DS AUTOMOBILES STAYS IN THE TOP FIVE AFTER AN EVENTFUL RACE IN LONDON

• Stoffel Vandoorne finished 12th in the London E-Prix’s first race on Saturday, while Jean-Eric Vergne was forced to retire

• At the end of this 15th and penultimate race of the season, DS Automobiles and PENSKE AUTOSPORT maintain fifth place in the team’ classification

• The final race of the year will take place tomorrow on the same circuit at 6pm (CET)

On Saturday, the ExCel London circuit hosted the penultimate round of Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E world championship. As expected on this unique track, which runs partially indoors inside the exhibition centre, there were plenty of twists and turns. The race was neutralised twice in the last five laps due to a big crash, and then a pile-up involving several competitors.

By starting eighth on the grid, Stoffel Vandoorne had the opportunity to score valuable points in the teams’ championship, but the DS Automobiles driver was unfortunately unable to capitalise on this opportunity with his DS E-TENSE FE23. The reigning champion was forced to change a damaged part on his car during the second neutralisation and had to re-start at the back of the pack. This ended all hopes of a good result, and – despite a strong performance throughout the race – the Belgian finished 12th.

His teammate was no luckier. Jean Eric Vergne was the victim of a contact and a left-rear puncture after 10 laps, ultimately forcing him into retirement. Nonetheless, the Frenchman, retains fifth place in the provisional drivers’ championship standings, with his prospects of ending the year in style on Sunday fully intact. This objective is shared by the entire DS PENSKE team, which aims to keep fifth place in the teams’ championship rankings so far.

The second race of London E-Prix starts just after 6pm (CET) on Sunday.

Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance Director:

“This was definitely a very eventful race, which makes it quite hard to comment on. Accidents, punctures, neutralisations, and front wing changes strongly influenced the final result: especially ours. Tonight, we congratulate Jake Dennis and the Avalanche Andretti team for their drivers’ title: a well-deserved success after all the hard work they’ve put in throughout the season. Now we need to analyse everything that happened during the penultimate round in order to have a good race tomorrow.”

Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018 and 2019 Formula E champion:

“I had a tricky start and lost a few positions while it was all happening. I then had some bad luck: I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another competitor hit me in the left-rear, which caused a puncture. So the team decided to stop me there to save tyres for tomorrow's race.”

Stoffel Vandoorne, reigning Formula E world champion:

“We had an encouraging qualifying session earlier by qualifying for the duels and claiming eighth place on the grid. I managed to get a very good lap in during the group stage too. The race itself was very eventful and characterised by numerous incidents and two neutralisations. While we were fighting for sixth and seventh places, we unfortunately had damage to the front wing. The FIA decided that we should replace it during the second red flag period, which forced me to re-start at the back of the pack. It’s a shame because we were up for the points on offer for sixth place.”

Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:

• 104 races
• 4 championship titles
• 16 victories
• 47 podiums
• 22 pole positions

PRESS CONTACTS

DS Performance : Nathalie Dumas  +33 (0) 6 60 26 10 37 –nathalie.dumas@external.stellantis.com

DS Automobiles : Benjamin Maigre  + 33 (0) 6 75 58 80 41 – benjamin.maigre@dsautomobiles.com