Mortara Takes First Formula E Victory in Hong Kong after Bird penalty

– Mortara picks up maiden win in ABB FIA Formula E Championship
– Bird handed five-second penalty for causing collision in battle for the lead
– Lotterer deflated after suffering puncture following contact with Bird

2019 HKT Hong Kong E-Prix (Rd 5)
Race re-cap

Edoardo Mortara inherited his first-ever Formula E victory in Hong Kong after Sam Bird was handed a time penalty for causing a collision with Andre Lotterer on the penultimate lap.

Bird and Lotterer were locked in a race-long duel, with seconds separating the pair throughout the duration of the entire E-Prix. As the clock counted down, Bird made a lunge for the lead into Turn 2 and made contact with the rear of Lotterer.

Despite the hit from behind Lotterer held position and managed to keep Bird at bay, but Lotterer soon started to slow after suffering a puncture from the earlier contact – leaving him limping home and eventually coming to a stop out on track.

This allowed Bird to swoop in front and take the chequered flag. However, Bird was later denied his second victory of the season after being issued with a five-second penalty – dropping him to sixth position.

Mortara is therefore elevated to first place – marking a maiden win for the Swiss driver and a first victory for VENTURI Formula E Team. Mortara progressed up the field from sixth on the grid to claim his second consecutive podium finish on the road – with a third-place last time out in Mexico City.

It was another Venturi-powered car that led away from the front, with Stoffel Vandoorne setting the fastest lap in wet conditions to secure Julius Baer pole position and get HWA RACELAB off the mark with three points.

Vandoorne maintained the trend this season of no driver converting pole into victory – again highlighting that nothing is a given in Formula E. With damp patches and puddles out on track, Vandoorne was beaten off the line by Oliver Rowland. But it didn’t last long as Rowland briefly slowed and dropped down the order.

Bird jumped to the head of the pack, however soon relinquished the lead to Lotterer after locking-up in the slippery braking zone of Turn 2. Proceedings were brought to a standstill after a coming together between Felipe Nasr and the two MAHINDRA RACING drivers.

Nasr – who was struggling to slow the car with damaged bodywork – went into the wall at Turn 2, with Pascal Wehrlein and Jerome D’Ambrosio close behind and following him to the scene of the accident. The red flag halted running in order to clear the cars and the race later restarted behind the BMW i safety car.

With changes to the classification, Lucas di Grassi was promoted to second and Bird’s team-mate Robin Frijns rounded-out the podium places for Envision Virgin Racing. Despite losing out on maximum points, Bird moves to the top of the standings – with an extra point for fastest lap.

With yet another different winner and only two points between the top-four drivers, Formula E returns to mainland China for the inaugural race in Sanya – round six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship on March 23.

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

VENTURI Formula E Team
Edoardo Mortara
“The result today is fantastic. Fourth in Santiago, third in Mexico, now my first victory in Hong Kong! I’m so proud and finding out that I had won was an incredible feeling for me. The race was awesome, and I’ve had a wonderful weekend – historically racing in Asia brings me so much luck. Honestly, I’m over the moon and I couldn’t be happier. The team has done a brilliant job, they put in all the hours and pull out all the stops. This result is a tribute to their hard work. This result is for them – I know that it will motivate them even more and I can’t wait to get back out on the track.”

Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Lucas di Grassi
“Sometimes you have to race with your head, not with your heart and today I had to do that. I had a bad start not because of anything, but because I chose the wrong path and I was overtaken by Sam and Edo. If you go flat out, the only way to overtake is to force your way through and when you do that there are risks of crashing and penalties, so I tried to wait for Edo to make a mistake in the last two laps. He didn’t and then for me it was impossible to overtake. So we had to calm down and collect the points.”

Envision Virgin Racing
Robin Frijns
“It’s been a mixed day with the ever-changing conditions and our first wet race. We got unlucky in qualifying, meaning I started the race in P10… but having multiple safety cars and using my ATTACK MODE at a different time to most of the other drivers allowed me to make my way forward during the race.”

Hit and miss for Bird

Lotterer loathes loss

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2019 HKT Hong Kong E-Prix (Rd 5)
Race results

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 made 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.

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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

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