Munich. Win number two in race three of this season’s ABB FIA
Formula E Championship for BMW i Andretti Motorsport: In a thrilling
finale, Maximilian Günther (GER) pulled off a final-lap overtaking
manoeuvre in the #28 BMW iFE.20 to take victory at the Santiago
E-Prix (CHI). The 22-year-old claimed the first win of his Formula E
career in only his third race for the team. In doing so, he also
became the youngest winner ever in the series. The 25 points scored
took BMW i Andretti Motorsport to the top of the Team standings.
Alexander Sims (GBR) crashed out in Santiago.
In qualifying, Sims struggled with a track that was still slippery
for group one. After three pole positions in a row, he was forced to
settle for 15th place on the grid. Günther took perfect advantage of
the better track conditions in group three and progressed to Super
Pole, where second place gave him a start position on the front row of
the grid, the fourth consecutive time that a BMW had started from row one.
While Sims found himself embroiled in many fierce battles in the
midfield at the start of the race, and was ultimately forced to retire
after making contact with the crash barriers, Günther established
himself nicely in the top three. Towards the end of the race, he
benefitted from the energy efficiency of his BMW iFE.20 and the team’s
outstanding strategy. In a captivating battle for the lead, he was
able to overtake António Félix da Costa (POR) on the final lap and
take the chequered flag in first place.
Reactions to the Santiago E-Prix:
Jens Marquardt (BMW Group Motorsport Director):
“That was an extraordinary performance, both from Maximilian Günther
and everyone in the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team. It is incredible
how maturely and coolly Maximilian drove in only his third Formula E
race for our team. He more than deserved the first Formula E win of
his career and the title of ‘youngest Formula E winner ever’. He and
the team kept a cool head, particularly in the dramatic closing
stages, and judged the situation correctly. We reckoned that António
could have cooling problems, and that is exactly what happened. That
correct appraisal allowed Max to pull off the fantastic overtaking
manoeuvre on the final lap. On the whole, we can obviously be
extremely happy with two wins and two pole positions in three races,
as well as first place in the Team competition. Alexander Sims had a
tough day today, but he is still right up there. We now have two
winning drivers in the Drivers’ Championship, and we will go on the
attack with both of them again at the Mexico City E-Prix.”
Roger Griffiths (Team Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport,
team standings: 1st place):
“When he crossed the finish line, the celebrations in the garage were
deafening. To have won two races in a row and lead the Team
competition feels damn good. I am delighted for Max. After the
disappointment in Diriyah, where he was subsequently denied second
place after the race, he has done it this time and claimed his first
win. Together with his race engineer, he drove a very clever race. By
using ATTACK MODE intelligently, he was first able to overtake Pascal
Wehrlein and then pass Mitch Evans with a spectacular manoeuvre.
Towards the end of the race, we saw that the two Techeetah cars were
gaining rapidly, but we always knew that we were controlling the
situation well and managing the temperature of the batteries better.
We were proved right, as you could see with António at the end.”
Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.20, qualifying result: 15th place,
race result: DNF, points: 35, driver standings: 2nd place):
“Firstly, I am incredibly pleased for Max and the team. Max had an
outstanding qualifying, and he and the team did everything right in
the race. I had good pace in the practice sessions too, but there was
not much I could do in qualifying group one. The first laps of my race
were pretty good. It was typical Formula E racing in the midfield;
hard, but good. I then made slight contact with the wall, but damaged
my car so severely that I had to retire from the race. As such, the
result is obviously disappointing.”
Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.20, qualifying result: 2nd
place, race result: 1st place, points: 25, driver standings: 4th place):
“Today is a dream come true. I am incredibly happy to take the first
win of my Formula E career here in Santiago. Second place in
qualifying was superb. Having not made a great start on the dirty side
of the track, which cost me a position, we used ATTACK MODE very
cleverly to allow me to take the lead. In the heat, it was also
important to keep an eye on the temperature of the batteries. We did
that really well. On the final lap, António had to coast a little
earlier than me on the straight. I thought to myself ‘now or never’
and went for the overtake. Fortunately, it came off.”
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:
14.3 kWh; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)* as “Race Director Car” and
the BMW 530e (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”.