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After a 56-day break, Formula E returned to action in Santiago with ROKiT Venturi Racing aiming to build upon a positive start to the campaign at the opening two races in Diriyah.
Building on encouraging pace from the outset in practice, Edoardo Mortara and Felipe Massa displayed their class in qualifying.
While Edo secured a strong P7 on the grid – despite slowing to avoid a spinning Robin Frijns on his hot lap – Felipe cemented P4 in his fourth Super Pole appearance of his Formula E career.
At the race start, Edo moved forward to P5 while Felipe dropped back to P6, with both making further advances by clearing Oliver Turvey in the early stages.
Closing in on the battle between the top three, Edo toyed with a place on the podium before contact with Antonio Felix da Costa brought an early end to the Swiss-Italian’s race.
In the heat of an increasingly intense battle, Felipe kept his cool – staying firmly inside the points-paying positions as the race reached its conclusion.
Although contact with Daniel Abt knocked the Brazilian out of the top 10 in the latter stages, he would eventually take P9 in the final standings following penalties for Abt and Sebastien Buemi.
Practice 1 // P3
Practice 2 // P7
Qualifying // P7
Race // DNF
Championship // P18 [18 points]
Practice 1 // P21
Practice 2 // P2
Qualifying // P4
Race // P9
Championship // P17 [2 points]
Championship // P8 [20 Points]
"Santiago will go down as a race of what could have been. A number of incidents on track compounded what was a tricky race for us – but we can take many positives away from this weekend. Our pace in qualifying was strong, with Felipe securing his place in Super Pole while Edo was only a fraction shy of the top six – despite an eventful opening to his lap. Both drivers continue to provide good feedback on our Season 6 package and we’re definitely heading in the right direction. Results like this only add to our motivation and, with some work on our race pace, I’m confident we can perform well in Mexico City."
"From the second row after a strong qualifying, I had a lot of wheelspin at the start of the race which meant I lost two positions. Our pace was positive through the field. In the battle for the podium positions, I was shuffled down the pack. With only a few laps to go when I was seventh, I was hit by [Daniel] Abt, which meant I spun. From there, I couldn’t do anything anymore, which was frustrating. We had everything to finish inside the top five today.”
"Our pace today was very positive - especially in qualifying, where we only narrowly missed out on a place in Super Pole with more time on the table. I made a good start to the race and was battling for a place on the podium until I had slight contact with Antonio [Felix da Costa]. That broke my front right suspension which meant that I couldn’t continue. It was an eventful race but we had the pace to score good points today. I’m looking forward to racing in Mexico City next month where I have good memories from last season."
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