18.3.2019. The formula E is exciting as never before: With five different winners in the first five races, the first four drivers in the standings are within just three points. In the middle: Lucas di Grassi in third place. On Saturday (23. March) starts the series for the first Time in the Chinese resort of Sanya.
Five exciting races, with decisions in the last meters, five different winners and a skin-tight battle at the top: The current season of the formula E exceeds all expectations. The next Saturday it goes to the next round With a win in Mexico and a second place recently in Hong Kong, Lucas di Grassi in Sanya reaches for the table top. Only two points separate the Brazilians from championship leader Sam Bird.
Lucas di Grassi after his 29. Podium at the race in Hong Kong now again. “Daniel and I are now driving to trophies and victories, is the result of hard work of the whole team. The features of our team: If the conditions are hard and the pressure is rising, then we will be really strong,“ di Grassi. “We were now three times in a row on the Podium and give everything we can, this series in Sanya continue. The championship is this season more closely than ever before.“
Team-mate Daniel Abt, booth 2019 already in Santiago de Chile on the Podium, and is one of only two pilots in the field who have so far scored in every race. The power in the team standings noticeable in the Audi sporting Schaeffler ABBOT after the fifth of 13 races this season in striking distance in second place.
“Of course, it is a nice feeling, that we are now in two ratings at the front,” says team leader Allan McNish. “But the table is only after the final really important, so we focus now only on the next race. Sanya is new territory for all the Teams and drivers, so meticulous preparation is even more important.“ Although between the guest play in Hong Kong and Sanya, a short holiday in Asia would have traveled back Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi in the Simulator to prepare.
With the end of his tour in Sanya, the formula E returns on the Chinese mainland. In the first two years, Beijing was the venue of a race, the Hong Kong special administrative region, took over the Asian place in the calendar. Sanya, located in the southernmost province of the PRC Hainan, with its sandy destination: year beaches as a popular holiday for year about 18 million tourists visit the Region. The 2,236-Kilometer-long course with three narrow pointed another exciting race with lots of Overtaking promises to return. The anticipation of the Event on the beach is great. “A run in the middle of a holiday resort with white sandy beaches – the formula E always manages to find exceptional Locations,” says Abbot. “It’s good that we have a run on the Chinese mainland, because we are always warmly and enthusiastically.”
In addition to the factory team Audi Sport Schaeffler ABT the customer team Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird and Robin Frijns, with the Audi and technology partner Schaeffler have developed e-tron FE05. The British team currently leads the championship in both the driver as well as in the team standings.
The sixth season round of the formula E starts in Sanya, on Saturday at 15 PM local time (8 PM CET) and runs as usual, about 45 minutes plus a lap. Eurosport is broadcasting live from China, in addition, the ARD shows the race in the live stream below daserste.de. All of the international channels including broadcast times are available online at www.fiaformulae.com .
Audi e-tron FE05 #66 (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), Daniel Abt (photo: Audi Communications Motorsport / Michael Kunkel)
