Lucas Di Grassi won a crazy Mexico City ePrix.
The Brazilian had a horrible first lap, where he was hit from behind and got his rear wing damaged. A Safety Car period meant that he could dive into the pit and get his rear wing assembly changed without losing a lap. When the Safety Car came on track again later in the race, he dived into the pits and changed to his second car on lap 18 out of 45. That meant that he had to be very gentle on the pedal for the rest of the race to conserve energy, but he did it very well and finished the race with only 2% left in the battery when he passed the chequered flag.
Oliver Turvey started the race from Pole Position and led the first 12 laps, before a problem with the cars battery mean that he had to retire – and that on his 30th birthday.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Techeetah finished the race in second position, after having a long battle with Jerome D’Ambrosio. D’Ambrosio did everything he could to make his Faraday Future Dragon Racing car as wide as possible, and Vergne wasn’t too happy about that kind of driving after the race.
Photo: Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
The DS Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird finished third, which is something the team could be quite happy about after a sixth place in qualifying.
The Renault E.DAMS drivers Sebastien Buemi and Nico Prost had a very bad day at the office. The dominating team on the first three rounds didn’t have the luck on their side for this race. Buemi qualified 8th and were on route for a good result, before he spun mid race and lost many positions, and eventually finished 13th.
Nico Prost qualified 14th but drove his way up to 5th. But it wasn’t without a controversial clash with Nick Heidfeld, which send Heidfeld into a uncontrollable spin, so the German’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist crashed into the car. That saw Rosenqvist retire while Heidfeld could drag the car home in 12 position. Prost however didn’t receive any penalty for the incident.
Photo: Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
The Andretti Formula E team also had a bad day, when they send both cars too quickly back on track after the mandatory pitstop. The minimum pitstop time was raised from 57 to 60 seconds in a note on Friday evening, but the team hadn’t noticed that one, so both drivers were send back on track three seconds too early.
The top of the Championship standings have suddenly become interesting again, after what looked like to be a season completely dominated by Reault E.DAMS. Buemi is still leading the Championship, but Lucas Di Grassi is just five points behind the Swiss driver. Prost is third, with Vergne and Bird follow.
Renault E.DAMS still leads the Teams Championship, but ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport has moved 20 points closer to them, with DS Virgin Racing now in third place.
The next FIA Formula E Championship race is the Monaco ePrix on May 13th.
