A POSITIVE WEEKEND FOR DS AUTOMOBILES IN SHANGHAI | DS Performance

May 27, 2024

21 3 minutes read

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DS Automobiles scores points on four occasions at the Shanghai E-Prix

Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Éric Vergne finish in sixth and seventh places respectively at round 12 of the season on Sunday

The next E-Prix takes place in Portland, USA, at the end of June

Straight after the opening ABB FIA Formula E race in Shanghai on Saturday, the competitors in the all-electric series returned to the track on Sunday for the second race in the Chinese double-header.

Qualifying once again underlined the very high level of competition, with small margins between the drivers. Jean-Éric Vergne was fifth in his group, missing the duels by only 13 thousandths of a second. Stoffel Vandoorne, by contrast, went through to the head to head shootouts. The Belgian won his quarter-final, as well as the semi-final, before losing out in the final by just a thousandth of a second. This marked the fourth time that Stoffel has secured the runner-up spot in qualifying this season, and the eighth time in 12 events that a DS E-TENSE FE23 was on the front row: a strong indication of the performance of the French premium manufacturer’s single-seaters.

Race 2 took place over 28 laps, one less than the day before, and it started well for Stoffel Vandoorne, who grabbed the lead during the opening laps before losing a few positions. The 2022 world champion took the chequered flag in sixth place, just ahead of his team mate Jean-Éric Vergne. The Frenchman was ninth on the starting grid and gained two positions in the race to score points for the 11th time this season, with 12 races run to date. JEV is still sixth in the drivers’ standings but moved closer to the top five this weekend by scoring a total of 17 points: more than the two drivers ahead of him. Stoffel Vandoorne retains ninth place and the DS PENSKE team is still fourth in the teams’ ranking, just three points off the provisional podium.

Four races are still in store this year. After China (the first race in the country since 2019) the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship heads to the United States with a double-header scheduled for June 29-30 at the Portland International Raceway. Season 10 then concludes in London from July 20-21.

Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance director:

“Overall it was a positive weekend. Once again we were very fast in qualifying and once again we started from the front row with Stoffel. The race was very close with some great fights and a lot of contact, as is always the case on quick circuits. The final results bring us valuable points that take us even closer to the podium places in the teams’ standings. The gap to third place is now only three point : much less than when we arrived here. As a result, we’re satisfied with this first double-header in Shanghai.”

Jean-Éric Vergne, 2018 and 2019 Formula E champion:

“We had a decent race, going from ninth position on the starting grid to seventh place in the end. Unfortunately we didn’t have the race pace to fight for the podium this time, but we scored important points for the team. That said, we all know that our goal is not to finish in sixth and seventh places, so we all have to work together as a team. In this type of race on fast circuits, where efficiency plays a very important role, some of our opponents seem to have an advantage. We need to understand why in order to do better in the next races.”

Stoffel Vandoorne, 2022 Formula E champion:

“It was a good qualifying, although missing pole position by just a thousandth of a second is quite frustrating! I got a good start from the front row and led the race, which was nice. But we all know that you use more energy in this position, especially on a circuit as fast as this one. When one of my opponents deployed his Attack Mode, I had to use a little more energy to follow him and that cost me a few positions afterwards. I think we maximised what we had with this sixth place, just ahead of JEV. We’ve scored important points for the team, but we know we have work to do before Portland, which should be a similar type of race.”

Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E: