His team mate Daniel Abt was exceptionally unlucky. The Mexico City winner fought his way from fifth on the grid to third in the first half of the race. After swapping cars, he had to pit for a second time because the seatbelts came undone. “We have to find out how this happened,” said Daniel Abt, who crossed the line in 14th place. “The seat belts were closed, but after two laps they were suddenly open.”
“Daniel’s problem with the belts cost us a double podium and was a huge disappointment for him,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “It’s positive that we got both cars to the finish and that Lucas took his first podium of the season after having scored his first points in Mexico. His fight with Jean-Eric Vergne for the lead was incredibly intense and exciting from the first to the last lap. On one occasion I thought now Lucas is through, but Jev drove a strong race as well.”
“It was a close, hard fight between the two,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “Unfortunately there was no way to get by Jean-Eric Vergne, even though Lucas tried often. Today he needed the fan boost that Daniel had. Even though more was possible, we can be satisfied with the performance this weekend. The reliability was also there. We look forward positively to the rest of the season.”
The first European Formula E race of the 2017/2018 season is held in Rome (Italy) on April 14. After the first half of the season, Daniel Abt is seventh in the standings, Lucas di Grassi improved to tenth in Punta del Este. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler is sixth in the teams’ classification.