– Race report: New York City E-Prix, race 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
– Seventh place for Pascal Wehrlein in a red-flagged race due to heavy downpour.
– Waiving the restart robs teammate André Lotterer the chance of earning points.
– Race 12 in New York City will be contested on Sunday.
The Formula E race weekend in New York City got off to a spectacular start when a sudden downpour flooded the Brooklyn Street Circuit, causing a major pile-up among the frontrunners. As a result, race 11 was of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship ended before it was due the finish on Saturday.
With seven and a half minutes still remaining, the stewards opted against a restart. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/No. 94) was classified seventh with this Porsche 99X Electric, his teammate André Lotterer (GER/No. 36) failed fo finish in the points with sixteenth.
In the drivers’ classification of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Pascal Wehrlein ranks ninth after 11 of 16 races with 61 points. André Lotterer is tenth with the same points tally. In the team classification, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team lies in sixth place with 122 points.
Race 11
After making it into qualifying semi-finals on the 2.320-kilometre Brooklyn Street Circuit, Wehrlein started the race from the fourth spot on the grid. At the wheel of his Porsche 99X Electric, he maintained contact to the leading pack over the entire distance – until torrential rain saw the race red-flagged with 7:35 minutes plus one lap remaining on the clock. While the drivers in front of him crashed into the barriers due to unexpected aquaplaning, he managed to brake in time, only to be rear-ended hard by a competitor. Starting from P17, André Lotterer was at times able to progress to eleventh place. However, when the race was stopped, he was classified out of the points. In accordance with the regulations, the position of the race one lap before the red flag determined the final results.
Comments on the New York City E-Prix, Race 11
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: « That was a difficult day for us. We were very pleased with Pascal’s qualifying performance, P4 is a decent starting position. André wasn’t able to set a time on his second qualifying run. We were at the limit with the timing, but if everyone had played fairly, he would still have posted his time. In the last sector, some of the competitors slowed down, which meant the last one is dropped off and this time that was us. It wasn’t ideal and we have to see how we can improve on this in the future. When the track suddenly flooded during the race, the rear of Pascal’s car was shunted hard before turn 6, which pushed him into the wall. André managed to make it back to the pits, and could’ve rejoined the race in P8. However, unfortunately he was denied this chance. We now have to ensure that we get both cars into the qualifying duels tomorrow and then take some points home with us. »
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): « All in all, it was actually a good day. Qualifying for the semi-finals and P4 was promising. Unfortunately, I had to start on the dirty side of the track, which meant I didn’t get off the line as cleanly and I lost positions. My race pace was good and I managed to catch the leading group. Then chaos hit. I was running in sixth when someone hit me from behind. Since the position from the previous lap counts, I was classified in P7. Looking at it from this point of view, I’m obviously not pleased. »
André Lotterer, Porsche works driver (#36): « No points today, unfortunately. Things looked good in free practice, my car was fast. But then I encountered a problem in qualifying which prevented me from doing any more laps because of the traffic and so I had to start from P17. I battled my way up the order and was within reach of the points, but then the race was red-flagged. Tomorrow is another day. I hope that everything goes smoothly and we are able to turn the potential of our car into a good result. »