Edoardo Mortara, like his Mahindra teammate Nyck de Vries looked entirely capable of at least challenging for victories last season with Mahindra.
That he didn’t quite achieve this is a source of annoyance for one of Formula E’s now most experienced drivers. That is because he has tasted what victory is in one of the world’s toughest racing disciplines.
As a six time EPrix winner Mortara has proven he can get the job done. But the fact that it is now almost three and a half years since he last achieved it will inevitably grow heavier on his shoulders.
The dark days of 2023, his last fitful season with Maserati MSG, which morphed from Venturi who he drove for the previous five seasons, are behind him. Even the re-grouping season of 2023-24 feels more positive now since he, de Vries and the Mahindra team have thrust back to prominence so impressively.
So, it was a positive Mortara that Formula E Notebook met in London this week, albeit a tired one after he Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean achieved Lamborghini’s best ever IMSA result with fourth at last weekend’s 2025 Petit Le Mans.
“One thing I can say is that I feel that the package has improved, actually quite a lot since I joined with Nyck at the beginning of season 10,” said Mortara.
“We were starting to have regular and good results, quite consistently in the top five, getting some podiums. And believe that we kept on improving what we had at the end of last year.
“The team has worked incredibly hard to improve but they managed it.”
Mahindra only finished 30 points behind Nissan last season. That is a testament to their cohesiveness and dogged determination to excavate results. But there was also frustration, particularly after a technical issue cost Mortara a probable second place in Tokyo, and then de Vries misadventures and a technical issue in Jakarta potentially lost another big result.
That must be tempting to syphon off a notion that this season infiltrating the top three might be possible.
“Now, I don’t know what’s the level of where the others (competitors) are so it’s difficult to speak about expectations and goals,” added Mortara.
“But I would like us to actually improve the results that we did last year. We finished fourth in the in the championship. Hopefully we can do better than that, and as a driver, also, I would like to be back fighting for this championship.”
Mortara’s Momentous FE Journey
Mortara’s Formula E season is as intriguing as it is unlikely.
He was not particularly on any radar for a drive in the first three seasons but was then a surprise choice to drive for Venturi in the 2017-18 campaign as part of the Mercedes ramping up of their Formula E interest for further down the line.
Mortara though made an instant impact, almost winning on his maiden weekend in Hong Kong. From there he went through the usual undulations of Formula E until he emerged a winner, albeit belatedly at Hong Kong a year after his debut heroics.
“You can never really predict what you’re going to do in the future.,” says Mortara wistfully.
“It’s always very difficult and things are changing actually very, very quickly in motorsport. But I did find was actually that I was quite nicely welcomed in Formula E, I liked actually the environment.”
Mortara was already 30 years old when he raced in Formula E for the first time and he will be 39 in a few months’ time.
“I know you’ve said that I that I’m actually quite old, that I’m like closer to the end of my career but I also know that in these kind of championships, if you do well and if you show that you have good performances it works,” he says.
“Because of the experience that you need, you can be quite a valuable asset for a team. What I love in Formula E is firstly, the fact that it is a super, highly competitive championship.
“Secondly, I love being part of these kind of challenges. When I started with Venturi, the team was struggling in terms of performance, and then we brought it to have a title contender status.
“So, I love the journey, and I hope that the same will happen in Mahindra for season 12. Time will tell us, because I think that this is a very, very important year.
“I really hope that we can challenge for podiums victories, and hopefully maybe some titles. And this is what really excites me.”
