Frijns: Zoom call with tech chief turned around Diriyah E-Prix fortunes
The Envision Virgin Racing driver called out McLaren Applied for its decision to change the battery onboard his Audi-powered car after he crashed heavily in second practice.That meant the Dutch racer missed qualifying for race one completely before progressing from last to 17th place, although that was boosted by retirementsContinue Reading
Diriyah FE II: Frijns beats Sette Camara to maiden pole for race two
The Envision Virgin Racing driver was last to run in the superpole contest and bolted to the top with a 1m07.889s effort to move 0.289s clear.In addition to topping the final free practice session, it means every session so far in Saudi Arabia has been topped by a Dutch race,Continue Reading
Diriyah FE: Mercedes, Venturi stopped from qualifying after Mortara crash
Mortara set the sixth-quickest time in free practice three ahead of the second night race on the Riyadh Street Circuit but suffered a heavy crash after the 45-minute session had finished.He completed his practice start alongside Mercedes’ race one winner Nyck de Vries on the grid before, what appeared toContinue Reading
Diriyah FE: Frijns beats de Vries to top spot in Saturday practice
Having dominated the first Riyadh race on Friday, Mercedes de Vries looked set to continue his unbeaten run in the 45-minute practice session, having broken his own lap record from qualifying and then sett a blistering lap of 1m07.440s on his full power run.But Frijns, who failed to take partContinue Reading
Rowland hopes Mercedes doesn’t repeat its F1 dominance in FE
After topping both practice sessions, Mercedes driver de Vries took pole position by over six-tenths in qualifying and then led every lap of the Saudi Arabian race en route to a 4.1s victory.Venturi driver Edoardo Mortara, racing a customer Mercedes powertrain, was classified second, while de Vries’ teammate Stoffel VandoorneContinue Reading
Frijns, Muller lament FE rules that resulted in back-of-grid Diriyah starts
Dragon Penske Autosport racer Muller posted a group qualifying time around the Riyadh Street Circuit that initially promoted him into the superpole shootout.But he and fellow group four progressor Nick Cassidy were then ejected from the superpole battle, while Tom Blomqvist lost seventh, for “failing to reduce speed under doubleContinue Reading
De Vries was “on fire”, but Mercedes says it was “lucky” to win FE opener
De Vries topped all sessions throughout the opening two days of the 2021 season opener – both practices, group qualifying and superpole – before leading every lap from the head of the pack.He crossed the line 4.1 seconds clear of Venturi Racing driver Edoardo Mortara, racing with the Mercedes customerContinue Reading
Bird and Lynn disagree over Diriyah FE collision
Bird and Lynn were fighting for sixth position in the early stages of the opening Riyadh race when the Jaguar driver made a lunge going into the Turn 1 left-hander, only for Lynn to move closer to the inside wall and crash into his rival.Lynn spun backwards into the barriersContinue Reading
Diriyah FE: De Vries takes maiden win in 2021 opener
De Vries completed a race one clean sweep, topping both practice sessions, group qualifying and the superpole shootout as the new Mercedes car made a dominant competitive debut.The manufacturer’s powertrain wrapped up an effective 1-2, with customer team Venturi Racing driver Mortara pulling a late move on Audi’s Rene RastContinue Reading
“No point getting upset” over lost Saudi FE qualifying top six – Cassidy
The Envision Virgin Racing driver clocked the Riyadh Street Circuit in 1m09.015s during the group qualifying stage for the Diriyah E-Prix, provisionally earning a place in the superpole.But the fastest lap times of Cassidy, Dragon Penske’s Nico Muller and NIO333 driver Tom Blomqvist were all deleted as the trio wereContinue Reading