Audi powerful in Hong Kong

Wet treacherous conditions marked the running of the 50th official Formal E race in Hong Kong over the weekend. With the safety car deployed and even at the red-flagging of the race just after the start, drivers had to be careful with search overtaking opportunities on a wet track.

For Audi though, the weekend proved yet another success in the ongoing 2018/19 Formula E Championship season, with both Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler cars finishing in the points and indeed all four Audi FE05 race cars – including the two customer racing cars of Envision Virgin Racing – finishing in the top six.

Burt for Audi the strongest performance again came from Lucas di Grassi who claimed the 29th podium result of his Formula E career with a second in Hong Kong.

“Today we had to drive with our heads,” said the Brazilian. “In conditions like these, you can only overtake by forcing the issue and risking a non-finish or penalty. I kept cool and was rewarded for it. This is my 29th podium in Formula E. But that’s not the only thing I’m proud of. The way this racing series has developed is simply fantastic. For me, it’s the best one at the moment.”
His teammate, Daniel Abt, also showed a strong performance, fighting his way up from 12th on the starting grid to finish just off the podium himself in fourth.

“The beginning was totally crazy,” said Abt. “Things were hectic and it was important to stay clear of all the frenzy. In the end, we made up eight places to finish 4th. I’m very happy, because we also showed a strong performance as a team and scored valuable points.”
In the teams’ classification, the weekend was hugely successful for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, putting the team in second position after five of 13 races. 

“After this race, we’re in a much better position in the championship than before, because some of our most important rivals didn’t score any points today,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “The streets of Hong Kong make for plenty of excitement every time. It was a totally crazy race but we kept moving forward. Lucas already showed an exceptional performance in qualifying and Daniel with a great fightback in the race. So, there are several reasons to celebrate.” 

“With all four Audi e-tron FE05 cars crossing the finish line in the top five, you can only call that an excellent result for Audi,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “It was a race packed with incidents in difficult conditions with a track that was damp at the start and then drying off. Our drivers showed a strong performance throughout the whole race and made no mistakes. And we again saw how strong our car is, especially in the race.” 

The Formula E championship heads to Sanya on Hainan Island in China on March 23 for the sixth round of the championship.