DS AUTOMOBILES BACK IN THE POINTS AT MISANO | DS Performance

April 15, 2024

46 3 minutes read

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The very first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship round at Misano in Italy turned out to be a very strategic race.

Jean-Éric Vergne was classified seventh while Stoffel Vandoorne finished ninth, with both DS Automobiles drivers scoring points

Vergne was second on the grid and took the chequered flag in third but was deprived of his podium by a penalty

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship visited new territory this weekend with a double-header at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy. For the first time in its history, the all-electric single-seater series raced on a shortened version of this well-known permanent track, which is an integral part of MotoGP as well as many other international championships.

Being a permanent venue, the track is wide with plenty of room and several overtaking opportunities. Energy management was the biggest challenge for the Formula E teams and drivers, with the race taking on an extremely strategic dimension.

In this very specific context, Jean-Eric Vergne once more confirmed the strong performance of the DS E-TENSE FE23. He was second on the grid after missing out on pole position by just 35 thousandths of a second and remained in the leading group from start to finish of the race, despite a few small contacts in the middle of a pack that was jostling for position. JEV crossed the finish line third, but unfortunately picked up a five-second penalty for a slight collision with a rival at the start of the race. This put the two-time world champion down to seventh in the final rankings.

Stoffel Vandoorne finished the sixth race of this year’s ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the points once more. The Belgian was 18th on the grid and quickly made up places throughout the opening laps, even taking the lead at one point. In the end, he would bag the points for ninth place.

The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli hosts a second, slightly shorter, race on Sunday. With the impressive performance shown by the two DS E-TENSE FE23 cars, DS Automobiles and its partner PENSKE AUTOSPORT will be aiming for revenge on the Adriatic coast.

Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance director:

“The good news is that we’ve seen from the first race at Misano how the performance of our two cars is at a very high level. JEV was consistently fast and in among the leaders from free practice to qualifying, where he was classified P2. Stoffel was also quick, but unluckier in qualifying. The race was characterised by several overtaking moves with our drivers at the forefront. Despite a car that was damaged both at the front and rear, JEV managed to cross the finish line in third place. Sadly, he was penalised by five seconds for one of the many contacts that took place during the race. As for Stoffel, he staged an impressive fightback from 18th to ninth place. Tomorrow, we go again: full of confidence as we’ve clearly got two very competitive drivers and cars!”

Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018-2019 Formula E champion :

“We had a very good car today! Several other cars made contact with me during an action-packed race, and that wasn’t such a nice experience. Knowing that I finished with a damaged front wing and broken rear diffuser, I can be very happy to cross the line third….before that penalty, which I prefer not to talk about. So, I end up with the points for seventh place. The positive point is that we’ve made good progress and we have another day tomorrow to convert our strong performance into a good result.”

Stoffel Vandoorne, 2022 Formula E champion

“I think, from my point of view, that we can talk about a good fightback through the field. We had some problems during qualifying with the motor cutting out that dropped me to the back of the grid. That was a real shame, given our excellent pace during free practice, as we could definitely have aimed for a place in the top four. There was plenty happening throughout the race, with a good start and solid progress up the leaderboard. I even took the lead at one point. Unfortunately, some contact damaged my front wing and then I lost a few places. In the end, it was a difficult race, but there are some positive aspects to take away from it and we’ll have another chance to prove our level tomorrow.”

Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E: