Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the all-electric Formula E series is like “Super Mario Kart with real drivers”, but he’s loving the experience so far.
Mercedes entered their own FE team for the first time in the 2019-20 season, taking over the HWA Racelab outfit.
And Wolff would would be in attendance at the season-opener in Saudi Arabia last November – it’s safe to say he enjoyed the experience and felt like he was watching a real-life version of Super Mario Kart.
“I really enjoyed the experience, I must say,” he is quoted by Crash.net.
“I’ve never been to Saudi Arabia before and launching our Mercedes Formula E journey was very special.
“The crowds were phenomenal, seeing how this country is opening up – something I didn’t expect in that way. And the racing is very different to Formula 1, clearly you can say that.
“For me, it’s Super Mario Kart with real drivers, but it’s absolutely valid to give that a chance.”
Mercedes’ line-up consists of former McLaren F1 driver and 2019 F2 Champion Nyck de Vries.
Vandoorne currently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 38 points, while de Vries sits P11 in the standings with 18 points.
Their contributions though put Mercedes P2 in the early Teams’ Standings, just four points behind the BMW i Andretti Motorsport entry who lead the way on 60.
It’s no surprise then that Wolff is very satisfied with what he has seen so far, saying his drivers have “overachieved”.
“Nyck has already contributed a great deal to the team’s performance,” Wolff explained.
“He’s very mature and the way he’s – as a personality and as a racing driver – been able to slot into the team with Stoffel is really nice to see.
“We have set our ambitions or our expectations on a realistic target, which we have overachieved and both of the drivers contributed to this happening.”
Follow us on Twitter @Planet_F1 and like our Facebook page.
Source: Read Full Article