Silver lining

The crowds and the drama more than loved up to expectation, but at the end of the weekend, the results were not the ones Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler had been hoping for at the Mexico E-Prix.

For the past three years, the Audi team has dominated in Mexico, with Lucas di Grassi winning in 2017 and again last year, while teammate Daniel Abt, secured his first ever Formula E Victory in Mexico in 2018, so the city is particularly special to the young German driver.

This year however, the team were not so fortunate, although Daniel Abt still has good reason to believe that Mexico was lucky for him after surviving a massive crash in practice unhurt.

As a result of a software communication problem, Abt crashed into the barriers at the end of a straight during practice, causing his team some anxious moments until they knew that he was alright.

“This was the most violent impact of my career,” said Abt, who was flown by helicopter to a hospital for examinations as a precaution. “I am glad that the cars are so safe and that I survived today almost unharmed. It was a great achievement of my crew to get the car ready to race again. But of course, it was clear that it would be a very difficult race for me from almost the back of the field and with practically no practice. Now it’s all about getting fit again before Marrakesh.” 

Lucas di Grassi fought his way up to 6th from 15th on the grid in another spectacular Formula E race in front of a huge crowd, allowing him to finish in the points and maintain his 5th position in the Drivers’ standings. 

“This was a tough race,” said di Grassi. “Although we scored good points, I’m not 100 percent happy. We did not have the pace in the race to move up further. We have to work hard to get stronger in qualifying, but also in the race.”
“This was a turbulent day for us,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “For Daniel, it started in a bad way with the crash, and for Lucas, with the difficult qualifying, it didn’t get off very well either. But, we still scored important points. Coming through from 15th on the grid to 6th keeps Lucas right in the title fight. That Daniel was able to start at all was a great team effort.”
Formula E championship now heads to  Marrakesh (Morocco) at the end of the month – on February 29.