Lucas di Grassi won the Zurich ePrix, taking his first victory during the 2017/2019 Formula E season. It was the first motorsport race in Switzerland in more than 60 years.
This is what happened between @Daniel_Abt and @NelsonPiquet #ZurichEPrix pic.twitter.com/WNS1xxFuD3
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 10, 2018
The reigning champ charges his way past @mitchevans_ for the lead! @LucasdiGrassi #ZurichEPrix pic.twitter.com/fJBcAapNMH
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 10, 2018
.@LucasdiGrassi wins his first race of the season and the 2018 @juliusbaer #ZurichEPrix, the first motor race in Switzerland in 64 years! #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/6qoLOq8djC
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 10, 2018
Reigning champion Lucas di Grassi climbed from fifth on the grid to secure his first win of the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver stood on the top of the podium at the Julius Baer Zurich E-Prix and became the first winner of a single-seater race in Switzerland since Juan Manuel Fangio in Bremgarten in 1954.
Di Grassi narrowly missed out on super pole in qualifying. He made his move during the first stint of the race. The Brazilian picked off the leading pack one-by-one over the course of the opening period of the race. He crucially took the lead from Mitch Evans approaching the mid-race car swaps and held station to the chequered flag.
DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird kept his championship hopes alive with second place. That was his sixth podium finish of the season. Bird started the race as the only realistic contender to table-topper Jean-Eric Vergne and needed desperately to reduce the 40-point gap.
With Vergne struggling in qualifying, as well as serving a drive-through for speeding under Full Course Yellow, Bird seized the opportunity and now sits 23 points adrift heading into the season finale double-header in New York.
The TECHEETAH driver started on the back foot and couldn’t find the speed in qualifying, lining-up in 17th – Vergne’s lowest starting position since Punta del Este in 2015. Despite the troubles, he made progress prior to changing cars and jumped seven places in the opening nine laps.
Vergne drew alongside Felix Rosenqvist on the main straight
He put a move on the Mahindra driver into the tight Turn 1. The Swede ran out of road and went into the barrier on the outside of the first corner. But he managed to return to the garage, although leaving debris across the track.
As Vergne was tussling with Jerome D’Ambrosio – and lapping Rosenqvist – the Frenchman drove over the rear wing of the Mahindra, which was followed by a Full Course Yellow to clean the section between Turns 2 and 3.
The caution period led to the majority of the field coming into the pits – to reduce the impact of the time spent swapping cars – but a slow pit-stop dropped Vergne down the order forcing him to mount yet another fightback. However, his move through the pack was short-lived after being handed the aforementioned penalty.
Di Grassi and Bird were joined on the podium by Jerome D’Ambrosio – signalling the first time the Belgian has stood on the podium since 2016 in Battersea Park. D’Ambrosio benefitted from a host of drivers also being penalised, but showed the renewed pace of the DRAGON outfit.
Vergne wasn’t the only driver to fall foul of speeding under Full Course Yellow
Evans, Andre Lotterer, Jose Maria Lopez and Sebastien Buemi also had drive-through penalties.
Lotterer, who started on the front row, crossed the line in fourth and also claimed the extra point for Visa fastest lap. Former champion and local favourite Buemi ended-up in fifth – passing thousands of adoring fans lining the streets in Zurich on his cool down lap.
Mahindra Racing’s Nick Heidfeld earned his best finish of the season since a podium place in Hong Kong with sixth. Evans secured the first-ever Julius Baer pole position for Panasonic Jaguar Racing. But he could only manage seventh after also losing time passing through the pitlane.
Antonio Felix da Costa progressed from 15th to eighth. Finally, he finished ahead of Oliver Turvey in ninth. Vergne picked up the final point in 10th.
Now Formula E heads across the Atlantic to the Big Apple for the second time. The fully-electric Formula E cars will once again race in Brooklyn against the backdrop of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. There will be the final two rounds of the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship – the Qatar Airways New York City E-Prix.
