February 20, 2019

ROUGH DAY FOR DS TECHEETAH IN SANTIAGO

ROUGH DAY FOR DS TECHEETAH IN SANTIAGO

Santiago, 26 January 2019

DS TECHEETAH saw a disappointing end to the ABB FIA Formula E Santiago E-Prix with an early retirement for Jean-Éric Vergne and André Lotterer finishing just outside of the points after an eventful race.
With only 14 cars finishing the race in 37-degree heat this proving to be the hottest E-Prix in Formula E history. After a clean start from P12 and P14, Jean-Éric and André were on the hunt to add more points to DS TECHEETAH’s championship lead. Unfortunately, the race ended early for Jean-Éric due to damage to the #25 car. André kept hunting in the points until the last 5 laps when he suffered technical issues to finish in P13

Mark Preston, Team Principal: “It wasn’t the race we had hoped for today, unfortunately. Jean-Éric suffered an early retirement due to a technical issue following damage to his car. André unfortunately lost the points he fought so hard to earn as he too suffered an issue. André’s car overheated towards the end of the race, so he had to fall back in order to finish the race, which we are going to investigate thoroughly.
“It’s disheartening to be one and two in your qualifying group and still start in P12 and P14 on the grid. The team is doing such an amazing job and they should be rewarded for it. Nevertheless, we have two very strong drivers and two very quick cars so we will be back fighting in Mexico.”

Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, DS Performance Director: “Obviously we are very disappointed by this result. Unfortunately, we were disadvantaged by our qualifying group due to a dusty track and our drivers had to start in the middle of the pack. Jean-Éric suffered a collision damaging his car while his pace was very good and the energy consumption was under control. André climbed up from P14 to P7 at which point he had to slow down after an overheating problem. We will learn from this event and focus on the next E-Prix in Mexico.”

Jean-Eric Vergne: “The team did a really good job today and despite being P1 in my qualifying group I started P12 on the grid due to the track evolution during tqualifying session. I was preparing to go on the attack when I got hit from behind and then got pushed into a car in front of me. After that, something wasn’t right with the car and we had to retire it early as it wasn’t possible to finish the race.
“Everyone is working so hard in the team, and yet again we were flying out there today, so it’s a shame not be able to finish in the points, but we’ll come back for more in Mexico.”