Félix da Costa scores important points for BMW i Andretti Motorsport in a turbulent Paris E-Prix.

Paris. António Félix da Costa (POR) and BMW i Andretti
Motorsport have completed a difficult race weekend in the ABB FIA
Formula E Championship in Paris (FRA) with seventh place and six
hard-earned points. Starting from 14th position, Félix da
Costa put on a faultless display in changeable conditions to work
his way up to seventh place. Alexander Sims (GBR) retired from the
Paris E-Prix after his involvement in an accident through no fault
of his own.

 

The eighth race of the Formula E season endured some turbulent phases
after starting behind the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car on a partially wet
circuit. Periodic rainfall continued to affect proceedings, and an
unexpected hailstorm caused plenty of collisions and position changes.
Félix da Costa managed to stay out of trouble and some calm driving
saw him work his way up to seventh place. He is now in third place in
the drivers’ standings with 70 points, eleven points behind leader
Robin Frijns (NED, Virgin Racing), who won the Paris E-Prix. BMW i
Andretti Motorsport remains fifth in the team championship, with 88 points.

 

Sims’ race day ended around 22 minutes before the end. On a wet
surface, he was rear-ended by Oliver Rowland (GBR, Nissan) entering a
corner and turned sharply into the crash barriers. The BMW iFE.18 was
too badly damaged to continue the race.

 

Reactions to the Paris E-Prix:

 

Roger Griffiths (BMW i Andretti Motorsport team principal):

“The race was like the April weather here in Paris. The 32 laps had
pretty much all the turmoil you could imagine. Unfortunately,
Alexander Sims got caught up in an accident that wasn’t his fault. He
is having a tough time right now and just isn’t getting the luck he
needs to experience a trouble-free race weekend. António put on a very
mature performance. It was a shame that the difficult conditions in
qualifying meant that we were unable to get the best speed out of the
car. However, he worked his way through the field during the race and
made the most of every chance he got when his competitors slipped up.
The points he scored here could be very valuable at the end of the season.”

 

António Félix da Costa (#28 BMW iFE.18, qualifying result:
16th place, race result: 7th place, FANBOOST
voting: 2nd place, points: 70):

“I think we managed to drive a smart race again, keep out of all the
trouble and score some important points to stay in the running for the
title. We didn’t have the best speed in the rain but we didn’t make
any mistakes and managed to work our way forwards during the race.”

 

Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.18, qualifying result:
18th place, race result: DNF, FANBOOST voting:
17th place, points: 18):

“Unfortunately, that was another disappointing race result for me. I
had planned on driving a clean race through to the end and then
leaving Paris with a good result in the bag. Sadly, that didn’t work
out. There was nothing I could when I got hit from behind. That was a
most unfortunate situation for me.”

 

The BMW i Fleet

BMW i is “Official Vehicle Partner” of the ABB FIA Formula E
Championship in Season 5. Spearheading the BMW i fleet is the BMW i8
Coupé Safety Car, modified with BMW M components (combined fuel
consumption: 1.8 l/100 km; combined energy consumption 14.0 kWh/100
km; combined CO2 emissions: 42 g/km)*. As well as the BMW
i8 Coupé, the BMW i fleet also includes the BMW i3s (combined fuel
consumption: 0.0 l/100 km; combined energy consumption: 14.3 kWh;
combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)* as “Race Director Car” and
the BMW 530e iPerformance (combined fuel consumption: 2.2-2.1 l/100
km; combined energy consumption: 13.6-13.3 kWh/100 km; combined
CO2 emissions: 49-47 g/km)* in its role as “Medical Car”.