Bird Holds Off Wehrlein to Win Santiago Scorcher

– Bird swoops to victory with peerless performance around Parque O’Higgins
– Wehrlein hot on the heels of rivals as rookie picks up first podium finish
– Buemi bashes into the barriers and retires from lead in battle with Bird

2019 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix (Rd 3)
Race re-cap

Sam Bird handled the heat under pressure from Pascal Wehrlein to win his first race of the season in the sweltering Santiago sunshine.

With Wehrlein hot on his heels in the closing stages of the warmest Formula E race on record, Bird held his nerve with a peerless performance around the perimeter roads of Parque O’Higgins in the centre of the Chilean capital.

Bird had to keep a close eye on his mirrors with both drivers on alternative ATTACK MODE strategies. Without any activations left, Bird found himself vulnerable from behind – as Wehrlein saved his final burst of energy in a bid to vault ahead with only minutes to spare.

Despite his best efforts and clawing Bird in, Wehrlein couldn’t make a move and had to settle for second as his hopes of victory faded with rising temperatures.

Fellow countryman Daniel Abt rounded out the podium places, inheriting a position from Alexander Sims after the BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver incurred a penalty for causing a collision with Edoardo Mortara.

Contact with Sims sent Mortara spinning, but the VENTURI Formula E Team driver valiantly fought back to finish fourth.

Buemi wasn’t so lucky to avoid the barriers, crashing out of the lead in close quarters with Bird at the Turn 6/7 chicane – the same corner he encountered trouble with in practice earlier in the day.

The 2015/16 champion led away from the front – after being promoted to Julius Baer pole position following the exclusion of Lucas di Grassi for an infringement in qualifying. However, Buemi couldn’t convert a first win for the newly-named Nissan e.dams outfit.

Winner in Marrakesh and championship leader coming into the race, Jerome D’Ambrosio came home in eighth – but later dropped to 10th after being handed a five-second penalty for speeding under Full Course Yellow.

The result means D’Ambrosio relinquishes his place to Bird at the top of the driver standings – with title protagonists Antonio Felix da Costa and Jean-Eric Vergne failing to add to their points tally.

After another searing showdown in Santiago, Formula E now heads to Mexico City and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for round four of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship on February 16.

For more analysis and to read the full race report, visit – www.FIAFormulaE.com

Envision Virgin Racing
Sam Bird
“We went with Audi for a reason. Through the help of Audi Sport, the skill-set of the data engineers who pulled back the pace and mechanics… I’m now here – and we’ve been able to claw back time and learn from mistakes. Everyone was struggling out there, so I’m absolutely delighted to bring it home.”

MAHINDRA RACING
Pascal Wehrlein
“I was pretty close. I was just starting to move into Turn 12, when the team told me I should slow and manage the gap behind as we were critical on temperatures – and I wanted to finish the race! It was a bit of a shame and I was a bit angry in the car. Out of the car… now it’s a good feeling. The team and I are a perfect fit and a perfect match. In the first race everyone was so kind to me and were saying what Jerome achieved I could’ve probably achieved as well. They’re giving me a lot of trust, confidence and I want to deliver the best.”

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Daniel Abt
“It was a really, really tough race and was super-hot out there. It wasn’t the best race I’ve had but sometimes you just have to take it easy and stay cool even though it’s hard with the heat. We’ve got our first podium, which is very important for everyone in the team and they really deserve this. Now, it’s important that we make progress, get better and just keep pushing hard.”

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A cracking race needs an equally awesome podium celebration! @PWehrlein goes crowd surfing with @MahindraRacing #SantiagoEPrix pic.twitter.com/4sJ5PJVpq3

— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 26, 2019

2019 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix (Rd 3)
Race results

Driver Standings

Team Standings

About the ABB FIA Formula E Championship:
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship is the closest, most intense and progressive category in motorsport, bringing electrifying racing to the streets against the backdrop of landmarks, skyscrapers and skylines in some of the world’s most famous and recognisable cities – such as Hong Kong, Rome, Paris and New York.

Formula E enters a new and exciting era in season five with the competitive debut of the next generation car. The striking new model boasts a distinctive futuristic design and demonstrates a clear step-up in performance with almost double the energy storage capacity – allowing teams and drivers to complete a full race distance at higher speeds without needing to swap cars. The Gen2 car is a testament to the ongoing advancements in battery and electric vehicle technology in the space of only four years.

The fifth edition of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will see 11 teams and 22 drivers tackle a variety of challenging circuits in 12 cities – across five continents – in a bid to be crowned champion. Formula E will be making its debut in the Middle East on December 15 for the season-opener in Ad Diriyah, with the championship once again coming to a close in New York City over the course of two days on July 13 & 14.

The concept of Formula E is to act as a platform to test and develop road-relevant technologies, helping refine the design and functionality of components and infrastructure – actively speeding-up the transition and uptake of electric vehicles on a global scale.

Formula E is continuing to attract some of the leading names and renowned brands in motorsport and the automotive industry. For this season, Formula E has nine manufacturers on its roster – including Nissan – taking over the existing entry from Renault – and BMW linking-up with Andretti. This number is set to rise further still, with the highly-anticipated inclusion of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche in season six.

Follow Formula E:
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@FIAFormulaE #ABBFormulaE

About ABB:
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalisation with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the fully-electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com

Sources:

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