Formula E: Mahindra's Pascal Wehrlein Bags Podium As Mercedes' Stoffel Vandoorne Wins NY e-Prix Race At Home Challenge

The sixth round of the formula E Race At Home Challenge concluded over the weekend and saw Mercedes-Benz EQ driver Stoffel Vandoorne bag yet another win, his fourth of the season. The driver was challenged by Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein who finished second, a tenth-of-a-second behind the race leader followed by Maxmilian Guenther in the BMW Andretti machine in the third place. Vandoorne successfully managed to convert his pole position into a win, but it was Wehrlein's run from P7 on the grid to P2 on the podium that impressed many. The sixth round saw the drivers compete on the New York e-Prix circuit in the virtual eSports challenge.

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The sixth round of the Race At Home Challenge was held at the virtual New York e-Prix circuit

Wehrlein started the race seventh due to a five-place grid penalty from the previous race pushed him down the order. However, a strong start saw the driver catapult to fifth and gained another position by Lap 4. By Lap 11, the driver passed Porsche's Neel Jani to move up to P3 and was quick to take P2 in the following laps from Oliver Rowland. The top three drivers breathing down each other's necks, even as Vandoorne looked unshakeable at the front.

The result saw Vandoorne crossing the chequered flag first, followed by a very close Wehrlein and Guenther in third place. Mahindra Racing's second driver Jerome d'Ambrosio qualified 18th but dropped a few places in the first corner. The driver was classified 20th at the end of the race.

Brilliant wheel-to-wheel racing between @PWehrlein, @oliverrowland1 and @neeljani! #RaceAtHomehttps://t.co/9KqVKEr3qA pic.twitter.com/DU4UB1r2JN

— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 30, 2020

Speaking on his performance, Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein, "It was a good result. With the penalty, I had to start from seventh and managed to finish second and it was a good fight to get there. Even though the car was already damaged after the first corner as there was a big shunt ahead of me with a lot of cars trying to go through at the same time, the pace of the car was good throughout. By the end, I was just defending my position and trying to get good exits to keep Oliver [Rowland] and Neel [Jani] behind me. All in all, second place is not bad!"

Wehrlein is now placed second in the overall driver standings, just two points from Vandoorne who leads the standings. With respect to the team standings, Mahindra Racing is placed second in the championship with 105 points, six points behind Mercedes that leads the eSports championship. The Race At Home Challenge heads to its final weekend next week and will see a doubleheader with two back-to-back races on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

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