FORMULA E

Vergne Claims Victory in the Turbulent Hyderabad E-Prix

Published

2 months ago

11/02/2023

Vergne Claims Victory in the Turbulent Hyderabad E-Prix. Nick Cassidy and Antonio Felix Da Costa Follow in Second and Third Place Respectively.

Despite a challenging beginning to the season for the DS Penske squad, Jean-Eric Vergne worked to turn things around with a fiercely earned victory, despite ending the race with 3% less energy compared to Nick Cassidy who came in second.

Although he crossed the finish line in third place, a post-race infraction for Sebastian Buemi resulted in Da Costa being elevated to the podium for his 100th race in the championship.

Thanks to the impressive performance of Jaguar power throughout the weekend, Envision, one of their customer teams, was able to rise to the top.

Despite there being a significant amount of dirt and dust on the sides of the track, the competitors managed to navigate the early laps without incident.

THE TWO JAGUARS COLLIDE! 🤯

Incredible drama here at the @GreenkoIndia #HyderabadEPrix!— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) February 11, 2023

Jaguar’s Mitch Evans took a bold approach at the start of the race as he attempted to block Jean-Eric Vergne’s inside line. After losing the lead in the Diriyah race, Evans was determined to secure a victory from his pole position.

The beginning of the race was relatively calm until Edoardo Mortara damaged his front wing, and he continued to drive with it dragging beneath his car for two laps. When it finally fell off, a yellow flag was deployed to remove it from the track.

The excitement began on lap 13 when disaster struck for Jaguar as Sam Bird crashed into his Jaguar teammate, Mitch Evans, at the turn three hairpin.

Both Bird and Evans were forced to retire due to the damage from the collision, and Maximillian Gunther and Sacha Fenestraz were also caught up in the confusion.

Once again, respecting track limits was a crucial aspect of the E-Prix, and several drivers received penalties for going beyond the designated boundaries of the track.

RAST HITS DENNIS! 😲

Both drivers drop to the bottom of the order!@GreenkoIndia #HyderabadEPrix— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) February 11, 2023

Jake Hughes triggered the deployment of the safety car on lap 23 after losing control of his vehicle due to an object getting stuck in his steering wheel.

Nick Cassidy was able to move up to second place before the safety car was deployed. At the end of the safety car period, Cassidy had 3% more energy remaining compared to Vergne in the lead.

In typical Formula E fashion, the safety car period created additional excitement among the compacted field, with Rene Rast colliding with Jake Dennis at the hairpin turn three, ending their races prematurely.

Just like in the last race in Diriyah, some drivers were able to capitalize on their competitors running out of energy near the finish line.

Pascal Wehrlein increased his lead in the championship with a fourth-place finish, while Jake Dennis was unable to earn any points. Porsche’s third and fourth-place finishes also allowed them to surpass customer team Andretti in the teams’ championship standings.

The tumultuous nature of the race allowed three drivers to earn their first points of the season. Sergio Sette Camara of NIO 333 finished in fifth place, Oliver Rowland of Mahindra secured sixth, and Norman Nato drove his Nissan to a seventh-place finish. The next round of Formula E will take place in two weeks at the new Cape Town E-Prix circuit.