BOTH DS AUTOMOBILES DRIVERS IN THE POINTS AGAIN IN SÃO PAULO

PHOTO CP SAO PAULO

• Heat was the major challenge facing competitors in round 4 of the ABB FIA
Formula E world championship held in Sao Paulo

• After another strong showing in qualifying, Jean-Éric Vergne and Stoffel
Vandoorne finished seventh and eighth respectively, bringing home another
solid points haul for DS Automobiles

• The DS Penske team thus leaves Brazil lying third in the Teams classification,
while Jean-Éric Vergne is fourth in the Drivers’ standings, although equal on
points with the third placed driver

Seven weeks on from the double event in Diriyah (Saudi Arabia), the ABB FIA Formula E world
championship was back in action this Saturday on the Sao Paulo street circuit. The Brazilian
event started in fine style for DS Automobiles: both the French premium constructor’s drivers
qualified in the top three. In the duels stage, Stoffel Vandoorne missed out on pole position
by just two thousandths of a second at the end of one of the closest sessions in the history
of the electric car championship. Further proof of the DS E-TENSE FE23’s turn of speed came
from Jean-Éric Vergne’s third place, just behind his team-mate.
On the ABB FIA Formula E world championship’s second visit to Brazil, the heat caused
headaches for engineers and drivers. The air was 35 degrees Celsius, the track was at over
50, so energy management and battery temperature were a real concern. The opening phase
of the race was very strategic with plenty of overtaking and two appearances from the Safety
Car also put paid to some pre-arranged plans.

The discipline’s only two-times world champion, Jean-Éric Vergne, again scored important
points in seventh place, which keeps him at the front end of the pack in the standings. The
Frenchman is currently fourth, although equal on points with the third placed driver. It’s
worth noting that JEV is one of only four drivers to have scored points in all four opening
rounds, thanks to good consistency, both from himself and from DS Automobiles.
Finishing just behind his team-mate, Stoffel Vandoorne is also racking up the scores, with
three points finishes from four races. The 2022 world champion was obviously hoping for
better than eighth place, given he started from the front row, but it just did not work out in
Brazil.
The ABB FIA Formula E world championship is back in action in a fortnight’s time, on its first
visit to Japan, with the race scheduled to run through the streets of Tokyo on Saturday 30
March.
Eugenio Franzetti, Directeur of DS Performance :
“We come away from this weekend with mixed feelings. We did well in free practice and our
qualifying performance was excellent. Then in the Duels final, pole position escaped us by
just two thousandths, while our other car was third. After that, it was a difficult race. We
struggled to match the pace of some other competitors and in the end, JEV came home
seventh and Stoffel eighth. That still means useful points for the championship, but not as
many as we’d hoped for after qualifying. There’s a lot of work ahead of us and we will do all
we can to do better in the next race in Tokyo.”
Jean-Éric Vergne, 2018 & 2019 Formula E champion :
“Let’s be honest, we’re disappointed. We had a really good qualifying to line up second and
third on the grid, but in the race maybe our strategy decisions weren’t the best. Looking at
the positives, we should be happy to see we are competitive in qualifying and that once again
we scored points with both cars. The next race is only two weeks away and I hope we can
fight back in Japan.”
Stoffel Vandoorne, 2022 Formula E world champion 2022 :
“There were two sides to today for the team, with a super qualifying followed by a rather
more difficult race. Given our one-lap pace, we could have expected to do better than seventh
or eighth. So naturally we are disappointed that we did not score more points. I think we have
to analyse our race and I reckon we have a lot to learn from it, especially when it comes to
strategy. We could have done a better job of getting better track position. Knowing that
should make us stronger for the next round. On the positive side, we have proved to be very
quick in qualifying every time. It’s encouraging for the future and it gives us confidence for
the next race

Por: NATHALIE DUMAS