Stoffel started from the front row and even led the E-Prix in the last third of the race. With this he collected the first leading kilometers with the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01. Just a few minutes before the end of the race, Stoffel had just run over the Attack Mode activation strips and lost a seat when the Safety Automobile hit the track following an accident involving Audi driver Daniel Abt. As a result, Stoffel lost the advantage of the Attack mode and finished the race on location three.
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For Mercedes it was the first podium finish in the first race in the electric racing series, for Stoffel it was already the second podium in Formula E. His teammate Nyck de Vries dawdle for two racing thirds also on a podium finish and ended his debut race in Formula E
In the first qualifying session in the still young team history, Stoffel and Nyck were able to make the jump into the wide pole in the morning, in which the High-6s of the qualifying race once again compete for the first six grid positions. Here Stoffel scored the second best lap time, Nyck completed the strong team result in third.
The Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow two. Mercedes was the only team that could push into the wide poles with both drivers. At the same time the two riders took the first two places in the fanboost vote (VAN: %, DEV: 21%).
The next race: The second race of the season will take place tomorrow, Saturday. Then again on the 2, 2010 km long route in Diriyah driven. The race distance is (as with any E-Prix) 45 minutes plus one lap. In contrast to Friday, however, drivers will only have one 200 – minute free coaching preparation before qualifying on Saturday.
Voices for the first race of the Diriyah E-Prix Ian James, Team Principal: “Wow, made a debut! Third and sixth in our first race are far more than we expected. That's a huge reward for the entire team. The race has shown that in recent months we have achieved a certain level of consistency with our cars. But the race has also shown that there is a high degree of competition between all groups. The field had a quick poke and dawdle very close together throughout the race. I am convinced that tomorrow we will experience a very different race. Then it starts all over again. Therefore, we must stay focused and may not be distracted from this very nice result today. “
Stoffel Vandoorne: “First race, first podium: that's an incredible achievement for the entire group. Behind u.s. is an eventful season preparation, in which it was not easy to get everything to the point. Starting the season with a podium finish is fantastic for u.s.alle. Congratulations to every single person who helped! With a year of experience in Formula E, I was also able to do my part and I am very proud of everyone involved. The good qualifying was, of course, a great way to start our first race weekend. We may have had a small advantage with our later groups, but we had to get this performance first and that's u.s.gelungen. It was not a perfect race, but that's intestine. There are still many things we can improve, but this was a better result than we expected on the debut. “
Nyck de Vries: “Used to be for a first day of racing: Pole in the qualifying group, third in the Wide Pole, sixth in the race and Stoffel on the podium – we can be satisfied with this result. In qualifying, we had a slight advantage as we went to the launch in groups three and four. But I'm still happy for the team that we could start our adventure that way in a positive way. Of course, I'm a little disappointed that I did not finish behind Stoffel in the race. Without the touch of Andre Lotterer and the missed Attack-Mode it might have been possible. As a result, I lost 1.8 seconds, could not use the Attack mode and had to try again. But all in all, we can be satisfied with the result. Now we will keep working hard because this was only the beginning. ”
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