WEHRLEIN COMPLETES DIFFICUT RACE IN MONACO

Monaco Increase managed driver Pascal Wehrlein finished Round 9 of the ABB Formula E championship in eleventh place, improving one position over his qualifying result. This was clearly not ideal for Wehrlein who would have hoped more from racing on MIM’s home turf, but both Porsche cars seemed to lack somewhat of pace and efficiency today. The slender chassis and narrow track of the Gen 3 Formula E single seaters made it possible to have an eventful race though, and the public on the grandstands around the circuit (basically the same course used for the Formula One Grand Prix) enjoyed a nice day of racing.

Wehrlein and team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa had not been able to advance beyond the first stage of qualifying and that meant that Pascal had to come up with a smart strategy to try and get a top ten finish. He saved energy in the first stages of the 29-lap event and then started his attack on Lap 4, coming ahead nf Rast and both Maserati cars. Ten laps into the race, Wehrlein had recovered to P8 but the Attack Mode call proved less than successful, dropping him to P11. The mandatory extra power spell is of limited utility on a track like Monaco and Wehrlein’s remained in the midfield, waiting for an occasion that came when Günther and Ticktum ahead of him collided, allowing the #94 Porsche 99X to regain point zone before the Safety Car entered track. Wehrlein looked set for a P9 finish but shortly after the race restarted on Lap 24, he suddenly lost three positions and only managed to recover one as the e-prix came to an end under a new safety car period. As a consequence, Wehrlein lost the championship lead for the first time to race winner Cassidy, but the MIM driver is determined to right back starting from the next round in Indonesia.