Comeback trail

Despite showing plenty of speed in testing and in the first races of the season, the Audi FE04 cars of Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt have been dogged by technical issues and a string of on-track incidents in 2018. 

This weekend (March 3), Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler will start round five of the 2018 Formula E season in the heart of Mexico City as they seek to reverse their fortunes and start demonstrating just what they are capable of.

To that end, race engineers of Audi Sport have been working hard to analyse the technical problems of the Audi e-tron FE04. “Now, we’re confident that we’ve found both the cause and a solution,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “Unfortunately, the FIA regulations do not allow us to implement the changes until a 30 day period has expired.” Consequently, the respective update will not be used before the round in Punta del Este on March 17. Dieter Gass: “Although we’re obviously not happy about this situation, we are optimistic that the permanent track characteristics, much like in pre season testing, do not exaggerate any problems.” 

Last year, Lucas di Grassi crossed the finish line in each of the first two E-Prix events in Mexico City in first position. “My victory last year was no doubt my most amazing one in Formula E,” says Lucas di Grassi. This year, the reigning champion has to show his fighting spirit again. Following his retirement in Santiago, the seal on the inverter in one of his cars had to be broken to repair it, so under the regulations the Brazilian could be given a 10 place grid penalty.
Daniel Abt has scored points in Mexico each time so far. “The Mexican fans are mega- enthusiastic, the atmosphere is tremendous and I like the track,” says Abt. “I feel very comfortable there, am highly motivated and full of energy.” Together with his teammate the German is traveling to Mexico from a fitness week in Lanzarote with all of the Audi factory drivers.
“At the moment, we’re going through a tough time in our young Formula E history. But we are as determined as ever and will continue to push to the maximum with Daniel and Lucas in spite of the current challenges,” says Allan McNish, Team Principal of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler. “We all  know how unpredictable a race day can be in Formula E – Lucas’ spectacular victory last year showed that well.”