Lynn Takes Maiden Formula E Victory after Di Grassi Creates Controversy in London

Alex Lynn took his maiden ABB FIA Formula E World Championship victory in a controversial second race of the London E-Prix, with on-track winner Lucas di Grassi being penalised and eventually disqualified for pitting under the safety car and not stopping for long enough.

The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver was running eighth when the safety car was deployed after an incident with André Lotterer left António Félix da Costa in the barriers at turn one, and as the electric-powered Mini went down the start/finish straight, di Grassi went into the pit lane.

With the safety car crawling down the pit straight, di Grassi briefly stopped in his pit box and returned to the track in the lead! However, the move was immediately investigated by the stewards, and they awarded the Brazilian a drive-through penalty for a safety-car infringement.

His team did not inform him of the penalty and as a result, he was handed a time penalty at the chequered flag that left him down in eighth, and he was subsequently disqualified from the results post-race.

The penalties for di Grassi promoted Lynn to first place, with the Briton finally taking his maiden victory in Formula E, with the Mahindra Racing driver moving himself firmly into championship contention as a result.  It was a great weekend for Lynn, who took a podium finish and a pole position on Saturday.

Pole position on Sunday had gone the way of Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne, but his chances of victory disappeared when Oliver Rowland made a mistake and hit the Belgian, relegating down the order.  He ended twelfth, while the Nissan e.dams driver was nineteenth at the chequered flag.

It was better luck for the second Mercedes of Nyck de Vries, who drove another strong race to claim second place for a second consecutive day, with the Dutchman now on top of the championship standings heading into the final two races of the season in Berlin next month.

Mitch Evans survived making a mistake when attempting to activate his attack mode to take the final spot on the podium for Jaguar Racing, but it was another pointless race for his team-mate Sam Bird, who collided with ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Norman Nato on the penultimate lap to retire.  

Bird was deemed to be responsible for causing the incident by the stewards, who handed the Briton a three-place grid penalty for the first race in Berlin.

Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns took a strong fourth ahead of Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team’s Pascal Wehrlein, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Maximilian Günther ended sixth ahead of the second Virgin of Nick Cassidy.

Once di Grassi was removed from the result, Dragon/Penske Autosport’s Sérgio Sette Câmara took eighth ahead of BMW’s Jake Dennis, while the final point on offer went the way of Dragon’s Joel Eriksson, the first time the Swede has broken into the top ten in his Formula E career.

There was an early safety car when Audi’s René Rast was eliminated in a clash with Nissan’s Sébastien Buemi, with both drivers disagreeing about who was at fault for the incident that leaves Rast’s championship challenge in the balance.

London E-Prix Race 2 Result