Mahindra takes Formula E points lead with Hong Kong win

Rosenqvist had qualified the Mahindra M4 Electro on pole position, but spun at the first hairpin, immediately dropping down to 11th.

He staged an impressive recovery drive, making some opportunistic late lunges - and gaining more places in the pits - to finish second on road.

Post-race investigations revealed that original race winner Daniel Abt’s car did not conform with the technical regulations, granting Rosenqvist and Mahindra their second ever FE win.

The Swede also set the fastest lap of the race and hence secured the perfect haul of 29 points from the race.

“We haven’t really had an idea of what our M4 car is like on a street circuit until now, but this weekend really showed that we have the pace to be very competitive,” Rosenqvist said.

“For sure, we made a few mistakes, but we also got a lot of things right. I struggled with my brake balance through the weekend, and I feel we could have been even better, but for now, I’m happy to start the season like this.

“The pole position, win and fastest lap shows that we can mount a serious challenge this year, and that we’re ready to work hard and go for both championship titles.”

With teammate Nick Heidfeld having finished third in Saturday’s opener, Mahindra is now leading the teams standings by three points from DS Virgin. The Indian outfit currently has 44 points on board, as compared to 41 for DS Virgin.  

“Although we made a few mistakes and let ourselves down a bit, I’m happy that the team has picked up where we left off last year and that we have been the first team in the short history of Formula E to record a perfect score of pole position, race win and fastest race lap,” Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill said.

“We could have had even better results from the whole weekend, but for now, we’re happy with the race win, the podium, pole, and fastest lap. I’m confident that we’ve got a product that’s going to be strong and very competitive for the whole season.”