FORMULA E - Zurich ePrix: Di Grassi takes first win of Season 4
In qualifying, Mitch Evans took his and Jaguar's maiden pole in Formula E, with TECHEETAH's Andre Lotterer in 2nd and Sam Bird 3rd. It was a dreadful qualifying for championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne, who could only manage 17th. Britain's Oliver Turvey crashed.
Mitch Evans lead early on in the race, while Di Grassi and Vergne quickly made up places, starting from 17th and 5th respectively, and Bird started to slip back. Audi's Daniel Abt and Evan's teammate Nelson Piquet Jr collided at the start, with Piquet going on to retire.
During Vergne's charge through the field, he overtook Mahindra's Felix Rosenqvist, who promptly crashed at Turn 1 during the move. He was able to drag the car back to the pits, scattering debris over the circuit. His front wing lay on the racing line, with both d'Ambrosio and Vergne hitting it, causing brief puncture concerns.
This brought out the full course yellow (FCY), with all drivers deciding to pit to change cars. Di Grassi held his lead in the car swaps, however Vergne's 2nd car would not start, causing him to fall back in the pecking order.
However, during the 2nd half of the race, it was revealed that Renault's Sebastien Buemi, Evans, Lotterer and Vergne had speeded during the FCY, with all being given drive-through penalties.
This shook up the order, with Bird being promoted to 2nd and Dragon's d'Ambrosio 3rd. Vergne dropped out the points, but recovered to 10th.
Late in the race, Dragon's Jose Maria Lopez crashed at Turn 1, but was able to continue to the flag.
This means that Vergne advantage in the championship is cut from 40 points to just 23 ahead of Bird, with a total of 58 points available at the double header of New York on July 14/15, at a circuit which Sam Bird won both races last year.
Full Results:
1. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler)
2. Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing)
3. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Dragon Racing)
4. Andre Lotterer (TECHEETAH)
5. Sebastien Buemi (Renault e.DAMS)
6. Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra)
7. Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing)
8. Antonio Felix da Costa (MS&AD Andretti Autosport)
9. Oliver Turvey (NIO)
10. Jean-Eric Vergne (TECHEETAH)
11. Maro Engel (Venturi)
12. Jose Maria Lopez (Dragon Racing)
13. Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler)
14. Stephane Sarrizan (MS&AD Andretti Autosport)
15. Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra)
16. Alex Lynn (DS Virgin Racing)
DNF. Nico Prost (Renault e.DAMS)
DNF. Luca Filippi (NIO)
DNF. Nelson Piquet Jr (Panasonic Jaguar Racing)
DNF. Edoardo Mortara (Venturi)
