Formula E veteran Sam Bird secured his first victory with Jaguar, in a race ended prematurely following a serious incident.
Heading into the second race of the season opening Formula E double-header, both Mercedes and Venturi were on the back foot having been banned from qualifying. An FP3 accident involving Venturi’s Eduardo Mortara led to an FIA investigation into the Mercedes Powertrain meaning that neither Vandoorne, De Vries or Nato could set a time in the session.
Instead it was Robin Frijns who started on pole for the first time in his Formula E career ahead of Sergio Sette Camara and Sam Bird.
Image Credit: @EnvisionVirgin Twitter
Away from the line it was Frijns who seized the advantage as the promised chaos did not come to fruition at the first corner. Sette Camara lost out to Sam Bird after a poor start and fell down to third. Meanwhile, Lucas Di Grassi made progress through the pack, gaining three positions in the opening laps.
Frijns and Bird were comfortably ahead of the pack, as drivers entered attack mode for the first time. Frijns temporarily lost the lead to Bird when the Dutch driver took attack mode.This move had ramifications further down the order, bringing Sette Camara, Vergne and Da Costa all into contention for the lead.
Image Credit: @EnvisionVirgin Twitter
As the race entered its halfway point, two time Formula E champion Vergne moved ahead of Sette Camara and into the podium positions. However, Vergne’s progress was temporarily halted with drama further down the grid as rookie Jake Dennis was fed into the wall by Pascal Wehrlein. Cassidy’s retirement brought out the full course yellow and awarded Wehrlein a drive through penalty.
Second Half of the Race
Upon the restart, the battle for round two victory intensified with Bird challenging Frijns whilst the two Techeetahs battled for dominance. The inter-team rivalry reached the limits with Da Costa and Vergne touching wheels and forcing each other into the wall. Luckily for the reigning champions, both drivers made it through the corner but as a result lost two seconds to the leading pair.
Image Credit: @DSTECHEETAH Twitter
As Frijns grew concerned about energy consumption, Bird eventually soared ahead and seized the lead of the race. However, both drivers were denied a last lap battle for race two victory as Stewards red flagged the race with around 5 minutes remaining.
The red flag was shown as Buemi, Guenther, Evans and Lynn all found themselves involved in a very serious incident in the closing moments of the race. Alex Lynn was taken to hospital shortly after as a precautionary measure. Further information regarding this incident will be added once confirmed by Mahindra Racing and the FIA.
Image Credit: @VenturiFE Twitter
The race was not restarted, granting Sam Bird victory ahead of Frijns and Vergne. However, all thoughts were with Alex Lynn in the aftermath of the race.
Overtake Motorsport will return with Formula E coverage in April for the Rome E-Prix.
Race Results and Talking Points
S. Bird Jaguar Racing
R. Frijns Envision Virgin Racing
J.E. Vergne DS Techeetah
A.F. Da Costa DS Techeetah
N. Cassidy Envision Virgin Racing
S.S. Camara Dragon/Penske Autosport
N. Mueller Dragon/Penske Autosport
O. Turvey NIO 333 FE Team
O. Rowland Nissan E.Dams
R. Rast Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Move of the race – Teammates Vergne and Da Costa battle for position which nearly prematurely ended the races of both drivers!.
Driver of the Race – Nick Cassidy finished 5th, an admirable effort in only his second race in Formula E.
Biggest Mover – Rene Rast makes up nine places to finish just inside the points.
Most Shocking Moment – Alex Lynn’s accident, bringing out the red flag.
Featured Image Credit: @JaguarRacing Twitter
