Mercedes driver Stoffel Vandoorne took over the top spot of the electric Formula E championship on Sunday after a double-header in New York.
Antonio Felix da Costa took his first win of the season for DS Techeetah, after New Zealander Nick Cassidy took his first win in the series for Envision on Saturday, with Belgian Vandoorne fourth and second respectively.
The points haul sent former McLaren F1 driver Vandoorne 11 clear of Venturi’s Swiss racer Edoardo Mortara while Mercedes now lead the Formula E team standings.
Da Costa inherited Sunday’s pole position from Cassidy, who was sent to the back of the field with an additional drive-through penalty after overnight repairs triggered a 30-place grid drop.
Vandoorne had been 13 points adrift of Mortara after Saturday’s race but, hours later, the gap was shortened to five when a penalty dropped the Swiss from fifth to ninth for going too fast while yellow warning flags were being waved.
The Belgian ace summed up his Formula E weekend in NYC: “Second place is a great result. All in all, the whole weekend here in New York City went well for us in terms of results, with a P4 yesterday and P2 today. Especially after what happened [Saturday] with that big crash in the first race.
“The team had to change the chassis and rebuild a full new car overnight – but they gave me a good one again today. Many thanks to the whole team for their efforts – this result is for them.
“It’s the ninth time in a row I’ve finished in the points. I’ve always been consistent, but last season it was harder to show that with the more random qualifying format.
“This year it’s possible to excel a bit more. So far, we’ve been on a very good run, but the competition is super strong. It all comes down to small details, and we’ve got to keep on top of them,” added Vandoorne, whs best Formula E finish was second in the 2019-2020 championship.
Mortara then finished 10th in Sunday’s race, albeit with a bonus point for fastest lap. New Zealander Mitch Evans is third overall, five points behind Mortara after finishing third on Sunday for the Jaguar team.
Four rounds remain in this year’s Formula E Championship, with the next two races in London on July 30-31 before the closing double-header in Seoul in mid-August. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
