ahead of him, but slowly crept up the field, staying very close to the drivers ahead of him and earning places when other drivers fell out of the race. It would be difficult for the German to finish inside the points, and eventually settled in twelfth, but he did take home two points after setting the fastest lap. He and Senna impressed with battery management again, as in Long Beach.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Lap chart” tab_id=”1461512548457-fc72c98b-1a615043-b572c167-4c1b”][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Starting position; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43;44; 45″ values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Nick%20Heidfeld%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2218%3B18%3B18%3B18%3B18%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B17%3B16%3B16%3B16%3B16%3B16%3B15%3B14%3B12%3B3%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B14%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%3B12%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%7D%5D” title=”Nick Heidfeld: lap chart”][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The race in numbers” tab_id=”1461512549057-0abe4d02-33bc5043-b572c167-4c1b”][vc_column_text]

Best time in FP1: 1:03.682 (P9)

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Best time in FP2: 1:02.481 (P15)

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Best time in qualifying: 1:11.853 (P18)

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Best time in the race: 1:02.323 (Lap 39 – fastest lap of the race)

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Pit stop time and difference to minimum pit stop time: 1:09.938 (3.938 above minimum time)

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[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“My initial plan was to use some extra energy to gain positions but I could see the drivers around me locking wheels and going sideways or having contact with each other while pushing so I decided it was not worth the risk. It would have been difficult to gain enough positions to finish in the points. I could have finished one or two places higher but I could also have had an incident.
What puts a smile on my face at the end of the day is recording the fastest lap. It shows that we have strong, competitive race pace and it is also a nice reward for the team. It’s always nice to take a trophy home and as one of the most special events we have ever had on the Formula E calendar, it is nice for me to have something at home to remember it.”[/pullquote]

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Bethonie Waring | e-racing.net

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Images courtesy of Rajan Jangda

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