Wikipedia

2020 Santiago ePrix

The 2020 Santiago ePrix (formally the 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race held at the Parque O'Higgins Circuit in the Parque O'Higgins of Santiago, Chile on 18 January 2020. It served as the third round of the 2019–20 Formula E season and was the third annual edition of the event.[1] The race was won by Maximilian Günther, driving for BMW i Andretti Motorsport, who started from 2nd on the grid, and became the youngest ever Formula E race winner, with António Félix da Costa coming in second, while pole-sitter Mitch Evans finished the race third.

2020 Santiago ePrix
Race 3 of 11 of the 2019–20 Formula E season
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Race details
Date 18 January 2020 (2020-01-18)
Official name 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix
Location Parque O'Higgins Circuit, Santiago
Course Semi-permanent circuit
Course length 2.287 km (1.421 mi)
Distance 40 laps, 91.480 km (56.843 mi)
Weather Dry
Attendance 0[a]
Pole position
Driver
Jaguar
Time 1:04.827
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Oliver Rowland e.dams-Nissan
Time 1:06.405 on lap 26
Podium
First
Andretti-BMW
Second
Techeetah-DS
Third
Jaguar
Lap leaders

Finishing in 6th overall was sufficient to elevate Stoffel Vandoorne to the top the Drivers' Championship standings with 38, after the then-championship leader, Alexander Sims retired from the race with collision damage, demoting him to second, with 35 points. Sam Bird's 10th place and fastest lap point enabled him to stay 3rd in the championship standings, with 28 points, while Günther's race win elevated him to 4th in the championship standings, with 25 points. Lucas di Grassi's recovery drive from 22nd on the grid to 7th, netting him 6 points was also sufficient to keep him 5th in the championship standings, with 24 points.

In the Teams' Championship, BMW i Andretti Motorsport led with 60 points, while the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team slid to 2nd, with 56 points. Envision Virgin Racing slid to 3rd, with 38 points, while Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler remained in 4th, with 32 points. Panasonic Jaguar Racing rose to 5th, with 31 points.

Report

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Background

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Drivers on the podium after the 2020 Santiago ePrix race

On 15 June 2019, Formula E announced the provisional calendar for the 2019–20 Formula E season, which would be the sixth season of the championship, with 14 races to be held across 12 cities globally. On this provisional calendar, the Santiago ePrix was planned as the 4th round of the championship.[2]

On 5 October 2019, Formula E announced the finalised calendar for the season, which would see 14 races to be held across 12 cities globally.[3] This finalised calendar would see the race bumped up to the 3rd round of the championship, with the TBA round in December being cancelled.[4]

Pre-race concerns

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Ahead of the race, in November 2019, concerns were raised about the race, due to the 2019–20 Chilean protests, which had seen postponements and suspensions of football fixtures earlier in the month, with the APEC and COP25 summits, which had been set to be hosted in the city also being cancelled, while the Copa Libertadores final was moved to Lima, Peru and Rally Chile was cancelled.[5] In spite of the concerns, the event was officially launched of 13 November, while Formula E would continue to monitor the social-political situation in the city.[6] Formula E later reaffirmed its commitment to racing the city, while it was later revealed that unlike Rally Chile, the race was privately funded, with the money needed to put on the race in Santiago's O'Higgins Park coming from the event organisers, without government funding.[7]

Track changes

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Formula E 2020 Santiago ePrix track

Ahead of the race, changes to the track layout were made, most notably at the curving back straight, where the chicane was removed, while the pit lane was moved to the other side of the track, to the inside of the circuit.[8] In addition, the sweeping right hander which was the former Turn 1 was modified, with a new left hander being added ahead of the revised corner. The final sector of the lap also saw changes, with the zig-zagging section of the track being reversed compared to the previous year. The removal of the chicane came as Formula E looked to reduce the number of chicanes on the tracks in the championship, in the wake of several accidents happening at such locations in several races, with the highest profile incident seeing a pile-up at the first corner during the 2019 Swiss ePrix blocking the track, and causing a lengthy red flag period.[9]

