Cassidy basking in a 'dream start' with Citroen

Nick Cassidy says it has been a “dream start” for Citroen in Formula E as he added a victory in Mexico City to his third place in December’s Sao Paulo E-Prix.

Winning is nothing new to Cassidy – his victory in Saturday’s Mexico City E-Prix was his 12th in Formula E – but for Citroen, a brand that has a motorsport pedigree steeped in rallying with a sprinkling of touring car racing, it’s a whole new world. Nevertheless, the team is already making its mark, with Cassidy ranking the victory in just the team’s second outing as personally one of his best.

“It's up there. I'm very, very fortunate to be honest,” he said. “In this championship, there are so many good drivers, and I've always had one of the best cars, always been in top teams; I can't ignore that. 

“So today, again, I had a fantastic car, and it's definitely up there.”

Cassidy started the race in 13th, something that could be a death sentence for many a driver’s victory hopes, but we’ve become accustomed to seeing Cassidy perfectly manage a race to move forward when it counts. 

In Mexico City, he opted for an unorthodox Attack Mode strategy, splitting his eight minute allowance into a six and two minute run rather than a conventional pair of four minute runs. It could have left him vulnerable to Edoardo Mortara behind him, but he was able to hold on.

“Quite different from me today; I don't know if I've ever taken a six and a two,” he said. “I might have, but it's quite rare, I would say, but it seemed to work. I wasn't sure if I had enough to hold on. 

“I was almost kind of thinking I might end up fourth … but it worked out.”

Throughout GEN3, the winner of the Mexico City E-Prix has gone on to win the championship – Jake Dennis won in 2023, Pascal Wehrlein in 2024, and Oliver Rowland last year. History suggests that Cassidy is now a champion in waiting, but he refuses to be drawn into any superstition just yet.

“I know Formula E too well,” he stressed. “I've had some really bad starts to seasons, I've had good starts to seasons, and you just [have] to be there the whole time. 

“There's still 15 races left. It's a long, long way to go.”

Appropriately, he gained the championship lead with victory in Mexico City, but that might mean that he’ll lose something: his hair. In his post-race interview, it was revealed that he’d made a pre-race bet with teammate Jean-Eric Vergne that stipulated that were he to win, he’d have to shave his head. 

While the incoming aerodynamic approach to his loaf could be the last puzzle piece he needs to grab that elusive Formula E title, when the subject was brought up in the post-race press conference, it was met with a short and simple “no.” So maybe not…