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Sam Bird winner under investigation in Hong Kong

Sam Bird won the Hong Kong ePrix but remains under investigation after being involved in contact with his most serious rival in this event, André Lotterer.

Published on 10/03/2019 à 10:17

Pierre Tassel

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Sam Bird winner under investigation in Hong Kong

Sam Bird (Virgin Racing) won the 50th ePrix in the history of Formula E in Hong Kong, but the Briton remains under investigation after a lively end to the race with André Lotterer (DS Techeetah).

The start, given on a track that was still drying, had previously seen Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams) take the advantage over pole sitter Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA). Excellent operation also for Sam Bird who gained several places in the first lap and finally emerged in second position at the start of the second lap by overtaking Stoffel Vandoorne.

However, the race was quickly neutralized following the error of Felipe Nasr (Dragon), who made a mistake at turn n°2 in the second lap, with a car already damaged at the front wing.

Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra) cannot avoid it, just like his teammate and championship leader Jérôme d'Ambrosio, leading to the retirement of the two Mahindras.

 

 

A little more success for Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) and Alexander Sims (BMW i Andretti) who manage to maneuver to avoid the traffic jam. However, both drivers lost big by failing to brake a few moments earlier at the first hairpin of the circuit, thus losing several positions.

Full Course Yellow and then the safety car are deployed while the damaged cars are evacuated, before the red flag is finally waved.

A Lotterer – Bird duel

After just over ten minutes of interruption, the race resumes, with the majority of drivers, except Robin Frijns (Virgin Racing) and Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), activating their Attack mode.

Rowland and Bird remain in the first two positions, while André Lotterer surprises Vandoorne during the first braking. A lap later, Rowland was forced to slow down for a few moments after contact caused by Bird and which triggered Full Course Yellow mode on the Nissan. Bird, Lotterer and their pursuers take advantage of this.

It was then Bird who failed to brake at turn 2 on the following lap, allowing André Lotterer to take control of the race. The duo then escaped at the head of the event, with more than 5″ ahead of Vandoorne.

The duel between Bird and Lotterer continues and the Virgin driver tries his luck 21′ from the finish, after a slight gap from Lotterer when braking for turn n°2, but the triple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans manages to maintain the advantage.

The race was then neutralized under Safety Car regime 15′ from the checkerboard, following Stoffel Vandoorne stopping on track.

 

 

The event was once again restarted about ten minutes from the finish... before being placed under Safety-Car regime again, after Oliver Rowland stopped on the track with a single-seater with wheel damage. back left.

A neutralization which seems to help André Lotterer, who at this moment has a little less energy reserve than his rival Bird. The duel resumes at the restart, but contact between the two drivers will occur in the last minute.

Undoubtedly a consequence of this hit, Lotterer suffered a puncture at the rear right and let Sam Bird slip away towards his second victory of the season after his success in Santiago de Chile. But the Briton remains under investigation for his maneuver.

 

 

Edoardo Mortara (Venturi) finished second ahead of Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler). Robin Frijns and Daniel Abt complete the top 5. In the French clan, Tom Dillmann (NIO) finished this ePrix in 12th place just ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, penalized 5″ for having caused a collision during the event.

 

 

With this provisional victory, Sam Bird takes back the reins of the championship, taking advantage in particular of the setbacks of Jérôme d'Ambrosio.

 

 

 

 

Discover the full report of the Hong Kong ePrix, in issue 2207 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.

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