Luca di Grassi captured race 1 in Mexico.
By:ABB FIA Formula E World Championship
June 19 2021
 

FAST FACTS

- Lucas di Grassi took the race win in the CBMM Niobium Puebla E-Prix Round 8, leading home a one-two for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, ahead of teammate Rene Rast - both Audi drivers having driven coolly through the upper order to the front of the pack.

 

- It had looked like a maiden victory was on the cards for TAG Heuer Porsche, with Julius Baer Pole Position sitter Pascal Wehrlein leading the contest from the off, only for the Porsches to be disqualified for failing to declare their tyres which left di Grassi and Rast one and two, with ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara rounding out the podium.

 

- The result ensured Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns retained top spot in the Drivers’ World Championship but reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa moved within two points after a sixth-place finish while just four points separate the top five.

 

- Championship front-runner Frijns came into contact with compatriot Nyck de Vries mid-way through the contest (Mercedes-EQ), which ensured neither would end the day with points - Frijns being slapped with a 10-second penalty.

 

- Racing action returns tomorrow, June 20 the 2021 CBMM Niobium Puebla E-Prix Round 9 of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

 

ADDITIONAL POINTS

Fastest Lap in Group Qualifying (1 point)
Pascal Wehrlein - 1:23.505s
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

 

Julius Baer Pole Position (3 points)
Pascal Wehrlein - 1:23.780s
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

 

TAG Heuer Fastest Lap (1 point)
René Rast - 1:25.531s
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler

 

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler - Lucas Di Grassi (BRA)

"Mexico feels like a second home to me, I love being here. This was a completely different track from the one in Mexico City but it is great that we managed to make this event happen here during a pandemic. My team worked relentlessly to come here and turn this season around. This track doesn’t make overtaking easy, you have to take every chance to overtake without losing energy. I feel sorry for Pascal, he did a fantastic race. It happened to me in Rome, so I know how it feels. From now on we need to keep doing our work and try to test the car as much as we can."

 

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler - René Rast (DEU)

"We had the pace all along despite not having an ideal start to the season, but we are back. We need to keep our head down and continue to work hard to turn this season around. We deserved the 1-2 today. In Qualifying we didn’t look very competitive, but that changed during the race. Tomorrow we need to improve our performance in Qualifying and aim to score some points for the team."

 

ROKIT Venturi Racing - Edoardo Mortara (CHE)

"I am extremely happy to be back on the podium today. During the break we studied all the data gathered from the first half of the season and learnt from our mistakes. The team is putting everything in place. In the championship we have to face big manufacturers, but we have a good engineering team and a good powertrain and we can be just as competitive."

 

Race Results - Final Classification

1
Lucas di Grassi
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
47:40.772
(25)
2
René Rast
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
+0.497s
(19)
3
Edoardo Mortara
ROKiT Venturi Racing
+2.774s
(15)
4
Alexander Sims
Mahindra Racing
+10.443s
(12)
5
Jake Dennis
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
+11.473s
(10)
6
António Félix da Costa  
DS TECHEETAH
+11.624s
(8)
7
Stoffel Vandoorne
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
+12.022s
(6)
8
Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing
+12.351s
(4)
9
Nyck de Vries
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
+12.936s
(2)
10
Alex Lynn
Mahindra Racing
+13.154s
(1)
11
Oliver Turvey
NIO 333 FE Team
+14.548s
 
12
Maximilian Günther
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
+15.257s
 
13
Tom Blomqvist
NIO 333 FE Team
+15.442s
 
14
Norman Nato
ROKiT Venturi Racing
+15.756s
 
15
Sérgio Sette Câmara
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT
+16.971s
 
16
Robin Frijns
Envision Virgin Racing
+17.942s
 
17
Joel Eriksson
DRAGON / PESNKE AUTOSPORT
+18.285s
 
DNF
Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing
 
 
DNF
Jean-Éric Vergne
DS TECHEETAH
 
 
DNF
Nick Cassidy
Envision Virgin Racing
 
 
DSQ
Pascal Wehrlein
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team  
 
 
DSQ
André Lotterer
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
 
 
DSQ
Sébastien Buemi
Nissan e.dams
 
 
DSQ
Oliver Rowland
Nissan e.dams
 
 
 

 

Driver Standings

Robin Frijns
Envision Virgin Racing
62
António Félix da Costa  
DS TECHEETAH
60
Nyck de Vries
Mercedes-EQ
59
René Rast
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
58
Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing
58
Stoffel Vandoorne
Mercedes-EQ
54
Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing
49
Edoardo Mortara
ROKiT Venturi Racing
47
Jean-Èric Vergne
DS TECHEETAH
46
Jake Dennis
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
43
Lucas di Grassi
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
39
Alexander Sims
Mahidra Racing
36
Pascal Wehrlein
TAG Heuer Porsche
36
Oliver Rowland
Nissan e.dams
35
Nico Müller
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT  
30
Alex Lynn
Mahidnra Racing
24
Maximilian Günther
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
22
Nick Cassidy
Envision Virgin Racing
19
André Lotterer
TAG Heuer Porsche
18
 Oliver Turvey
NIO 333 FE Team
13
Sérgio Sette Câmara
DRAGON / PESNKE AUTOSPORT   
12
Sébastien Buemi
Nissan e.dams
11
Norman Nato
ROKiT Venturi Racing
11
Tom Blomqvist
NIO 333 FE Team
5
Joel Eriksson
DRAGON / PESNKE AUTOSPORT
0