Behind the scenes reset delivering gains for Mahindra

The introduction of Formula E’s GEN3 Evo regulations at the start of the current season presented teams an opportunity to refine their ideas. But for Mahindra, it represented something of a reset.

Rather than an evolution, the Indian team opted to develop a whole new drivetrain, the crescendo of a wider rebuild across the organization – which also included a hiring spree in the first two seasons of GEN3 – as it looked to return to competitiveness in the series.

Now it has the necessary pieces in place, and it’s starting to pay dividends. Points finishes in every race so far, including double points finishes in two races, plus getting a car into the qualifying Duels at every round, have put the Mahindra ahead of reigning Teams’ champions Jaguar in the points, and has brought a notable air of positivity to the team.

“We are slowly getting to that moment where the product is there,” Mahindra CEO and Team Principal Frederic Bertrand tells RACER. “We have developed a car which is definitely better than the previous one and reaching the targets we had. We are still fine-tuning it, because we’re discovering it fully. But we are very close to what we want.”

Close or not, the fact that the team has made a step forward has changed how those within feel about days that would’ve once had them celebrating late into the night.

“You start to feel that people have gotten used to new jobs, new ideas, the new spirit we wanted to have, and they are starting to push,” Bertrand says. “In Miami we came away with P5 and 10 points, and people are disappointed. When I arrived , we were P13 and we started to be happy because we were close to P10. That’s a big change.

“In a way, I’m happy with this type of behavior and reaction, because that’s what we want, we want people super involved, super committed, happy to push hard, and happy to have good results. But because we’re starting to get used to scoring points, people want more.”

That lust for more isn’t consuming Bertrand. His team has taken a leap forward, but he’s not looking at it as job done. He, too, is looking at what comes next. He points to getting both cars into the Duels – as opposed to just the one – as the next step, and the fact that there are still boxes to check should continue to motivate them.

Mahindra has become a more positive and optimistic outfit under Bertrand’s watch. Simon Galloway/Getty Images

“There are plenty of reasons where we can be quite satisfied or happy, but on the other side, we are not there yet,” he stresses. “It should give us additional motivation to push further, not to say, ‘Okay, we are there already’. Now we can go to events and races where, for the first time, we are here to race and to fight. We don’t come to survive and hope for a miracle. That’s the big difference.”

Bertrand says that the team’s drivers, Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, are approaching things differently as a result of the team’s progress; pointing to minor things that need to be adjusted rather than wholesale changes.

“They are the best ambassadors of what’s going on, because for a few races, for the first time we have a debrief where they just underline details of what they would like to improve,” he explains. “We have drivers starting to see that we have additional potential developed and unlocked, so we need to get to the next level. We feel that we have more potential, so we want to unlock that potential.”

Miami was an interesting weekend for Mahindra. It was almost another double-points finish, with Mortara picking his way through the pack, starting from 10th on the grid and ultimately winding up fifth, while de Vries – who finished 11th – mounted a recovery drive after a technical issue took him out of a near-certain podium position. Importantly, both cars were in the thick of it though, and they were there on their own terms.

“We were strong enough to fight with the leaders,” Bertrand says. “We were able to put them under pressure, to guide our strategy the way we wanted, and not try to follow the others.

“It’s very different in terms of approach for us. Before, in terms of strategy, we were just on this idea of ‘let’s hope and let’s do what we can’. Now we come with our own intention, and we deliver. We are much better prepared, delivering much better quality work.”

Better results bring bigger expectations and more pressure, but it’s not something that Bertrand feels the team can be impacted by. Again, he points to motivation as being the key ingredient to the team’s ongoing revival, and the biggest driver in its future hopes.

“The spirit is so different that it changes everything, because everybody is so motivated,” he says. “Everybody can really feel that the project is coming along. You have that feeling where you feel that it’s not only by luck that things are happening. It’s not a matter of ‘was the safety car out today?’

“Now we have the pressure of keeping that trend going, and that’s what we like, is that we want to keep the target of 10 points per race. It’s definitely something we want.”

Bertrand is hoping the progress continues in Monaco, but he’s wary of the team’s competitive rivals. James Sutton/Getty Images

To make the next step, Bertrand doesn’t feel another round of sweeping changes will be necessary. Now that the team is working how it wants to be, more will come as time passes, as things continue to be gradually refined, and people become more comfortable in their roles.

“Now it’s a case of keep doing what we are doing, and keep growing with the people we have,” he says. “A lot of them are quite young and not necessarily with a lot of experience. They are growing, and in the last six months, those guys are starting to really deliver.

“So as a logical next step, things are coming naturally, that people have developed themselves in a way that they can now make sure that they give us the best of them, and I definitely believe that the next races will be even better.”

Next up is Monaco, and while Bertrand says the team’s understanding of its new car is at “95 percent” and the remainder “will come”, he’s again cautious of overhyping his own squad, especially given how unpredictable and competitive Formula E is as a whole.

“Monaco is bigger because that’s a circuit everybody knows very well,” Bertrand admits. “Everybody wants to perform more than anywhere else. And for sure, if I had to choose one win this year, it’s Monaco.

“Monaco is maybe still a little bit early, but we will go as we came here, and as we will go to the one after Monaco. The target is to make sure those points are maximized.

“We’ll push for it, definitely. I think the level of confidence has grown a little bit, but I don’t want that we end up in overconfidence. So, for the moment, yes, we are confident, but still very humble.

“We have very big contenders, some are not totally at their best level, but will come back for sure, some are already flying, so we still have to be very careful and humble. But definitely, if we can stay in that mix between fourth and sixth, that’s a good position.”