Podium For Pascal On The Streets Of New York City

The sixth round of the ABB Formula E Race At Home Challenge took place with teams competing on a brand new track for the sim racing series; the New York E-Prix circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Mahindra Racing headed into this weekend leading both championships. Pascal Wehrlein led the driver’s fight by six points after winning two of the five races so far, and Mahindra sat at the top top of the team’s standings, two points clear.

Pascal qualified second but had a five-place grid penalty following an incident last weekend with Maxi Gunther, so he began the race from 7th. He was up to fifth after the first corner and had gained another position by lap 4. On lap 11 he overtook Neel Jani to move into a podium finishing position then shortly after passed Oliver Rowland for second place. The trio raced hard in the closing laps but Pascal held on to finish second, behind winner Stoffel Vandoorne. The result saw Pascal move to second in the championship, but just two points behind winner Stoffel Vandoorne with two races remaining.

Jerome D’Ambrosio qualified in 18th in the #64 Mahindra Racing car and gained four positions on the first corner. He lost several positions over the following laps and was classified 20th.

In the team’s championship, Mahindra Racing is now second with 105 points, behind Mercedes, who have 111 points.

Next weekend sees the culmination of Formula E’s Esports series with a double-header weekend; a race on Saturday before the finale on Sunday which will have double points on offer.

Pascal Wehrlein: “It was a good result. With the penalty I had to start from seventh and managed to finish second and it was a good fight to get there. Even though the car was already damaged after the first corner as there was a big shunt ahead of me with a lot of cars trying to go through at the same time, the pace of the car was good throughout. By the end I was just defending my position and trying to get good exits to keep Oliver [Rowland] and Neel [Jani] behind me. All in all, second place is not bad!”