“We started well and had a bit of a dip in mid-season where we were finishing P6 and P7 and that’s obviously not enough to win a championship,” said Wehrlein. “It was great to come back in Jakarta with a win and many points collected over that weekend. We’re approaching the last part of the season in a great position in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championship.
The team had their heads down in the data after Monaco to digest what went right and what didn’t over the first half of the season, and with conclusions drawn there was a return to form.
“We want to fight until the very last race and in motorsport you lose more than you win,” continued the Germna. “It was about taking the right conclusions, sorting out the issues you have and coming back stronger. We know we have a strong package and that if we have a perfect weekend, then we can win.
“I can’t go into too much detail [as to what we’ve worked on] but there were issues mid-season which hurt our performance quite a lot and sorting that out has brought us back to where we were at the beginning of the season, more or less. It was important for us to sort it out and have a clear mindset going into the last races.”
‘Nick said that?!’
Nick Cassidy is of the opinion that the Porsche’s sit just ahead of the Jaguar-powered cars – including his Envision Racing I-TYPE 6 – when it comes to energy efficiency. It’s going to be key here in Portland but Wehrlein doesn’t agree there’s a clear advantage for his Porsche 99X Electric GEN3.
“Nick said that [the Porsche has the advantage]!? The Jaguar powertrain has been very strong, especially in those places where energy and efficiency is very important and also playing the game with slipstream – like Berlin, for example. So, I think we took those conclusions for those races and we’ll see a very similar race here to the one we saw in Berlin.
“Hopefully we can fight with them for the win.”
Ups and downs
Cassidy had a troubled time of it in Jakarta after the table-topping highs of Monaco. He’s well aware that’s this race series, though and it’s a reset for Portland.
“It’s ups and downs as always with Formula E. We had a good Saturday in Jakarta and Sunday felt even more competitive – I was happy with the car and we did a good job overnight. We just didn’t get that point.
“This is a fresh weekend and it’s going to be hard – really difficult. So, let’s see how we go. It ebbs and flows and we were a long way behind in the championship then we were in front – now it’s just even. It’s nice to be in the game with five races to come.
“The honest answer is I don’t know [what to expect]. We’re all trying to second guess what will happen and we’re doing our homework and research to come up with every possible outcome. But, in the end, it’s quite sensitive on energy and I think we’ve been okay but I still think we’re a step behind [the] Porsche [powered cars] in that area so we’ll keep going and we’ll go flat out, gas to the floor.
“We’re struggling with the sim at the moment, so I’ve not done too much. I did zero ahead of Berlin and Monaco, too, so I’m kind of used to it.”