Alexander Sims in the points in Santiago

Alexander Sims gave another impressive performance
in round three of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Seventh place in the
Santiago E-Prix earned him valuable points in the Drivers’ Championship. Sims
actually crossed the finish line third in the #27 BMW iFE.18, however, was
given a time penalty for a collision with Edoardo Mortara which saw him
relegated to seventh place in the final classification. António Félix da Costa
did not finish. BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team wore black ribbons, in memory of
Charly Lamm.

Sims
started the third Formula E race of his career from eighth place and, in hot
conditions, gradually worked his way through the field until he came across
third-placed Mortara. During their battle for position Mortara spun, allowing
Sims to pass him and take third place. He was subsequently given a time penalty
for the incident.

Like
his fellow competitors, Félix da Costa struggled with a very slippery track in
group one of qualifying. As a result, he started the race down in 17th place.
He was involved in a collision with André Lotterer and Jean-Éric Vergne in the
packed midfield, during which his BMW iFE.18 suffered a puncture. Félix da
Costa found himself at the back of the field with no hope of recovering after
the pit stop, and subsequently returned the severely damaged car to the garage,
bringing his race to a premature end. Victory in Santiago de Chile went to Sam
Bird.

Roger Griffiths (Team
Principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport):

“The
track here in Santiago created some exciting racing; it was just disappointing
we couldn’t finish on the podium. We knew that the key aspect was going to be
getting a grip on the temperatures during all sessions. To be honest, it was a
disappointing qualifying result with Alexander in eighth and António in 18th
but the race is what counts and we got off to a good start. António
unfortunately had contact with another car, resulting in a punctured tyre and a
damaged car. Alexander was making really good progress through the field, and
when the checkered flag dropped we crossed the line in third place. It was a
great result for Alexander and the team was back up on the podium, but
post-race penalties dropped Sims back down to seventh place. We as a team
respect the decision of the stewards. We will move on to the race in Mexico
City.”

Alexander Sims (#27 BMW
iFE.18, qualifying result: 9th place, race result: 7th place, FANBOOST voting:
14th place, points: 18)

“Firstly,
thank you very much to the team, who did an outstanding job of helping me to
manage the car during this very tough race. I think everything went superbly.
Unfortunately, I then had the incident with Edoardo Mortara. To be perfectly
honest, I did not feel any contact, but I trust the investigation of the race
stewards and accept the penalty. Despite that, I will take a lot of positives
from Santiago and am now focussing on the next race.”

António Félix da Costa
(#28 BMW iFE.18, qualifying result: 18th place, race result: DNF, FANBOOST
voting: 5th place, points: 28):

“All
the drivers in the first qualifying group had to start from the very back as
the track was far slower at that point than it was for the later groups.
Despite that, I was still optimistic about the race and was able to climb a few
positions after a good start. Unfortunately, I then had the collision. I was
hit from behind and suffered a puncture as a result. We tried to continue after
the pit stop but the damage to the car was ultimately so severe that we had to
retire, which is obviously disappointing.”