Qualifying

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Mitch Evans scored both his, and Jaguar Racing's 2nd ever pole in the ABB Formula E Championship, after topping the timesheets in both the qualifying groups, and the Superpole shootout. During the superpole shootout, he denied Maximilian Günther pole by a margin of nearly 3 tenths, after clocking in an impressive time at the final sector of the track, being 0.22s faster than the rest of the competition, despite being the last to leave the pits for the track. Prior to the Kiwi's sensational run in the final sector of the track, it had appeared that the German would be set to clinch his first ever Formula E pole, having clocked the fastest time in the first 2 sectors of the track, to beat his fellow countryman, Pascal Wehrlein to provisional pole by nearly 6 tenths. The Mahindra driver had left the pits first for his Superpole lap, and ended up posting a lap slower than his effort in the Group stage. Felipe Massa came in fourth, edging out Oliver Turvey, who had posted a phenomenal time in the final sector during the Group 4 session, in his NIO 333 machine. Season 2 champion Sébastien Buemi came in 6th, and last in the Superpole session, after posting 2 slow sectors in his Nissan.[10]

Behind the superpole runners, qualifying 7th was the Venturi run Mercedes of Edoardo Mortara, who had his lap affected, due to an incident with fellow Group 2 runner Robin Frijns, after Frijns experienced a spin on his flying lap. A massive rear end snap under braking spun Frijns around on the approach to Turn 1, where he barely missed the tyre wall. As he attempted to rejoin the track, the Dutchman delayed Mortara by around 0.4 seconds. In spite of this, Mortara was still able to set the fastest time in Group 2, courtesy of a strong final sector, and held provisional pole at the time.[11] Behind Mortara were the 2 factory-run Mercedes of Nyck de Vries, and his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, while António Félix da Costa rounded out the top 10, in his DS Techeetah. Reigning series champion Jean-Éric Vergne's tricky start to the season continued, the Frenchman coming in P11, over a second slower than his teammate, ahead of the leading Porsche of Neel Jani. Daniel Abt, in the lead Audi took 13th, ahead of the second Porsche of André Lotterer. Alexander Sims saw his pole streak come to an end, the championship leader coming in 15th, ahead of the Envision Virgin Racing run Audi of Sam Bird, and the Dragon-Penske of Brendon Hartley. James Calado came in 18th, while the sister Dragon car of Nico Müller came in 19th. Jérôme d'Ambrosio suffered car trouble towards the end of his flying lap, leaving him languishing down in 20th, after failing to start the second race at Ad Diriyah due to a technical issue.[12]

Behind d'Ambrosio, was the Virgin run Audi of Frijns, his spin dealing him a penalty in terms of his final laptime, while Lucas di Grassi had his lap affected by a crash by Oliver Rowland, which initially cost him a few tenths, before the Season 3 champion ruined his own laptime by running wide at Turn 9. Behind him, was the Nissan of Rowland, the Brit crashing heavily during the Group 1 session, and forcing his team, e.DAMS to scramble against the clock to prepare his car in time for the race.[13] Ma Qinghua propped up the grid, and did not participate in the session, after he crashed in Practice 2, and the NIO 333 FE Team mechanics were unable to repair his car in time for the session.[14]

Race

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Straight of the Parque O'Higgins Circuit after the race

Maximilian Günther scored his first ever Formula E race victory, becoming the youngest ever Formula E race winner, after triumphing in a last lap battle with António Félix da Costa. Polesitter Mitch Evans came in 3rd for Panasonic Jaguar Racing, benefitting from a penalty issued to Nyck de Vries, who had come in third on the road. De Vries lost his maiden podium, due to an infringement of the minimum battery coolant temperature.[15] This penalty also bumped Pascal Wehrlein to fourth overall in the pecking order.

At the start, Evans held the lead off the line, while Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein forced his way past Günther, who suffered from a poor start, at the tight off-track approach to Turn 2, which the field used throughout the race. Following this, Günther gradually fell down the order, while Evans consolidated his lead out front.

From this point onwards, the race quietened down, until past the 40th minute, when Günther's teammate, the championship leader Alexander Sims, ground to a halt on track, prompting a full-course yellow, while the stewards removed his car, with the FCY being lifted at the 37 minute mark on the clock. In less than a lap after the restart, Oliver Rowland made contact with Sam Bird, damaging his front wing and putting Bird into a spin. Rowland would enter the pits to replace the wing shortly after the incident.

Using his Attack Mode power boost, Günther advanced on Edoardo Mortara, using the extra power to sweep past the Venturi driver and to move back into third. With Mortara in fourth and his teammate Felipe Massa in fifth, the two Venturi cars trailed the podium sitters, seemingly ready to pick up a podium, should any of the top 3 suffer from issues. However, this was not to be, as the duo activated Attack Mode against each other in a bid to attack overtake and defend from the other. Heading into Turn 10, Mortara made a lunge on Massa, putting the Brazilian into the wall, dropping him into Seventh. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne took advantage of this, to slip into 5th.

