The Jeddah E-Prix delivered a pivotal weekend for Mahindra Racing, as the team showed renewed competitiveness under the lights.

Racing on the fast and flowing Jeddah Corniche configuration, Mahindra combined improved pace with disciplined race execution. This was coupled with the splendid performance of Edoardo Mortara, who secured the team’s first Julius Baer Pole Position in nearly two years.

Both Mortara and Nyck de Vries looked competitive in the heat of daytime Free Practice aboard the M12Electro, setting the tone for qualifying as temperatures began to drop.

Mortara Shines In Qualifying

Drawn in Group A, both drivers faced a tight battle for progression. De Vries narrowly missed out on the Duels after finishing sixth in his group, leaving him to line up 11th on the grid. Mortara, however, delivered when it mattered most.

After topping the group stage, the Swiss driver stormed through the head-to-head Duels, overcoming Nico Müller in the quarter-finals, Norman Nato in the semi-finals and finally Maximilian Günther in the final shootout. He went on to claim back-to-back pole positions across Friday and Saturday, the first time a Mahindra Racing driver has achieved this

Mixed Fortunes At The Start

De Vries’ race on Friday, unfortunately, ended before it began due to a technical issue at the start, denying him the opportunity to capitalise on the evident pace in the car.

Mortara’s launch from pole also proved challenging on Friday. Excessive wheelspin off the line cost him six positions, though he immediately began fighting back, regaining ground on the opening lap to settle into fifth. Mahindra strategically opted for a later Attack Mode activation than its rivals — a decision that would prove decisive.

Strategic Race Decisions For Mortara

After pitting on Lap 19, Mortara waited longer than the other frontrunners to deploy his six minutes of Attack Mode. The extra power transformed his race.

Within two laps, he surged from eighth to second, slicing through the field with precision. Although a 7.5-second gap to the leader initially looked daunting, Mortara reduced it to under three seconds by the chequered flag. On Saturday, he remained a constant presence inside the top five, carefully positioning himself as Attack Mode windows approached.

While most of the frontrunners delayed their first activation until around half distance, Mortara opted for a shorter two-minute boost, maintaining fifth place through that phase. His second activation followed for six minutes — helping him to move up to fourth. Both races marked another strong haul of points and lifted him to second in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

For De Vries, the race unfolded largely in recovery mode. However, the driver demonstrated an encouraging pace in clean air, and the team gathered useful data following the overnight car changes.

Championship Momentum Building

Across the two races, Mahindra amassed 36 points, placing the team third in a tightly contested Teams’ Championship. The performance reinforced the squad’s growing consistency, with four top 5 finishes in the past 5 races, at the front of the field and met its internal targets for the weekend.

The team remained in Saudi Arabia for an additional day of racing in the Evo Sessions before a five-week break in the calendar. Attention will then turn to the inaugural Madrid E-Prix — a return to Europe where Mahindra Racing will aim to build on its strongest weekend of the season so far.