BERLIN EPRIX RACE REPORT
The FIA Formula E Championship headed back to Europe for Round Eight in Berlin, Germany. For the first time in Season Two both Robin Frijns and Simona de Silvestro scored points for the Andretti Formula E Team. Robin Frijns ended his weekend with a sixth place finish in his No. 27 Amlin Andretti car while de Silvestro finished ninth in her No. 28 Amlin Andretti car respectively.
Luck was on the team’s side after four cars were penalized post qualifying to bump de Silvestro to 10th and Frijns to 12th. Still further back than they had hoped the drivers stayed focused and fought to the front. Frijns at one point pulling off the pass of the race on Loic Duval of Dragon Racing that left the crowd cheering. de Silvestro held her ground steady through the race, her energy saving skills paying off by the checkered flag.
The Andretti Formula E Team will hope to finish strong as they end Season Two in London for a double-header weekend featuring Round 9 and Round 10.
Roger Griffith, Co-Team Principal of Andretti Formula E Team
“It’s a very good day for the team, I was very pleased with everyone’s performance,” Griffiths said. “Simona drove a very calculated race, she brought the car home in ninth place despite some aggressive racing with the cars around her. We looked at both her cars after the race and there was considerable contact damage around it. So pleased that she managed to finish. ”Robin, after a disappointing qualifying session, was only 16th on the grid prior to the post Qualifying disqualification of several cars. To come away with what at the moment is a sixth place finish as we’re not sure if a few more penalties wont be passed out, I’m really pleased for everybody. All the guys worked really hard to bring the car home. It just shows that you never give up and you keep pushing all the time. It’s some good momentum going into London. It’s the home race for our title sponsor Amlin so we’re looking forward to seeing them all and looking forward to the finale. I think it will be a very exciting time for all of us.”
Robin Frijns, No. 27 Amlin Andretti Spark-Renault SRT_01E
• Started 12th for Round Eight of Formula E competition, after penalties were passed down to four cars on the grid.
• Finished 6th after smart racing helped him to the front of the field. He was chasing down the front when a late safety car halted his progress.
“The start was good as I was able to overtake two cars going into the first corner on the outside as everyone was heading to the inside,” Frijns said. “Then I was after Duval. I was trying to save some energy in the beginning but he was a bit too slow so I spent the energy to get around him. I saw the front group pulling away so I had to overtake him, which I did. It was a tricky move but I made it, so fair enough. When I was free I was chasing down the leaders, I was quicker and eventually the gap was 1.5-seconds at the end.
”With the pit stop we lost a bit of time, but by then everyone was well settled in the race. The gap to the front was a bit too big. Heidfeld was behind me and we had the same pace but I was pulling away a bit before the safety car. When it went back to green. No one had any energy saving mode left so the last two laps were flat out. As long as you didn’t make any mistakes you were fine.”‘
Simona de Silvestro, No. 28 Amlin Andretti Spark-Renault SRT_01E
• Started 10th and finished 9th in Round Eight of Formula E competition.
• Scored points for the second time this season, tying her best finish of the season in Long Beach.
“Finished back in the points,” de Silvestro said. “I think we could finished a little closer to the front if we didn’t lose the regen in the first car when it over heated. That was frustrating, so we’ll have to look into that. The team did a great job all weekend, both cars in the top-ten is good. Hopefully we can do that again in London.
”I think having back-to-back races will be fun because you learn so much in the first race. As a driver having two races is always quite cool, because you always want to be in the car. It is also going to be quite busy for us, so we’d like to see two good races.”
The FIA Formula E Championship next heads to London for Round Nine on 2 July and Round Ten of competition on 3 July. In the meantime, stay tuned to Amlin-AndrettiFE.com for updates and go behind the scenes with team via Twitter @AmlinAndrettiFE.
