It was a Saturday to forget for ROKIT Venturi Racing, after championship contender Edoardo Mortara failed to score a point, seriously hampering his title bid. However, nobody was more furious than Lucas Di Grassi who managed to finish in the points despite starting from the back.
The Brazilian driver could’ve been a podium contender in Race One on Saturday; however, Di Grassi had all of his Qualifying laps staggeringly deleted. Di Grassi had managed to qualify for the duels, but was slapped with a ridiculous penalty for supposedly impeding Mitch Evans.
An anger-driven Di Grassi fought his way through to finish tenth-place, recovering at least something from the horrific day.
The Venturi driver said that it was the “hardest” he’d ever fought for a points finish, with “every point” being “worth fighting for”.
“Today’s race was very hard and because the circuit is not the most energy sensitive, we knew that it would be very difficult to pass. Despite starting from the back of the grid, we managed to gain 13 positions, which averages around one overtake every three laps. This result comes down to a good strategy and an even better car. It is probably the hardest I have ever fought to score two points in my career.
“In motorsport, every point is worth fighting for and in the unpredictability of Formula E, you never know what make the difference between taking the championship or not. My only aim now is to get ROKiT Venturi Racing the World Championship they deserve, and we’re going to fight until the very end.”
“A day to forget” – Edoardo Mortara
Championship contender Mortara slipped to third in the Drivers’ Championship, after a nightmare first race of the London E-Prix. The Swiss driver was forced to pit for repairs on Lap Two, after an opening lap collision with Jean-Éric Vergne and Sam Bird caused damage to the driver’s car.
Mortara is aiming to “come back fighting” on Sunday, after a “day to forget”.
“We were very unlucky with today’s result, but I know that we will come back fighting. I think we were missing a little bit of pace in qualifying but from ninth, there was scope for us to score some good points. Unfortunately, I had an issue with my starting procedure which put me on the back foot, and I was then caught up in an incident in Turn Two.
“We went three-wide, JEV [Jean-Eric Vergne] hit me from the right, then [Sam] Bird hit me from the left and I then had to pit for repairs. We rejoined right at the back, and without a Safety Car, there was very little I could do. Overall, a day to forget but tomorrow is another day, full of new opportunities.”
Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E