Stoffel Vandoorne scores podium finish for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team in London

Strong opening round in London for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team as Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries finish second and sixth respectively in round 13 of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

• Stoffel Vandoorne set the fastest time in qualifying group A and fought his way through the subsequent stages and on into the final round where he went up against Jake Dennis, to whom he lost out by just 0.137 seconds and qualified second on the grid in the end. It was the eleventh time in Stoffel’s Formula E career that he has started from the front row and the fourth time this season.
• Nyck de Vries set the second-fastest time in his qualifying group and went through to the semi-finals where he was narrowly beaten by Jake Dennis and so, qualified third on the grid.
• Stoffel held onto P2 at the start of the E-Prix and then proceeded to hunt down the leader, Jake Dennis, throughout the race. Stoffel ultimately crossed the finish line in second place after 37 laps.
• Nyck defended P3 at the start and stayed right behind the two race leaders subsequently. After losing P3 for a short while, he reclaimed the position with an undercut the first time Attack Mode was activated. In the closing stages, he fought an exciting duel with Nick Cassidy and defended P3 to the finish.
• After the end of the race, Nyck received a 5-second time penalty for defending his position on the straight with more than one move before Turn 1. As a result, he fell back to sixth place.
• This was Stoffel’s 14th podium finish in Formula E and his seventh this season. At the same time, it was the 20th podium for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team.
• Stoffel (173 points) leads the Drivers’ World Championship by 24 points from Mitch Evans (149 points). Nyck (91 points) is in seventh place.
• The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team (264 points) leads the Team Championship Standings after the 13th round of the season ahead of DS Techeetah (234 points).
• The next round of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place at the same venue in London tomorrow, Sunday, July 31 2022.

Stoffel Vandoorne:

“Today was great with a P2 finish. Congratulations to Jake. It was a mega day for him. He was very fast in practice to begin with, then took pole and drove a very intelligent race. We could find no real reply to that. I tried to stay real close to him for as long as possible but just couldn’t get past him on this track. There are still three races to go, so we just have to keep pushing. We’ll get another chance tomorrow.”

Nyck de Vries:

“Unfortunately, we didn’t really have the pace today. I clipped the wall early on in the race, which bent the steering and rear-left suspension, causing me to really struggle with the car’s balance, especially in the right-hand turns. It was a real battle all the way to the finish. There are still three races to go and we have seen just how quickly the tide can turn in this championship. It’s extremely competitive and very close, so we have to make sure we’re doing our job and hopefully, that will be enough in the end. We had good pace in qualifying, which seems to be a key factor, but we need to find a bit more speed for tomorrow’s race.”

Ian James, Team Principal:

“Today has been a really strong day for the team. From the moment the first session started, the team has been absolutely clinical in their execution. We saw early on we had good pace here in London – having a good shot at a solid result. But, it is always about more than just ensuring you are fast. Consistency and not slipping up at any stage are as much part of securing a good result. And that is exactly what we managed to do today. We approached every session, every run, as a new challenge.

That paid off in the end: we delivered a performant car and strategy to the drivers, setting them up for the best result we could. They then delivered on their end: Stoffel made it through to the final stage of Qualifying – nearly clinching Pole Position. Nyck managed to start P3 on the grid. In the race, their race craft was displayed once again. Both drivers did a stellar job and came over the finish line in 2nd and 3rd place. Unfortunately Nyck got penalised for changing direction while defending – taking a 5 second time penalty, seeing him fall back to P6 in the final classification. A bitter pill to swallow as it means losing 7 very valuable points.

There are just three more races to go after today, and we are primed to deliver three more races like this: where precision is key and the whole team fights for every single millisecond. London, we’re ready for another race tomorrow!”