Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Tag

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Daniel Abt and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler proved to be a step above the rest of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Berlin. Abt claimed the Julius Baer Pole Position and surged ahead of the field early en-route to a comfortable win in his hometown BMW i Berlin E-Prix. The German also snagged the bonus point for a fastest lap with a circuit of 1:12.409 during the event. Teammate Lucas di Grassi followed Abt across the line 6.758 seconds later to give Audi Sport a sweepRead More

By FIA The third E-Prix in Paris saw home-hero Jean-Eric Vergne put in a near-perfect performance to score pole position and victory in the eighth round of the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The winextends his lead in the standings once more to 31 points, while his closest contender – DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird – crossed the line third following a dramatic final lap around the Circuit des Invalides. In front of a huge partisan Parisian crowd, Vergne took pole position ahead of Bird by nearly three tenthsRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Last season a ninth-place result would have left Lucas di Grassi inconsolable over the points lost. In Mexico City it was all he could ask for. Di Grassi overcame a five-second pit stop penalty  and drove his way through the field from last on the grid to claim ninth in Saturday’s Mexico City E-Prix. The defending ABB FIA Formula E Championship contender earned his first points of the season in the process. Afterward the Brazilian and his Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team celebrated two victoriesRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Three months after his first apparent victory was stripped away by a technical infringement in Hong Kong, Daniel Abt returned to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Mexico City. Abt took over the lead after an excellent car swap from his Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team and drove off to claim Saturday’s Mexico City E-Prix, giving Audi their first win of Season 4 and earning his first series victory. The German gained six seconds during the car swaps, taking advantage ofRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Defending Mexico City E-Prix winner Lucas di Grassi swept the practice sessions for the ABB Formula E Championship’s Season Four return. Di Grassi’s 1:01.203 lap in the middle stages stood as the quickest time in the 30-minute final practice for Saturday’s E-Prix. The Season Three champion is looking to score his first points of the season after four scoreless races. He’ll have to endure a 10-place grid penalty for the race. Felix Rosenqvist followed in second for Mahindra Racing with a time a 1:01.442. Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch EvansRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer What appeared to be a promising day ended with zero points and disappointment for the third-straight race for defending ABB FIA Formula E Championship Lucas di Grassi. “Our car is fast but obviously it’s frustrating to have reliability issues in two consecutive races,” Di Grassi said. “We once again showed what potential we have but I did not score any points. We have to get better in that respect. But I have full confidence in Audi that the issues will be resolved.” Looking to make upRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer At the end of a chaotic Free Practice 2 in Morocco, the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler duo of Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi were left standing a cut above the rest of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship field. Abt laid down a new lap record of 1:19.760 in the closing moments of Saturday’s second pre-qualifying practice to lead the session, snatching the top spot from teammate di Grassi (1:19.898). Sebastien Buemi (1:19.936) ended the session in third, with Mitch Evans (1:20.001), and Nelson Piquet Jr. (1:20.115)Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Defending ABB FIA Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler got off to a strong start in their efforts to bounce back into title contention in Morocco. Di Grassi streaked across the start-finish line on a full power lap with a time 1:20.310 as the sun rose above the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan to set quick time in the first of two free practice sessions for Saturday’s Marrakesh E-Prix. The lap was the quickest seen from the all-electric series at Marrakesh, toppingRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Ahead of each ABB Formula E Series race weekend, Motorsports Tribune offers an in-depth look at the details and storylines going into the weekend’s event(s).  Race(s): Marrakesh E-Prix (33 laps, 61.38 miles) Hashtag: #MarrakeshEPrix Circuit: Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan (Morocco) Track Details: Anticlockwise – 12 turns, 1.86 miles Track Record: Sebastien Buemi (1:20.599, 2016) What Happened Last Year: Sebastien Buemi overcame a five-position grid penalty issued after a post-qualifying inspection failure to pass the dominant Felix Rosenqvist late and win his second-consecutive race. Weekend Schedule Saturday, January 13Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Daniel Abt’s lost victory in Hong Kong will remain just that – lost. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler announced on Monday their withdrawal from a potential appeal on Abt’s disqualification following Sunday’s HKT Hong Kong E-Prix. https://twitter.com/Daniel_Abt/status/937641456814104576 Abt, 25, appeared to claim his first FIA Formula E victory in the event, taking the checkered flag first in his No. 66 machine. However the German was later disqualified from classification when stewards discovered  a mismatch between part numbers in the technical passport of the car in post-raceRead More