Lucas di Grassi in the early stage fought a fierce duel for sixth place with his arch-rival Sébastien Buemi. An attack by the Swiss resulted in contact in which the right rear suspension was damaged. This forced di Grassi to switch to the second car early. The reigning champion crossed the finish line in 18th place with a one-lap deficit. “Zero points is a bitter result because the car was really fast in the race,” said di Grassi. “But sometimes you have days like this – tomorrow we’re going to attack again.”
“With Lucas we’ve seen a continuation of last season’s duel with Buemi,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “After contact, he had to pit extremely early and, as a result, had no chance anymore. I’m incredibly sorry for Daniel. He drove a really strong race but then his car wouldn’t start, which was not his fault, but there was nothing we could do either. Afterwards, he was incredibly quick again. He lost 20 seconds, in the end only lacking 17 seconds for a possible victory.”