Face-to-Face with the London E-Prix: Saturday Shenanigans

Round 15 was nothing short of absolute chaos around the Excel Exhibition Centre in London, with reigning World Champion Jake Dennis racking up 20 seconds in time penalties and four points on his racing licence. Check out the article below for what the drivers had to say post-race.

Nyck de Vries

Neom: You had a really strong race out there, how did it feel in the car?

De Vries: Yeah I’m very pleased. Obviously, starting P4 and coming home P4 and P5 with Edo [Mortara] being just behind me was a great move for the team. It was a chaotic race but was well executed and stayed out of trouble, but actually very good. We always had very good energy compared to the people around us and I would say for 3/4s of the race we were even looking much stronger than the people in front of us, so that’s a great take-away for us. We were struggling a little bit in qualifying this morning, so hopefully we can close that gap a little bit for tomorrow but I’m very happy with the result.

Neom: And getting that P4, does that help you going into tomorrow’s race?

De Vries: Not necessarily, I think its obviously a motivation boost and good for everyone to get some points, but I think qualifying will be even more important tomorrow, because the race will be 3 laps shorter, so from the beginning people will be saving less energy and it will be full gas.

Neom: With the attack mode strategy, will it be the same for tomorrow?

De Vries: I guess its just to analyse the gaps very carefully and that will be the same task tomorrow and somehow London has always treated me well, its always full of chaos which is my favourite.

Pascal Werhlein

Neom: Great win for you out there, talk us through how it was for you?

Werhlein: It felt great! Definitely one of the good races with a lot of fun in the car. We executed the race perfectly, we took attack modes at the right time, we overtook at the right time. At the end it got a bit closer than it had to be because with the safety car all of our lead disappeared, but it was just about bringing it home, avoiding mistakes. Its 50% of the job done, tomorrow is another very important day.

Neom: With all the chaos, did you have any issues with the car?

Wehrlein: No, I didn’t have big contact.

Neom: A lot of drivers like to say they don’t like to focus on the championship and take each race as they come. How is that for you personally going into the final race?

Wehrlein: The same, because tomorrow there are three drivers fighting for the championship. I guess whoever is in front will win it. We need to maximise everything we have tomorrow.

Sebastien Buemi:

Neom: Really strong race for you out there, really good overtakes, how was that race for you in the car?

Buemi: Happy, obviously with P3, it’s been the third podium in a row for the team, so we’ve clearly shown we are getting better. Unfortunately, also a bit frustrated to finish third because I feel like I could have done better. I took the lead too early, I couldn’t get my target up, I couldn’t under-consume enough, so some stuff we learnt for the future. It’s a shame because I feel like we could have achieved more today.

Neom: How special was it to have your family up on the podium with you?

Buemi: I’m quite proud of that. I was really happy that they were all here today and I was able to take them.

Neom: What are looking for tomorrow?

Buemi: Just a bit of a repeat and hopefully a bit better in the race!

Leave a comment