DS Penske Team Principal Jay Penske praised his drivers for a solid performance at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix on Saturday, after Jean-Éric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne claimed fifth and sixth respectively.
The Americans enjoyed a good weekend in Brazil, with the reigning World Champion having claimed the team’s first pole position of the season after an exceptional qualifying performance. Vandoorne’s race strategy ultimately let him down unfortunately, with the Belgian having led too much of the race, whilst those behind were preserving their energy thanks to the slipstream.
It meant Vandoorne was forced to manage his energy more than his rivals, something which saw him slip to sixth by the end of the race. It was nevertheless his best result of the season so far, giving him something to be pleased about. Vergne recovered well in the race to finish fifth after making up two places from where he started. The Frenchman was unable to make further progress, though, after labelling his car as “undriveable”. Vergne suffered from oversteer throughout the race and is wanting an investigation to take place into the issue, given that it prevented him from pushing for a podium.
It was nevertheless a double-points finish for the team, which saw them rise from fifth to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. The team boss was pleased with the result and is keen for the team to continue building their “momentum”, with DS Penske having claimed three consecutive double-points finishes now.
“Bringing home a double-points result after our two podiums is brilliant for the team, and a momentum we aim to build on as we move forward in the season. The lap Stoffel put in to secure pole position was very impressive. We’re on the right track, well done and a big thank you to the team for all their hard work.
“At this uniquely challenging track, it was a strong drive from Stoffel and a great recovery from JEV to get solid points on both sides of the garage. We’ll keep pushing and aim to add to this strong run of results in Berlin!”