Mexico City. António Félix da Costa (POR) finished a turbulent
Mexico City E-Prix (MEX), the fourth race of the ABB FIA Formula E
Championship season, in second place, to take his second podium of
the season after his win in Ad Diriyah (KSA). In the dramatic final
stage of the race, the BMW works driver benefitted from strong
energy management and moved up from fifth to a podium spot on the
final lap. Through no fault of his own, Alexander Sims (GBR) was
involved in an accident, which resulted in the race being
interrupted, and finished the race in 14th place.
As the fastest driver in qualifying group one, Félix da Costa made it
to the Super Pole and started the race from fifth on the grid. He
remained in that position for almost the entire race and saved enough
energy to be able to go on the attack in his #28 BMW iFE.18 in the
final stage. While the majority of drivers ahead of him slowed down,
Félix da Costa, who once again benefitted from FanBoost during the
race, moved up several places. Second place saw him gain 18 points in
the drivers’ standings and, with 46 points, he now lies second. BMW i
Andretti Motorsport Team is third in the team standings, with 64
points. The win in Mexico went to Lucas di Grassi (BRA).
Sims, who qualified in seventh place on the grid, was hit by another
car in the opening phase. Behind him, Nelson Piquet Jr. (BRA) collided
with Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA), took off and slid off the track out of
control and at high speed. He hit the rear of Sims’ #27 BMW iFE.18 in
the process. Sims spun and crashed into the barriers and was forced to
return to the pits to change the front bodywork. The race was red
flagged to clear the track after the accident and after a break of
around 30 minutes the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car, with its new design,
restarted the field.
Reactions to the Mexico City E-Prix:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“What a race! António Félix da Costa battled superbly and kept his
cool in his duel with Sébastien Buemi. Then, in the closing stage, our
good energy efficiency and race strategy paid off. It was literally in
the final metres that António moved up onto the podium. It’s a shame
for Alexander Sims that he got caught up in an accident at the start
of the race, through no fault of his own. If that hadn’t been the
case, no doubt he would have finished much higher up the field.
Congratulations to António and the entire team. Once again, we managed
to convert the magnificent potential of the BMW iFE.18 into a top
result. Long may it continue.”
Roger Griffiths (Team Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport):
“Racing in front of such a great crowd and finishing on the podium
with António in the end is just amazing. I still have the memory of
all the fans standing in front of the podium and all the BMW flags
flying. Congrats to António who drove a very smart race. The engineers
did a really good job to sort out the energy management. I feel sorry
for Alex. He was an innocent victim today.”
António Félix da Costa (#28 BMW iFE.18, qualifying result:
5th place, race result: 2nd place, FANBOOST
voting: 3rd place, points: 46):
“Ahead of the race weekend, I said that we need to give it our all
here to pick up as many points as possible. The fact that we managed
second place will no doubt be great motivation for the entire team. I
had a duel with Sébastien Buemi relatively early on in the race,
during which I touched his car slightly. After that my steering was
skewed, which naturally put me at something of a disadvantage, so I
simply maintained my position after that and saved energy. As the end
of the race drew near it became clear that some of the cars in front
of me might start having problems, so I waited for my chance – and
then took it. I’m delighted with the podium.”
Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.18, qualifying result:
7th place, race result: 14th place, FANBOOST
voting: 15th place, points: 18)
“It isn’t the result that we had hoped for but it was out of our
hands today. After Nelson Piquet Jr. hit my car the team’s reaction
was fantastic and they got me back out on track as quickly as possible
after the repairs. The car wasn’t working as well after that but I
could still gain valuable experience and data. Those are the positives
from today’s race.”
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”.