London, UK, August 2nd - The FIA Formula E World Championship headed to London this weekend for the penultimate round of the season, a double-header contested partly indoors at the famous ExCeL London exhibition centre.
On this unconventional track, where qualifying plays a vital role given the limited overtaking opportunities, DS TECHEETAH had a tough opening day, with Antonio Felix Da Costa securing the team’s best result in finishing seventh in race one. The Portuguese driver had nonetheless fought his way up to seventh place from eleventh on the starting grid, reflecting the determination and never-say-die attitude of the Franco-Chinese squad. Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne clashed with his rivals in the midfield traffic and was unable to do better than fourteenth. Sunday’s race would see DS TECHEETAH return to the front, however, as Da Costa and Vergne secured fourth and ninth places on the starting grid respectively. Once the race got underway, Da Costa managed to bring his DS E-TENSE FE21 home in fifth place, scoring vital points to keep the squad in contention for a podium place in the Teams’ championship. Vergne suffered bad luck yet again when he had to retire after being hit by another driver.
“We were much more on the pace in the second race but JEV was hit by a slow moving car and that cost us vital points,” analysed Thomas Chevaucher, Director of DS Performance and DS TECHEETAH Team Principal. “The team is still in the top three and we’ll keep fighting right to the end to try and secure the title!” Sentiments that were echoed by Antonio Félix da Costa: “Things were a bit better today than yesterday. We were fourth in qualifying and were more competitive. Having said that, I struggled a bit more in the second half of the race. My tyres were pretty worn and it was very difficult to hold the line. So I ended up dropping back to fifth position. We still scored good points and we’ll try to come back stronger in Seoul for the final round of the season.” The final round is scheduled to take place on 13-14 August, at what will be the championship’s first visit to South Korea.
Despite drawing a blank this weekend, Jean-Eric stays in fourth place in the drivers’ championship, closely followed by his team-mate Antonio Felix Da Costa in fifth. In the Teams’ standings, DS TECHEETAH is now in third position, just eleven points behind the second-placed team.
