Punta del Este. In the sixth race of the season in the ABB FIA
Formula E Championship, the MSAD Andretti Formula E team
narrowly missed out on points. António Félix da Costa (POR) finished
the Punta del Este E-Prix (URU) in 11th place. His team-mate Tom
Blomqvist (GBR) finished in 16th position. Victory went to Techeetah
driver Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA). The Punta del Este E-Prix marked the
half-way point of the current Formula E season. After six races
overseas, the series now heads to Europe where the next race will be
held in Rome (ITA) on 14th April.
The qualifying
Before qualifying got underway, Tom Blomqvist had a scary moment
in the second free practice session. He lost control of his car on the
kerb of a right-hand turn and skidded into the tyre wall on the
opposite side. While the team repaired his car, Blomqvist continued
the practice session in the other car. Then, in qualifying, he was in
the first of four groups where he set a lap time of 1:16.424 minutes.
António Félix da Costa took to the track in the second group, and
recorded a time of 1:14.973 minutes. Félix da Costa finished in 13th
and Blomqvist in 17th place in the qualifying rankings. After
qualifying, the stewards awarded penalties to some of the drivers,
which worked in Félix da Costa’s favour and saw him move up to 11th
place on the grid. Blomqvist, on the other hand, was moved to the back
of the grid because the gearbox had to be changed after his accident.
The race
Félix da Costa moved up a position at the start, claiming tenth
place. In the thrilling race, characterised by numerous changes of
position, the Portuguese driver worked his way up the field into
eighth place. As the race went on, however, Félix da Costa lost ground
and finished the race in 11th place after 37 laps. Blomqvist attempted
to catch up from behind, but had to make do with 16th place in the end.
The reactions
António Félix da Costa, MSAD Andretti Formula E:
“There were some good lessons learned today. It was a bit of an
average day and we finished just outside the points. I feel like it
was a bit of a bittersweet weekend as we had the ability to score
points. The MSAD Andretti team learned a lot of lessons and we
keep working hard to improve. Now we go back to Europe and get ready
for the second half of the season.”
Tom Blomqvist, MSAD Andretti Formula E: “Overall
it was not a very good weekend. It was going okay and I quite enjoyed
the track during the first free practice but I made an error in free
practice two, had an accident and destroyed the gearbox. It’s another
tough one but I’ll live and learn from it. Hopefully when we get back
in Europe to Rome, things will go a bit smoother for us.”
The BMW i Fleet
BMW i is once again “Official Vehicle Partner” of the ABB FIA
Formula E Championship in Season 4. The BMW i8 (combined fuel
consumption: 2.1 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 49 g/km)* continues
to take to the track as a powerful and efficient Safety Car. The same
goes for the new BMW i3s (combined energy consumption: 14.3 kWh;
combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)* as “Medical Car” and “Race Control
Car”, and the BMW X5 xDrive40e (combined fuel consumption: 3.4 – 3.3
l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 78 – 77 g/km)* in its role as
“Rescue Car” and “Extrication Car”.
* Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures are provisional,
based on the EU test cycle and may vary depending on the tyre format specified.
The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures shown were
determined according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the
version applicable at the time of type approval. The figures refer to
a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and the range shown
considers the different size of the selected wheels and tires.
The CO2 efficiency specifications are determined according to
Directive 1999/94/EC and the Pkw-EnVKV, and based (for classification)
on the fuel consumption and CO2 values as per the NEDC cycle.
Further information on official fuel consumption figures and
specific CO2 emission values of new passenger cars is included in the
following guideline: “Leitfaden über Kraftstoffverbrauch, die
CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen”
(Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power
consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained free of
charge from all dealerships and at https://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html.