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Free Practice One // 12th
Free Practice Two // 16th
Qualifying // 9th [1:14.328, Group B]
Race // 18th
Positions Gained // -10
Fastest Lap // 1:15.120
Championship // 3rd [144 points]
Free Practice One // 15th
Free Practice Two // 5th
Qualifying // 22nd [No Time, Group A]
Race // 9th
Positions Gained // +13
Fastest Lap // 1:15.177
Championship // 8th [86 points]
Championship // 3rd [230 points]
ROKiT Venturi Racing fought to the top ten in the first part of the 2022 London E-Prix, with Lucas di Grassi recovering to ninth after starting from the final row of the grid.
The Brazilian lined up in 22nd after having his fastest lap times from qualifying deleted while team-mate, Edoardo Mortara, secured ninth for the start.
On the opening lap, Lucas successfully made progress by ascending to 17th, although contact with Jean-Éric Vergne and Sam Bird placed Edo on the back-foot as the Swiss-Italian was forced to pit for repairs.
In a clinical drive, Lucas continued to make progress throughout the race and by undercutting the competition with his first Attack Mode activation, was on the verge of points at the halfway mark.
Swapping to the overcut strategy with his second Attack Mode usage 15 minutes from the flag, he successfully overtook Robin Frijns for 10th to move into the points-paying positions.
On the final lap, Lucas cleared Sergio Sette-Camara to secure ninth at the chequered flag, gaining an impressive 13 positions to register two points.
Edo, meanwhile, recovered to 18th following his pitstop at the end of lap one.
As a result, ROKiT Venturi Racing holds third in the World Teams ’Championship with 230 points while Edo also remains in the hunt by sitting third in the World Drivers ’Standings.
Formula E’s eighth season will continue on Sunday, 31 August, with a second race at London’s ExCeL Circuit.
“Today has been a very challenging day for the team. A difficult qualifying meant that we had work to do in the race. Edo was unfortunately involved in a collision at the start and because he had to pit for repairs, this left Lucas as our main challenger. After starting last, he did an incredible job to fight forward to ninth and showed strong pace in the race. Luck hasn’t been on our side today, but we know what we need to do to pull everything together for Race Two. That’s what our full focus is now on.”
“We were very unlucky with today’s result, but I know that we will come back fighting. I think we were missing a little bit of pace in qualifying but from ninth, there was scope for us to score some good points. Unfortunately, I had an issue with my starting procedure which put me on the back foot, and I was then caught up in an incident in Turn Two. We went three-wide, JEV [Jean-Eric Vergne] hit me from the right, then [Sam] Bird hit me from the left and I then had to pit for repairs. We rejoined right at the back, and without a Safety Car, there was very little I could do. Overall, a day to forget but tomorrow is another day, full of new opportunities.”
“Today’s race was very hard and because the circuit is not the most energy sensitive, we knew that it would be very difficult to pass. Despite starting from the back of the grid, we managed to gain 13 positions, which averages around one overtake every three laps. This result comes down to a good strategy and an even better car. It is probably the hardest I have ever fought to score two points in my career. In motorsport, every point is worth fighting for and in the unpredictability of Formula E, you never know what make the difference between taking the championship or not. My only aim now is to get ROKiT Venturi Racing the World Championship they deserve, and we’re going to fight until the very end."
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