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Mahindra better than results showed, says boss
Mahindra Racing ended their first Formula E campaign in eighth position beating Venturi in the season finale in London. Team principal Dilbagh Gill reflects back on the tough season.
Darshan Chokhani
Published: Jul 10, 2015, 10:50 AM
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The Indian team started the all-electric championship scoring points in the first four races but since then lost out in the battle of development, having only two point’s finishes in the remaining seven outings.
“Our rate of development did not keep pace with the competition and we realised mid-season that we needed to accelerate improvements which we were able to bring back by the end of the season,” Gill told to Motorsport.com.
“We did put together a very strong team and that was demonstrated by the good results at the beginning of the championship.
“The entire team has worked very hard and we made consistent progress through the season. Overall we were a better team than the results showed,” he said after Mahindra ended in the bottom half of the series.
Stability key
Mahindra was one of the four teams to have the same driver line-up throughout the season, which helped the team in assessing its issues.
“Stability did have its advantages in season 1. Both our drivers worked very hard and put a lot of effort during the season,” Gill explained.
Speaking elaborately on the driver’s performances, Gill said: “Bruno [Senna] fought his way up in the championship with some really strong finishes while Karun [Chandhok] also did his best and finished races consistently.”
“Unfortunately, luck was not on our side,” summing up Mahindra’s season.
Team’s and personal high
A fourth-place finish by Senna in London was Mahindra’s best result in the championship, which Gill termed it as a "great way to complete the season."
Thanking the fans and the team’s partners, he spoke about his favourite moment which was Senna setting the lap record in the first race in Beijing.
“That was the moment I felt that the team was born healthy and strong,” he quipped.
Describing his stint with Mahindra Racing as a ‘dream job’, Gill quoted his 11-year old daughter: “Daddy you look five years younger”, which encapsulated Gill’s joy and thrill of the whole journey, being away from family for 250 odd days.
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