DS AUTOMOBILES CELEBRATES ITS 100TH RACE IN JAKARTA AND STAYS IN THE DRIVERS’ TITLE FIGHT

• DS Automobiles celebrated its 100th ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race on Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia
• Stoffel Vandoorne was ninth in Race 2, and Jean-Éric Vergne was 16th after becoming the victim of a pile-up
• The Frenchman maintains his place in the drivers’ title race ahead of the Portland E-Prix, which takes place on June 24 

The second race at the Jakarta E-Prix had a special flavour for DS Automobiles. And with very good reason: the French manufacturer celebrated its 100th ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race start on Sunday. An extra bonus for the spectators in the Indonesian capital with a special livery for the two DS E-TENSE FE23 cars, marking the occasion.

At a very significant race, the pair of drivers made their mark right from qualifying. Stoffel Vandoorne matched his performance from the day before by qualifying in fifth, while Jean-Éric Vergne claimed ninth. With two cars in the top 10 of the grid, DS PENSKE underlined all its potential right from the very start of the day.

As was the case on Saturday, the Sunday races were closely-fought and the DS Automobiles squad was straight on the pace. For most of the race, Vandoorne fought for the podium until a radio failure and contact with another competitor that damaged his suspension impeded the Belgian’s impressive progress. Nonetheless, the reigning world champion never gave up and came home in a determined ninth place.

His team mate Vergne got off to a great start, but saw his hopes of a strong result disappear after a contact with a fellow driver. JEV was forced to come into the pits and change his front wing, meaning that he had to settle for 16th when the flag fell. His hopes of taking a third Formula E drivers’ title are very much alive though. With five rounds to go, he’s currently fifth in the standings with a 37-point gap to the leader.

DS PENSKE still has everything to play for in the fight for the top three of the constructors’ championship. The team is firmly in the top five and just 32 points off third place. Anything can happen between now and the end of Season 9!

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship next moves to round 12 on June 24 at Portland in the United States. This is a first for the championship and one thing is for sure: DS Automobiles is aiming to shine at the Portland International Raceway.

Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance director :

“Our 100th race didn’t exactly go as we had hoped; we could even call it a tricky one. Shortly after the start, JEV had a racing incident with another driver that damaged the car and led to the loss of several positions. As for Stoffel, he was running in P4 before we lost touch on the radio, then a contact with another competitor caused a suspension issue. That obliged him to drive a lot more cautiously and meant that he ended up in ninth at the end. Now we’re already looking to the next race, confident that the performance of our DS E-TENSE FE23 is still at the highest level.”

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

“This was a race to forget. My front wing got damaged in the fracas and I had no choice but to come into the pits and change it. I could get going again, but there was nothing concrete to hope for. It was frustrating, but we can only look forwards now. We’re going to be working very hard to keep fighting at the front. See you in Portland!”

Stoffel Vandoorne, reigning Formula E champion :

“We had a difficult day. I think that we really deserved to be on the podium, but in the end we had to settle for ninth place. We made a good start and chose to activate the Attack Mode at the right moments. The team did a very good job. Towards the end of the race I lost a bit of confidence under braking due to a suspension issue caused by contact with another driver, and I never managed to get that confidence back completely. So I just gave it everything to make sure I could bring the car home in the points and that’s what I managed to achieve: two points for ninth.”

Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:

• 100 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