NextEV TCR drivers Nelson Piquet Jr and Oliver Turvey bemoaned the Berlin ePrix officials after they were called in for what they saw as unnecessary repairs.
Both of them were shown black and orange flags, which required them to pit within three laps to repair damaged bodywork on their cars.
The damage occurred after the two came together in the first corner, with Turvey then causing more damage after clipping a bollard at the chicane. Despite this, neither driver thought that it was affecting the handling of their car.
The unscheduled stops ruined their strategies, leading to Turvey and Piquet Jnr finishing twelfth and thirteenth respectively – neither car finishing in the points despite qualifying in a season best of fifth and seventh.
Speaking after the race, Turvey said, “I clipped the bollard at the first chicane and damaged the end of the front wing. The part of the wing that was damaged then fell off, but it didn’t affect the handling of the car so it was frustrating to get a technical flag as this dropped us down the field and made things very difficult after this.
Piquet added, “Oliver and I did a very good job with the car we had and qualified well. In the race our pace dropped down and we struggled a bit more with our car. In the first stint the officials sent me into the pits because I had a piece of loose wing from the start and that really ended the race for us.
“With the package we have, we need to be in the right place to take advantages when we can, and with the unscheduled pitstop for the nose cone change, that made that impossible today.”
The result means that NextEV remain rooted to the bottom of the teams’ championship, ten points behind Team Aguri.
