Mercedes in charge but customer Mortara leads way

There was something quite poetic about the Diriyah circuit having to be quite literally dusted off as Formula E’s eighth season began in earnest. Desert sands and the seemingly never-ending backdrop of construction work had sprinkled a layer of dirt atop the track, depriving the drivers of grip during the early part of the season-opening weekend.

Unsurprisingly, the dustiness – and perhaps rustiness – claimed an early victim: the prized scalp of the reigning champion. Nyck de Vries made a somewhat inauspicious start to his title defence, slipping at Turn 3 early on in the opening practice session to catch his left-rear corner against the wall. A vital 30 minutes of running was snatched away by the sands of time.

But de Vries doesn’t do ‘down and out’. A little over 24 hours later, the Dutchman stood aloft the colossal stage centre-pinning the Diriyah venue, clutching the winner’s trophy after Mercedes had underlined its superiority once again. He was fortunate, certainly, pouncing on team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne’s attack-mode faux pas to take the lead, but it still presented a stunning overnight turnaround.

From a technical standpoint,