Sprint to the finish

With just four races remaining, the 2020/21 FIA Formula E Championship has entered the final straight and both the drivers’ and teams’ championships are very much up for grabs. In New York over the weekend, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler had mixed results, the race on Saturday yielding two tremendous drives and a podium for Lucas di Grassi, while Sunday’s race failed to produce a single point. But both Rene Rast and Lucas di Grassi remain in the hunt for the title, and the Audi e-tron FE07 has shown consistently throughout 2021 that it has the pace to beat the rest.

For di Grassi, the result in New York was his third podium in the Big Apple, and the 34th of his career in Formula E, further cementing his claim as the most successful Formula E driver ever.

“Today was a fantastic day in New York and, after the victory in Mexico, it’s already another trophy,” di Grassi said of the result. “Now, I’m also back in the title fight. I’m sure everything will remain open until the very last race.”

Things didn’t go quite as well for teammate René Rast, who was forced to start from 22nd on the grid after a competitor’s car blocked him during qualifying, making it impossible to record a fast lap.

Nevertheless, the German driver started the race undaunted by his predicament and fought through the field with an outstanding drive to finish 10th and in the points. Had he be allowed to qualify and start from further up the field, who knows what he could have produced? 

“That was a strong performance by the car, the drivers and the entire team today,” says Team Principal Allan McNish. “We’re in the mix in both the drivers’ and teams’ standings. Now, we have to keep our focus.”

A puncture for Rast and a time penalty for di Grassi on the Sunday, put paid to any more points coming from the New York E-Prix, but with two races in London followed by the final two races in Berlin, the season remains very much in play. 

“Everything is still open in the championship and in just two weeks, we’ll continue with the next two races in London where we want to turn the tables again,” says McNish.

René Rast and Lucas di Grassi are seventh and twelfth in the drivers’ standings, both within striking distance of the leaders. In the teams’ standings, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler is in fourth place.

The next two races will be a double header in London on July 24 and 25, before the final races in Berlin in the middle of August.