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