Coming off the back of his second podium finish in Formula E, Edoardo Mortara and the Venturi Formula E Team head to Hong Kong hoping to make amends for the potential win that slipped through their fingers last season. This was after the Swiss-Italian racer span on the final lap of the race, meaning he ultimately had to settle for second. But coming off a duo of top five finishes in the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Mortara is a man on form right now.
The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix takes place on 10 March around the 1.860 km racetrack between Victoria Bay and the skyscraper-studded Hong Kong skyline and is the shortest circuit of the championship around the tight and twisty venue which has seen its fair share of drama in the past few seasons.
With the Hong Kong circuit one of the more difficult tracks to overtake on, qualifying will be crucial this weekend. As this track has historically had a huge amount of track evolution , the Venturi drivers set to run in the later groups could find themselves in prime positions for a good result this weekend.
After racking up two solid results in Santiago and Mexico City, Mortara heads to Hong Kong tenth in the drivers standings and given the relative performance of the Venturi and his form here at Hong Kong last year, the Swiss-Italian racer has every reason to be confident heading to this weekend’s race, saying:
“I’m going into this race calmly and very focused on my preparations. We’re coming off the back of two good results, and we’re heading in the right direction. The team is ultra-determined. Now we just have to hope everything goes well over the weekend. I’m looking forward to getting back out on the track.”
Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa finally claimed his first points in Formula E last time in Mexico City courtesy of an eighth-place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Brazilian benefited from the huge track evolution in Mexico and will be hoping for the same this weekend as ahead of his first visit to Hong Kong, he said:
“This will be my first time visiting Hong Kong. I can’t wait to get there, especially as I know I have a lot of fans there. I’ve familiarised myself with the track in the simulator, in order to be as ready as possible on race day. We’ve come a long way since Santiago and the team dynamic is very good – this weekend we’ll continue to push and we hope to have the best race possible.”
