Panasonic Jaguar Racing battled in the sweltering heat to secure some vital points in Chile, after enduring a tough qualifying session.
The team was optimistic of a podium finish before the E-Prix in Santiago. But the changing track conditions in 37 degrees heat meant Mitch
Evans and Nelson Piquet Jr. had a frustrating qualification session, missing
out on the Super Pole shootout, and starting 11th and 19th on the grid.
Both drivers responded well during the race scything their
way through the pack to gain numerous places before the asphalt began to
degrade. Nelson took eight places to finish 11th – just missing out on a points
finish – while Mitch came sixth claiming eight valuable points.
The Santiago E-Prix was won by Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird, who also took the lead in the driver’s championship, while Mahindra
Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt completed the
podium.
Team Director James Barclay was happy with the determination
shown by the drivers, but ultimately felt the weekend was compromised by their
qualifying performance.
“We were compromised by our qualifying today which put us
out of podium contention,” he added. “With that in mind we thought we had to go
aggressive with our approach in the race and we probably made the most progress
out of any team on the grid, and from our point of view that is a positive – we
have a good race car.
“We must get qualifying right. That’s our one area where we’ve
probably compromised our results this weekend. That’s going to be our key focus
now; putting that together with the race pace that we have, and I think we’re
on for a positive result, we just need to execute our qualifying really
effectively.”
Mitch was also contemplating what might have been, bemoaning
the lack of pace the Jaguar I-TYPE 3 showed in qualifying. He added:
“To qualify 12th was the best I could do with the changing
track conditions. Overall, I think it was a good recovery but I’m nowhere near
satisfied with the result. I want to be on the podium. But I am looking forward
to Mexico.”
Nelson said the team was well aware that after a tough
qualifying session, the race was going to be equally difficult.
“We realise that not qualifying in the top 10 or in Super
Pole makes the race very difficult. I think this one was even harder because
you couldn’t overtake as the asphalt was destroyed.”
As Panasonic Jaguar Racing gears up for the fourth round of
the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Mexico City, the team is currently sixth
in the standings with Mitch and Nelson 6th and 17th respectively in the driver’s
championship.
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