Formula E made its way to Zurich this weekend for the first time and Audi Abt Schaffler driver Lucas di Grassi took his first win of the season at the end of the Zurich ePrix. The Audi driver claimed the victory ahead of DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird, while 2018/19 season leader Jean Eric-Vergne and pole-sitter Mitch Evans were hit by controversial penalties that pushed them at the bottom of the top 10 finishers. The third spot was taken by Jerome Ambrioso of Dragon Racing, ahead of Renault e.Dams Sebastien Buemi. Meanwhile, Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld showed some impressive pace today finishing sixth, while teammate Felix Rosenqvist crashed, taking another DNF this season.
(This is Audi's second win this season and Lucas di Grassi's first win of the year)
Lucas di Grassi started from fifth on the grid and was showing impressive pace in the first half of the 39 lap race. By Lap 13, the Brazilian had passed Sam Bird to take third and was charging towards Andre Lotterer and Mitch Evans to take the top spot. By Lap 18, Grassi passed both Lotterer and Evan with more power at his disposal over his immediate rivals and was now leading the first-ever Zurich ePrix. The Audi driver managed to retain the lead even after the mandatory car swap and went on to claim to his first victory this season with a gap of 7.5s over Bird.
At the back, Vergne, who started 17th after a poor qualifying session made showed stellar pace and was quick to climb the order. However, the driver attacked Mahindra Racing's Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 17 in a fight for P8. Rosenqvist, who started 10th, collided with Vergne at Turn 1 and went into the wall damaging his front wing. In fact, the front wing on the M4 Electro fell off a few corners later with Vergne hitting it. The yellow flags had to be called out to clear the debris, allowing the race leaders to enter the pits.
Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld started 13th on the grid, going on to finish sixth)
However, the yellow flag did create issues for Vergne, Buemi, and Lotterer were under investigation for speeding during the same. The group was later handed drive-through penalties, which allowed Bird to recover to second after falling down to fourth behind Buemi. Lotterer eventually finished fourth behind Ambrosio, while Buemi finished in fifth place.
Starting 13th on the grid, Mahindra driver Nick Heidfeld took sixth, thanks to an impressive pace and the drive-through penalties. Jaguar's Mitch Evans took P7 behind Heidfeld, followed by Antonio Felix da Costa of Andretti Autosport, Oliver Turvey of NIO Formula team, and Vergne at P10.
undefined.@FRosenqvist goes into the wall at turn one #ZurichEPrix pic.twitter.com/8JoJoR4ZUJ
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 10, 2018
The Zurich ePrix not only marked the second consecutive win for Audi this season after Berlin, but it was also the first motor racing event to take place in Switzerland after a span of 64 years. The win has pushed Audi to the second place in the championship standings with 186 points, 33 points behind leader Techeetah. With the doubleheader in New York next, Audi has a real chance to dethrone top contenders Techeetah in the championship standings. Despite a fantastic start to the season, Mahindra now sits fourth with 116 points and will be looking to finish in the top three.
The Zurich ePrix has also shuffled the driver standings with Sam Bird closer than ever to the Jean Eric-Vergne. The two are separated by just 23 points, which could change if Bird manages to bag a podium ahead of Vergne during the New York ePrix.
