Why Porsche's Formula E breakthrough points to a flawed narrative

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Mar 2, 2022, 12:53 PM

A crushing 1-2 in Mexico meant Porsche broke its Formula E duck in fine style to underline its status as a credible title contender. But while its success has taken longer to arrive relative to Mercedes, there are several reasons why their situations aren't directly comparable and, crucially, it appears to be an equal now the series has moved away from its loathed qualifying format

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It's not inconceivable that Porsche could have – and in one case, should have – already won a Formula E race or two prior to its long-awaited victory at the 2022 Mexico City E-Prix last month.

Pascal Wehrlein should have won at Puebla last year, had a few forms been filled out correctly. Andre Lotterer could have also won races by now if things had fallen just a little bit differently; you need only to look at the second-place finishes on his record to see that just a sprinkling of luck could have changed the perception of Porsche in Formula E. Unfortunately, sprinklings of luck are just as common in the all-electric series as downpours of misfortune. When Wehrlein was stripped of his Puebla win due to the filing of an incorrect technical passport for his 99X Electric, it was simply yet another case of Formula E's famously hard luck.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

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Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.

Why Porsche's Formula E breakthrough points to a flawed narrative

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