CITROËN RACING FORMULA E TEAM SCORES POINTS AFTER A CHALLENGING OPENING RACE IN LONDON

• Nick Cassidy finishes ninth in Round 16 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, scoring valuable points for Citroën Racing Formula E Team.
• Jean-Éric Vergne is forced to retire in the closing stages following contact that damaged his car.
• Citroën Racing Formula E Team will return to the ExCeL London Circuit tomorrow for the 17th and final round of Season 12.

 
The opening race of the London E-Prix proved particularly demanding and strategic for Citroën Racing Formula E Team. On the unique ExCeL London Circuit, which combines indoor and outdoor sections, track position, energy management and the timing of Pit Boost once again played a decisive role. At the end of the first race of the weekend, Nick Cassidy crossed the finish line in ninth position, while Jean-Éric Vergne was unable to complete the race.
 
The weekend had already presented its share of challenges before the start. Throughout Friday’s Free Practice 1 and Saturday morning’s Free Practice 2, both sides of the garage explored different set-up configurations to understand the evolving grip levels and optimise the cars ahead of qualifying.
 
On a London circuit where grid position is particularly important, Jean-Éric Vergne successfully progressed from Group A into the Duels. Despite still searching for the optimum balance from his car, the Frenchman secured eighth position on the starting grid. Nick Cassidy narrowly missed out on progressing to the next stage and lined up 11th.
As the lights went out, Jean-Éric Vergne made an excellent start, immediately gaining two positions to move into sixth place and join the leading group. Nick Cassidy remained just outside the points as the opening laps developed into a particularly compact and strategic race, with much of the field prioritising energy management ahead of the opening of the Pit Boost window, which requires a mandatory 34-second pit stop to recharge the battery by 10%.
 
With the gaps remaining small, the timing of the mandatory stop gradually became one of the key strategic elements of the race. Jean-Éric Vergne was the first Citroën Racing driver to make his stop, before Nick Cassidy followed a few laps later.
Shortly afterwards, a Full Course Yellow triggered by an incident on track interrupted the various strategies unfolding across the field and reshuffled the order. Once racing resumed, both Citroën Racing drivers continued their efforts to fight their way back into the points.
 
In the closing stages, Nick Cassidy still had energy available and activated his mandatory six minutes of Attack Mode. Making full use of the additional power, the New Zealander progressed through the field and returned to the Top 10. After a determined final phase of the race, he eventually crossed the finish line in ninth position, adding valuable points to Citroën Racing Formula E Team’s tally.
The closing stages proved more difficult for Jean-Éric Vergne. After fighting on the edge of the Top 10 during the second half of the race, the Frenchman was involved in contact with Pepe Martí, damaging his car. Vergne eventually returned to the pits and was unable to complete the race.
 
At the end of a compact and challenging opening race in London, Citroën Racing Formula E Team nevertheless leaves Round 16 with additional points and valuable data to analyse ahead of the final day of the championship.
 
The team will return to the ExCeL London Circuit tomorrow for the 17th and final round of Season 12. With the traditional Formula E format returning after Saturday’s Pit Boost race, Citroën Racing Formula E Team will have one final opportunity to conclude its first season in the championship on a positive note.
 
 
Beth Paretta, MSG Managing Director :
“It wasn’t the race we were hoping for today, but the team kept fighting and we were able to add some points with Nick. There’s one more race to go and our focus is already on tomorrow. We want to make the most of our final opportunity of the season and finish the year showing what this team is capable of.”
 
Nick Cassidy, Citroën Racing Formula E Team driver:
“It was a tough race today and we finished P9 in the end. I think we did a good job as a team and worked really well together, but the Full Course Yellow made things more complicated for us and affected how the race played out. We kept fighting until the end and managed to bring home some points. Thank you to everyone in the team for their hard work, and now we’ll focus on tomorrow and try to finish the season strongly.”
 
Jean-Éric Vergne, Citroën Racing Formula E Team driver:
“Qualifying was okay and I started the race from P8. I had a really good start and managed to move up to P6, but after that, everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. I activated Attack Mode just before the Full Course Yellow, which allowed the cars ahead of me to benefit from the situation while we lost a lot of time and positions. The end of the race was also a little chaotic, so it was just one of those days. We’ll reset tonight and look forward to another opportunity tomorrow.”