Mexico City. A clever race strategy and an equally efficient
performance from the BMW i drivetrain helped Alexander Sims (GBR) to
move up 13 places during the Mexico City E-Prix (MEX) and finish the
fourth race of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship season in fifth
position. He also claimed an extra point for the fastest lap of the
race. Sims is now in second place in the drivers’ championship with
46 points, just one behind new leader Mitch Evans (NZL, Jaguar), who
won the race in Mexico. BMW i Andretti Motorsport remains at the top
of the team standings, with 71 points.
No-one had expected such a strong result after the qualifying session
ended. Sims and Maximilian Günther (GER) struggled to find the perfect
set-up and had to be content with starting from 18th and 16th
positions on the grid. Sims drove a clever race right from the start,
managing his energy reserves very well as he progressed gradually
through the field. Fifth place and the fastest lap of the race were
his just reward for a faultless drive and an excellent strategy.
Günther had more problems as he battled to assert himself in the
midfield and finished the race in eleventh place.
Reactions to the Mexico City E-Prix:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Group Motorsport Director):
“Congratulations to Alexander Sims and the entire BMW i Andretti
Motorsport Team on this fantastic recovery performance to finish fifth
after starting 18th on the grid! After the disappointment of
qualifying, we made the right decisions for the race. We opted for a
cautious approach with the energy in the BMW i drivetrain and, unlike
our rivals, we did not make any mistakes. Unfortunately, things did
not go according to plan for Maximilian Günther this time and he got
caught up in some midfield battles. The fact that Alexander drove the
fastest lap of the race shows just how fast the BMW iFE.20 can go. We
have held on to first place in the team standings and Alexander is
second in the drivers’ championship. That all means that we are
feeling good as we leave Mexico City. Many thanks to the Mexican fans
and the organisers for this unbelievable atmosphere in the stadium.
Just seeing it is enough to give you goose bumps.”
Roger Griffiths (Team Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport,
team standings: 1st place):
“After the poor qualifying result, we can be more than pleased with
the fifth place for Alexander Sims. He gave an outstanding performance
after starting the race so far back. Thanks to him, we have extended
our lead in the team standings and we are very close to first place in
the drivers’ championship. That is a very positive way to finish the
weekend. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for Maximilian Günther
all day. Now he has to write the weekend off and look ahead.”
Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.20, starting position: 18th place,
race result: 5th place, points: 46, driver standings: 2nd place):
“After this qualifying session, the race itself was a major challenge
for us. However, we were able to save much more energy than our rivals
in the first section of the race, which we were able to use later for
the chase. I had a really strong car during the race. Overall, it is
fantastic to finish a race day that had started in such a
disappointing way with such a good result.”
Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.20, starting position: 16th
place, race result: 11th place, points: 25, driver standings: 8th place):
“That was not our day. Firstly, we will have to take a look at what
went wrong. For whatever reason, we just did not have the speed
required in qualifying. Things did not improve for me in the race – in
contrast to Alexander, who really produced a great catch-up
performance. At the moment, I can only speculate as to the root cause,
but there is no point doing that. We will analyse everything in detail
and see what we can do better.”
The BMW i Safety Cars.
BMW i is “Official Vehicle Partner” of the ABB FIA Formula E
Championship in Season 6. Spearheading the fleet are two Safety Cars:
The BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car (combined fuel consumption: 2.0 l/100
km; combined power consumption: 14.5 kWh/100 km; combined CO2
emissions: 46 g/km)*, which has been specially modified for use at the
racetrack, and the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car (combined fuel consumption:
1.8 l/100 km; combined power consumption: 14.0 kWh/100 km; combined
CO2 emissions: 42 g/km)*. The BMW i fleet also includes the BMW i3s
(combined fuel consumption: 0.0 l/100 km; combined energy consumption:
14.6-14.0 kWh; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)* as “Race Director
Car”, the BMW 530e (combined fuel consumption: 1.8-1.6 l/100 km;
combined energy consumption: 14.5-13.8 kWh/100 km; combined CO2
emissions: 40-36 g/km)* in its role as “Medical Car” and the BMW X5
e45 (combined fuel consumption: 2.0-1.7 l/100 km; combined energy
consumption: 23.5-21.3 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 46-38
g/km)* as “Rescue Car”.