The Scott Dixon of Formula E?

By Topher Smith

It is generally accepted in the motor racing world that IndyCar legend Sir Scott Dixon is a benchmark of a driver that other racers should aspire to emulate. However, the reason I bring about this segue into this article isn't to do with his six titles, but how he goes about his racecraft in the heat of battle.

The Mexico City E-Prix was a prime example of an excellent Formula E race, with attack mode shuffling up the order through multitudes of battles and the ever-present necessity for energy management, and at the moment the best on the grid at managing the lot is arguably Citroen Racing's Nick Cassidy.

The popular Kiwi took his 12th E-Prix victory to move him level in the record books with Sam Bird and António Félix da Costa, but one might notice a trend with his victories, which is where I'm bringing in this comparison to the recently knighted Dixon.

Cassidy does have seven pole positions to his name so far in his Formula E career, but the 31-year-old has tended to make a habit of scoring victories and podiums from absolutely nowhere on the grid. This is something I've noticed Dixon has also developed a taste for in IndyCar, you just cannot discount him from victory regardless of where he starts on the grid.

Saturday's race in Mexico saw Cassidy start from P13 on the grid. Usually, P13 would consign a driver to a midfield battle with the chance of maybe one or two points on offer. However, Formula E's peleton style of racing, coupled with attack mode strategies, keeps the pack bunched up and opportunistic overtakes often pay dividends, as well as using your attack modes at the right time.

Going into the race, I predicted DS Penske's Taylor Barnard to take his maiden victory from P2 on the grid. That became a bit more likely as pole sitter Sébastien Buemi went straight on at turn one, but the race is never done on the opening lap of any race, not just in Formula E.

As the race settled in and attack modes played out, I began to think it would be between Nico Müller and Edoardo Mortara for the win, but Cassidy was still working on his masterclass and executed a six-minute attack mode to move to the front of the field. For a while it looked like using his six minutes early might backfire as Mortara and co has more to play with towards the end of the race, but Cassidy proved he is just as capable in defence as he is in attack.

Once Cassidy's final two minutes of attack mode ran out, I was convinced that the Mahindra of Mortara behind him, with two more minutes of attack mode, would simply sail past and score his first victory since Seoul in Season 8. It wasn't to be, as Cassidy parked his car in all the right places and broke the tow when he needed to, surviving the late onslaught to take his first win of the season and Citroën's first ever in only its second race.

Following the race I began to think about how the Kiwi can seemingly win from anywhere on the grid, be it P1 or P5 or P13 or wherever, just like he has done multiple times in the past and just like IndyCar legend Dixon.

Oftentimes, I've watched an IndyCar race trying to predict who will win each event. Usually, I tend to think within the top five on the grid, but then out of nowhere Dixon appears at the sharp end of the field and finds himself on the rostrum, often on the top step. Maybe it's a New Zealand thing, as both drivers come from Middle-earth.

Cassidy is one of those drivers whom I am amazed never even tested a Formula 1 car. Formerly a Red Bull athlete, one does wonder how the team never gave him a run-out in one of its cars. This is a driver who is the only one in history to win the Japanese Triple Crown - Japanese Formula 3, Super Formula, and Super GT - among a multitude of other junior titles.

When Cassidy first entered Formula E, I told people to watch out for him as I knew he would be mega in the championship once he got the hang of it. Having finished in the top three in the standings in the last three seasons, he has well and truly got the hang of it and surely that first world title is on the way, maybe even this season.

Image credit: Citroen Racing, IndyCar