Following another fruitful encounter for Techeetah Formula E team at the last race in Rome, the Chinese team look forward to continue their march in the 2017-18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship this weekend in Paris. After seven rounds of the season gone, Techeetah are 34-points clear of their nearest rivals DS Virgin Racing, while Jean-Eric Vergne heads to his home race this weekend 18-points clear of Sam Bird at the top of the drivers championship.
From one of the longest tracks in Formula E in Rome, the all-electric series heads to the second shortest venue on the calendar, with the Circuit Des Invalides is just 1.9 km long, making it just 20 m longer than the Hong Kong track.
The track is located in the center of one of the most iconic cities in the world, with the drivers passing some of France’s iconic monuments such as Musee de l’ Armee and the Les Invalides complex.
The 2018 Qatar Airways Paris ePrix will mark the second race in the European leg of the season, and after a solid race at the last event, Techeetah will hope to build upon that in Paris.
Paris resident and championship-leader for Techeetah Jean-Eric Vergne, will be hoping for a really strong result in front of his home crowd. This is especially so after the Frenchman had a suspension failure in the race last year while running in second place after looking so strong all weekend.
Vergne is very excited about coming home for this weekend’s race, saying: “We’ve had a good week in the sim with the engineering team and I feel ready to take on the streets of Paris. Having grown up in Paris, this race is extra special for me. I’m really looking forward to racing now and to meet all the French fans that have been an incredible support so far this season”
The Frenchman is also organizing a charity kart event alongside Billy Monger, with the support of Formula E and the FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission to help raise money for the charity Spinal Track which help give disabled drivers their first opportunity to get behind the wheel. This is a cause that Vergne is passionate about and is proud to be organizing this event a year after Billy’s accident at Donington Park.
Techeetah Formula E team principle Mark Preston added: “It’s great to have a solid start to the European leg of the season with Andre on the podium and Jean-Eric in fifth place at the Rome E-Prix. Rome saw Techeetah have another good points haul to increase our championship lead to 34 points. It may sound a lot, but in the close competition that is Formula E, it’s a very small margin and one that we hope to extend in Paris.”
And after his second Formula E podium in Rome, Andre Lotterer is looking forward to get back in the car at Paris this weekend: “The Paris E-Prix looks great and it will be fun to drive. As it’s quite a short and narrow track there will be limited overtaking opportunities so qualifying well in Paris will be key.”
