Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team Double Points Finish in Santiago

Image Credit: Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team Double Points Finish in Santiago: Nyck de Vries And Stoffel Vandoorne In The Top 6

Three races so far – three points results: The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team on the scoreboard again in the third race of its debut season

• Nyck de Vries improves by five positions and sprints to third place, but a subsequent time penalty drops him down to fifth
• Stoffel Vandoorne crosses the line in sixth place behind his team-mate
• Ian James: “I am happy that we managed to finish in P5 and P6, which was completely in line with our objectives. We’re on the right track as a team.”
• Nyck de Vries: “My pace was good, and I was able to fight my way forward through the field. Unfortunately, I then got a penalty, but overall it was a good race.”
• Stoffel Vandoorne: “That was a tough and highly eventful race for me. It’s important for us to have scored good points again. That’s what counts in this championship.”

Image Credit: Daimler AG

The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team maintained the solid start to its debut season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship this weekend in Chile. After two podium finishes on the opening weekend in Saudi Arabia, Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne both finished in the Top 6 of the Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix 2020.

Nyck started one of the hottest races of the season from eighth on the grid. The Dutchman improved by five positions during the 40 laps of the race to take the chequered flag in third place after an exciting sprint to the finish. However, a retrospective time penalty subsequently dropped him down to fifth place. The reason for this was a breach of the regulations with regard to battery temperature. It was nonetheless the best result for the rookie in his budding Formula E career so far.

El compañero de equipo de Nyck, Stoffel Vandoorne, terminó un puesto más atrás, en sexto lugar. Este fue el tercer resultado en los puntos de Stoffel en las primeras tres carreras de la temporada, tras sus dos terceros puestos en Diriyah.

Nyck and Stoffel had qualified for the fourth and fifth row of the grid respectively. After the team’s unexpectedly successful debut in Saudi Arabia, they were obliged to compete in Qualifying Groups 1 and 2 respectively, which meant that track conditions were challenging. Despite finishing first and second in their groups, Stoffel and Nyck narrowly missed out on the super pole session contested by the six fastest drivers in qualifying.

For the third time in a row, both drivers received additional power as a result of fanboost (VAN: 18.6% / DEV: 7.7%). Stoffel actually scored a hattrick in terms of total fan vote: after the first two rounds of the season in Diriyah, the Belgian was again the fans’ favourite driver in Santiago.

Con tres de las 14 carreras de la temporada 2019/20 ya disputadas, Stoffel (38 puntos) encabeza la clasificación de pilotos con una ventaja de tres puntos sobre Alexander Sims (35 puntos). Nyck ocupa el undécimo puesto con 18 puntos. En la clasificación por equipos, el Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team (56 puntos) se encuentra en segunda posición, a cuatro puntos de BMW i Andretti Motorsport (60 puntos).

The team will contest the fourth E-Prix of its Formula E debut season at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 15 February.

Comments after the race in Santiago

Ian James (Team Principal):

“I am happy that we managed to finish in P5 and P6, which was completely in line with our objectives. We’re on the right track as a team, and I’m glad we built on what we started in Riyadh. Fortunately, this is reflected in the current team standings.”

“Without a doubt, we made a mistake with cooling the battery on Nyck’s car. That compromised his sublime driving today. This is something we have to work on going forward. Stoffel also did a solid job out on the track. I am proud that he’s now leading the drivers’ standings.”

“The team did very well under the extreme conditions we had today. We gained a lot of information, and as soon as we’re back home, we will continue to improve.”

Nyck de Vries:

“Aunque crucé la línea de meta en tercer lugar, al final terminé quinto, pero, a fin de cuentas, fue una buena carrera. No tuve la mejor de las salidas por el interior, pero pude limitar los daños. Después, conseguí mantener la calma en los primeros compases de la carrera y aprovechar algunos de los errores de los demás pilotos. Mi ritmo fue bueno y pude abrirme paso remontando en la parrilla. Desafortunadamente, luego recibí una sanción, lo cual es una lástima. Pero en general fue una buena carrera. También la sesión de clasificación que, sopesándolo todo, estuvo bien. Por supuesto, siempre hay margen de mejora aquí y allá, pero en líneas generales, hubo más aspectos positivos que negativos.’

Stoffel Vandoorne:

“That was a tough and highly eventful race for me. My car was clattered into from all sides and afterwards didn’t drive one hundred percent straight. Consequently, it was very difficult to keep it going all the way to the finish. But I’m glad that I managed to do that, because there were a lot of incidents today and it’s important for us to have scored decent points again. That’s what matters in this championship. Qualifying went well for us, even though we didn’t make it into the super pole. Realistically speaking, we had been expecting that to some extent all along. The important thing is that I was the fastest in my qualifying group by a big margin and we were able to start among the Top 10. Maybe we lost a few points today, but now we need to look ahead and do better in the next race.”