Meanwhile, up front, Günther activated Attack Mode to pass Wehrlein for second and with still a minute on his attack mode, Günther went for the lead, slipping past Evans on the approach to Turn 9, the extra power on hand for the German giving the Kiwi no chance to defend his position.

With 14 minutes to go, Vergne and his teammate António Félix da Costa became the next drivers to pass the Mahindra of Pascal Wehrlein, the pair bumping Wehrlein down to fifth. Having made eight-places since the start of the race, damage to Vergne's front wing finally appeared to be affecting the Frenchman's car, his front-left tire starting to rub on the wing, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. Just 2 laps later, with just seven minutes to go, the wing broke, forcing the reigning champion into the pits.

Following this, Da Costa passed Evans on the long Turn 8, and set about hunting down Günther for the win. With both cars coming into Turn 10 together, Da Costa forced the BMW driver wide, locking up his fronts at the turn-10 hairpin and bumping along the side of the BMW, pulling into first place. However, in spite of this, Da Costa soon found his lead under threat from Günther, due to him having to nurse battery temperatures,[16] and on the last lap, Günther (BMW iFE.20) stormed past Da Costa at Turn 9 (DS E-TENSE FE20), pulling away from the Portuguese, and winning by a margin of 2.067s.[17]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Group draw[18]
Group 1   SIM (1)   VAN (2)   BIR (3)   ROW (4)   DIG (5)   LOT (6)
Group 2   MOR (7)   FRI (8)   DEV (9)   ABT (10)   CAL (11)   JEV (12)
Group 3   DAC (13)   HAR (14)   DAM (15)   EVA (16)   WEH (17)   GUE (18)
Group 4   MAS (19)   BUE (20)   JAN (21)   TUR (22)   QMA (23)   MUL (24)
Pos. No. Driver Team GS SP Grid
1 20   Mitch Evans Jaguar 1:04.941 1:04.827 1
2 28   Maximilian Günther Andretti-BMW 1:05.102 1:05.169 2
3 94   Pascal Wehrlein Mahindra 1:05.525 1:05.645 3
4 19   Felipe Massa Venturi-Mercedes 1:05.463 1:05.645 4
5 3   Oliver Turvey NIO 1:05.510 1:05.788 5
6 23   Sébastien Buemi e.dams-Nissan 1:05.390 1:05.809 6
7 48   Edoardo Mortara Venturi-Mercedes 1:05.547 — 7
8 17   Nyck de Vries Mercedes 1:05.560 — 8
9 5   Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes 1:05.566 — 9
10 13   António Félix da Costa Techeetah-DS 1:05.574 — 10
11 25   Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah-DS 1:05.625 — 11
12 18   Neel Jani Porsche 1:05.696 — 12
13 66   Daniel Abt Audi 1:05.745 — 13
14 36   André Lotterer Porsche 1:05.801 — 14
15 27   Alexander Sims Andretti-BMW 1:05.848 — 15
16 2   Sam Bird Virgin-Audi 1:05.886 — 16
17 6   Brendon Hartley Dragon-Penske 1:06.126 — 17
18 51   James Calado Jaguar 1:06.305 — 18
19 7   Nico Müller Dragon-Penske 1:06.367 — 19
20 64   Jérôme d'Ambrosio Mahindra 1:07.692 — 20
21 4   Robin Frijns Virgin-Audi 1:09.089 — 21
22 11   Lucas di Grassi Audi 1:26.526 — 22
23 22   Oliver Rowland e.dams-Nissan no time1 — 23
24 33   Ma Qinghua NIO no time — 242
Source:[19][20]

Notes:

  • ^1  – Oliver Rowland was asked to exit the Parc fermé before other cars released to allow repairs at the cars because of an incident during the session, and his lap time was deleted as a result.[21]
  • ^2  – Ma Qinghua did not take part in his session as repairs were continuing after his crash in Free Practice 2. Ma was given permission to start from the back of the grid.[22]

