After the highs of the Puebla E-Prix, Edoardo Mortara’s New York City E-Prix was one to forget for the Swiss racer, with the pre-race championship leader ending both races outside the points.
The ROKiT Venturi Racing driver took a win and a third place in Mexico three weeks ago to come to New York on top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship standings.
But Saturday’s opening race was compromised in Qualifying as he was unable to use his full 250kW mode for his one flying lap, leaving him at the back of the field. Despite feeling he had a strong car beneath him, he was only able to climb from twenty-third on the grid to fourteenth.
“We were able to show some really good pace in FP2 but an issue in qualifying compromised my race today,” said Mortara on Saturday. “When I started my push lap, I wasn’t able to go into the 250kW mode so I did my group run with a 50kW power disadvantage to my competitors.
“Starting from P23, the only way was forward but we were able to do an intelligent race and I gained nine positions to finish P14.”
Going again in group one in Sunday’s second Qualifying session, Mortara could only qualify fourteenth, and he once again missed out on points after losing a significant amount of time after a collision with BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Jake Dennis as the two battled over thirteenth.
Mortara says he struggled for pace during Sunday’s second race at the Brooklyn Street Circuit, and he hopes everything will come together when Formula E hits London in two weeks time.
“Being in Group 1 in qualifying is never ideal but from the middle of the field, I was quite optimistic for the race,” said the Swiss racer after Sunday’s second race. “At the start, I lost a few positions but I was able to recover quite well.
“During my first Attack Mode, I tried to overtake Dennis for P13 but we made contact and from there, there was very little I could do. I struggled for pace overall and I was hoping we could be more competitive.
“After the success we had in Puebla and our performance from this weekend, it shows that things can change quite quickly in Formula E. We need to keep our feet on the ground and remain focussed so we can improve for the next race in London.”
