ABT Sportsline Press Release
THREE RACES, THREE TIMES ON PODIUM AND A COMMANDING TOP SPOT OF THE FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: LUCAS DI GRASSI FROM TEAM ABT SPORTSLINE HAS CLEARLY MADE HIS MARK ON THE FIRST THIRD OF THE SEASON.
The spectators in the sold-out stands along the waterfront of the tourist resort witnessed a spectacular race with numerous overtaking manoeuvres, several safety car periods and an action-packed final sprint as well. Yet again, Lucas di Grassi was in the right place at the right time and scored valuable points trailing Sébastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet jr. After taking victory in the inaugural race in Beijing and finishing the race in Malaysia three weeks ago as the runner-up di Grassi is the only driver in the field to have clinched three trophies.
Even in qualifying the Brazilian had not taken any risks and in sixth place secured a solid starting base for the 31-lap race. Following a good start and a small tussle with rivals di Grassi was running in seventh place for a long time, made up ground after a perfect pit stop that included switching to the second car and two laps before the finish captured his podium place.
His team-mate Daniel Abt in conditions of nearly 30 degrees air temperature again became the victim of a technical defect. Shortly after the start and o two more occasions a fault in the battery management system that is identical for all the teams caused his car to go into safety mode and switch off. Abt had to restart the electronics, which made him drop to the rear of the field. But ‘giving up’ is not part of the vocabulary of the 22-year-old German racer from the Allgäu. After switching to the second car the youngster showed his fighting spirit, drove what was by far the fastest lap of the race and scored two points for it.
After three of nine scheduled events Lucas di Grassi is leading the driver standings with an 18-point advantage over the competition. In the team standings ABT Sportsline is trailing the French factory-backed squad of Renault by just two points.
The round in Punta del Este was the third of ten FIA Formula E Championship races, which include visits to China, Uruguay, Argentina, the USA, Monaco, Great Britain and Germany. The third event will follow immediately after New Year’s in South America. On 10 January 2015 Daniel Abt and company will be racing in the streets of Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Photo credit: ABT Sportsline