Race

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Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 28   Maximilian Günther Andretti-BMW 40 46:11.511 2 25
2 13   António Félix da Costa Techeetah-DS 40 +2.067 10 18
3 20   Mitch Evans Jaguar 40 +5.119 1 15+1+37
4 94   Pascal Wehrlein Mahindra 40 +7.050 3 12
5 17   Nyck de Vries Mercedes 40 +9.8831 8 10
6 5   Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes 40 +11.237 9 8
7 11   Lucas di Grassi Audi 40 +14.437 22 6
8 51   James Calado Jaguar 40 +18.255 18 4
9 19   Felipe Massa Venturi-Mercedes 40 +20.430 4 2
10 2   Sam Bird Virgin-Audi 40 +21.780 16 1+18
11 3   Oliver Turvey NIO 40 +27.778 5
12 7   Nico Müller Dragon-Penske 40 +33.7862 19
13 23   Sébastien Buemi e.dams-Nissan 40 +43.2573 6
14 66   Daniel Abt Audi 40 +47.1984 13
15 4   Robin Frijns Virgin-Audi 39 +1 Lap 21
16 33   Ma Qinghua NIO 39 +1 Lap5 24
17 22   Oliver Rowland e.dams-Nissan 36 +4 Laps 23
NC 64   Jérôme d'Ambrosio Mahindra 40 +1:57.6243 20
Ret 6   Brendon Hartley Dragon-Penske 35 Retired in pits 17
Ret 25   Jean-Éric Vergne Techeetah-DS 32 Front wing damage 11
Ret 48   Edoardo Mortara Venturi-Mercedes 29 Collision damage 7
Ret 27   Alexander Sims Andretti-BMW 4 Collision damage 15
Ret 16   Neel Jani Porsche 2 Collision damage 12
DSQ6 36   André Lotterer Porsche 28 Energy overusage (Collision damage) 14
Source:[23]

Notes:

  • ^1  – Nyck de Vries received a five-second time penalty for not respecting the minimum coolant temperature.[24]
  • ^2  – Nico Müller received a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.[25]
  • ^3  – Sébastien Buemi and Jérôme d'Ambrosio both received a drive-through penalty converted into a 30-second time penalty for not respecting the homologated throttle pedal map.[26][27]
  • ^4  – Daniel Abt received a drive-through penalty converted into a 30-second time penalty for causing a collision.[28]
  • ^5  – Ma Qinghua received a five-second penalty for not respecting the power availability[29] and a ten-second stop-and-go penalty converted into a 45-second time penalty for not using the attack mode.[30]
  • ^6  – André Lotterer was disqualified from the race for exceeding the maximum power usage of 200 kW (230.51 kW).[31]
  • ^7  – Fastest in group stage; pole.
  • ^8  – Fastest lap.

Standings after the race

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  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

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  1. ^ The 2020 Santiago ePrix was held behind closed doors due to the Chilean protests.

References

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  1. ^ "Santiago track altered for 2020 to boost racing". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Formula E unveils 2019/20 calendar with earlier start date". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Final calendar revealed for season six of ABB FIA Formula E Championship". FIA Formula E. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Formula E 2019-2020 revised calendar revealed". Crash. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  5. ^ Evans, David (29 November 2019). "WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  6. ^ Smith, Sam. "Santiago E-Prix to Go Ahead; Event Officially Launched – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Chile Formula E race set to go ahead despite unrest". www.motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. ^ Kilshaw, Jake. "Changes Made to Santiago Layout; Chicane Removed – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  9. ^ Smith, Sam. "Valencia Chicane Mods for Pre-Season Test – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Santiago E-Prix: Evans takes pole in Chile for Jaguar". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  11. ^ Kilshaw, Jake. "Evans Beats Guenther to Santiago Pole – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Evans beats Guenther to Santiago Formula E pole". Crash. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  13. ^ Kilshaw, Jake. "Evans Beats Guenther to Santiago Pole – e-racing365". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Santiago E-Prix: Rowland tops crash-shortened practice". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  15. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex. "Why Mercedes' de Vries lost maiden Formula E podium in Santiago". Autosport.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  16. ^ GPfans.com. "Gunther takes maiden Formula E victory in Santiago classic". GPfans. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Guenther outduels da Costa for Santiago win". RACER. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Doc 19 - Qualifying Groups" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Doc 44 - Final Classification Qualifying - Superpole AMENDED" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Doc 45 - Final Starting Grid" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Doc 35 - Decision 7" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Doc 36 - Decision 8" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Doc 63 - Final Classification Race" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Doc 50 - Decision 13" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Doc 57 - Decision 18" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Doc 55 - Decision 16" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Doc 56 - Decision 17" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Doc 53 - Decision 15" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Doc 48 - Decision 12" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Doc 51 - Decision 14" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  31. ^ "Doc 61 - Decision 21" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  32. ^ "Doc 64 - Drivers Championship POINTS" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Doc 65 - Teams Championship TEAMS" (PDF). FIA Formula E. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
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