After cheering on the podium on Saturday, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler did not score any points in the Sunday race in New York. Nevertheless, the championship is still open: Before the last four races of the season in London and Berlin, René Rast and Lucas di Grassi are within striking distance of the front in both the driver and team standings.
Formula E once again showed its unpredictable side in New York: After Lucas di Grassi finished third and René Rast made a strong comeback on Saturday, both drivers of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team remained without points in the second race on Sunday: Rast finished the race in 20th place after an unscheduled pit stop, Lucas di Grassi was classified 14th after a time penalty.
It was already turbulent in qualifying for the second race: Just in the minutes when Lucas di Grassi was on the track, it was drizzling over the course in Brooklyn. Although the Brazilian drove the fastest time in his group, more than 12th on the grid was not possible. Rast already had to go out in the first group, also in light drizzle and thus with the most unfavorable conditions, and qualified for eleventh place on the grid.-
© Audi Motorsport
The race itself was over for Rast after just a few minutes: at the beginning of a yellow phase, a competitor slipped into the rear of René Rast’s Audi e-tron FE07 and slashed the left rear tire. After the unscheduled pit stop, the German bravely fought his way back to the field, but was no longer able to intervene in the battle for points. “I made up a few positions right after the start and was on the way forward when the tire change cost me a minute,” says René Rast. “That was bad luck today, but it can always happen in Formula E, where things are so close.”
Team mate Lucas di Grassi had already fought his way up to seventh place when he hit a competitor in a position battle with two cars. The race management issued a 10-second penalty for this incident, which threw di Grassi back to 14th place. “My race was okay and the points for seventh place would have been valuable in the championship,” says di Grassi. “Rain in qualifying, then the time penalty – that’s Formula E. The important thing is: we have the car to win races. We will prove that again in London. “-
© ABB FIA Formula E
The Envision Virgin Racing customer team won another trophy for the Audi e-tron FE07 on Sunday: Nick Cassidy celebrated second place at the finish, while team mate Robin Frijns also finished in eighth place.
“New York is always good for turbulent Formula E days – unfortunately not this time with a particularly good ending for us,” says team principal Allan McNish. “Nevertheless, everything is still open in the championship, and the next two races in London will start in two weeks. Then we want to turn the tables again. ”René Rast and Lucas di Grassi are in seventh and twelfth positions in the drivers’ standings, both within striking distance of the front. In the team standings, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler takes fourth place.
The next two races will be held in London on July 24th and 25th before the final races in Berlin in mid-August.
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