Lucas di Grassi has been disqualified after his dominant drive in Berlin on Saturday. The championship leader has been stripped of the points after it was found the front wing did not meet the technical regulations. The win has instead gone to Belgian driver Jerome d’Ambrosio of Dragon Racing.
Di Grassi had taken the lead into turn 3 after Jarno Trulli went locked up and went wide, and from there he proceeded to pull out a commanding lead, keeping his ten-second lead after the pit stop, and only slowing slightly at the end in order to preserve battery.
After studying the car, the stewards listed the changes as listed, saying it no longer met the specification Spark-built chassis:
1. The front wheel fairing both left and right hand side have been modified with internal metal reinforcing rods.
2. Six of the eight holes in the front wing have been sealed. The remaining two holes having helicoil inserts and chamfers made.
3. Front flap and gurney LH 220 has a filler layer added and chamfer made.
The Audi Sport ABT team insisted it gave “no performance gain” and kept within the “strict rules of Formula E”. They were; “thinking about an appeal but decided to accept the decision on grounds of sportsmanship”. With di Grassi and the team insisting the changes were made as repairs and were not to gain a competitive advantage.
“They are trying to make me win this Championship in the hard mode. Don’t worry, we will be back to kick some Piquet and Buemi ass on track” Di Grassi said over Twitter.
The result means he falls behind Nelson Piquet Jr. and Sebastien Buemi in the championship. Piquet leads on 103 points, Buemi has 101, while di Grassi reverts back to his points before the race on 93.
