Review of the Hong Kong ePrix – Sunday: Fate had chosen Felix Rosenqvist

After a first race on Saturday, the second day of this double e-Prix is ready to begin with Sam Bird leading the championship.

Rosenqvist in front of the pack and a surprising Mortara

The first group qualification phase has delivered its verdict, forcing Di Grassi to start from the thirteenth position on the grid in front of Nicolas Prost. Sébastien Buemi’s difficult weekend continues with a qualification in last position this time, following a heavy crash into a wall.

The five fastest drivers qualified in Super Pole are: Felix Rosenqvist, Edoardo Mortara, Sam Bird, Daniel Abt, and Mitch Evans. Rosenqvist was the fastest, just 54 thousandths ahead of Evans, but the New Zealander will not start second on the grid as his time was canceled for exceeding the allowed consumption limit. Evans will therefore start the race in fourth position thanks to the penalty imposed on Bird. Indeed, Bird set the fourth-fastest time but will start fourteenth due to a 10-place penalty for dangerous driving in the pit lane during his pit stop in the previous day’s race. Daniel Abt also benefits from these two penalties to move up to third place on the starting grid.

Here is the complete starting grid for the second race:

.@FRosenqvist takes the @juliusbaer pole position #HKEPrix https://t.co/IzFS4UpQFq pic.twitter.com/XUtIn4Klxr

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 3 décembre 2017

A sword stroke in the water for Daniel Abt and a miracle for Felix Rosenqvist.

Amusingly, the five lights that were supposed to signal the start failed, so the race had to begin under a safety car regime. This rolling start allowed Felix Rosenqvist to easily maintain the benefit of his pole position. This comfortable situation was short-lived as the Mahindra driver spun out at the first hairpin, the victim of a rear-wheel lockup and cold brakes at the start of the race. The Swede, in trying to get going again, collided with Nelson Piquet’s car and only rejoined in ninth behind the Brazilian. The nightmare continued for him as just a few hundred meters later, he made contact with Luca Filippi, sending the Italian driver to last place.

We go green in Hong Kong for the second time! #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/sG65hhXMrX

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 3 décembre 2017

It is now the newcomer Mortara who is leading his second race in the discipline. We then witness Da Costa overtaking Lynn on the inside of the first corner for the fourth position. Bird starts a nice comeback by overtaking Prost for ninth place on the fourth lap. After a first race that favored the Indian team Mahindra, the second event turns into a grim situation with Heidfeld’s car slowing down on the track. It’s probably an electronic issue since the German manages to rejoin the race far behind the pack a few moments later. On the seventh lap, we see an attempt by Piquet on Turvey which fails due to the Brazilian’s wheel locking. At the same time, Rosenqvist regains the tenth place from Prost. Mortara is managing his first race at the front well ahead of Abt and Evans without over-consuming energy. On the fourteenth lap, Di Grassi takes advantage over Prost for tenth place. On the seventeenth lap, Rosenqvist continues his ascent by passing Oliver Turvey for seventh place. Mortara gradually pulls away in the lead with a 2-second advantage over Abt on the twentieth lap.

The leaders pit to swap cars, @edomortara retains the lead! #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/w2p1DnXPtC — FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 3 décembre 2017

The first pit stops occur three laps later, with Buemi kicking things off. Mortara follows immediately, as do Abt and Evans. Rosenqvist makes a better stop than Evans, allowing him to take the third place previously held by the Jaguar driver. Moments later, Di Grassi is momentarily stalled on the track, losing precious time even before his stop. Da Costa and Lynn stop a lap later. Once all the stops are completed, Mortara is still leading ahead of Daniel Abt, Rosenqvist, Evans, Lynn, Vergne, Bird, Turvey, Engel, and Prost. Da Costa has lost significant time and is now only fourteenth, having been fourth before the pit stops. Heidfeld, who is a lap down, is very close to the leader, which concerns Mortara and his team. With seven laps remaining, the two DS Virgin drivers, Bird and Lynn, are respectively putting pressure on Vergne for sixth place and Evans for fourth.

At this point in the race, nothing seems to be able to prevent Edoardo Mortara from achieving a definite first victory. In the final laps, Daniel Abt gets closer and closer to the race leader, knowing he has an extra power boost thanks to the Fan Boost. His comeback is a real threat to be considered for the leader, as he seemed set for a definite victory with only three laps to go, Edoardo Mortara makes an irreparable mistake by spinning at the same spot as Rosenqvist earlier in the race for the same reasons, namely the often tricky rear brake distribution in these electric single-seaters. The Italo-Swiss driver manages to get back on track but only in third place behind the Swede.

This is where it all went wrong for @edomortara 😢 #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/W0jV3lGSlN— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 3 décembre 2017

It was at that moment, a first victory in Formula E for Daniel Abt, who celebrates in the best possible way his 25th birthday. But the joy was short-lived for the Audi driver, as his car did not meet the championship’s technical regulations. As a result, Felix Rosenqvist was awarded the victory, making it his second in the championship. Edoardo Mortara can take some consolation by securing second place ahead of Evans, allowing Jaguar to record its first podium in the championship. Notably, Alex Lynn finished out of the points as he broke down shortly before the finish. This allowed Sébastien Buemi to move up to tenth place and thus earn a point. Audi initially considered appealing the decision to exclude them from the race before ultimately deciding against it.

Here is the final ranking of the race that does not take into account the disqualification of Daniel Abt (all the drivers actually gained one place):

#HKePrix 🇭🇰 Race 2 Results

1. @Daniel_Abt
2. @FRosenqvist
3. @edomortara #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/N8FM0a0iYi

— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) 3 décembre 2017

Here is what the driver standings look like after these two races:

Update on the team standings at the end of this first weekend now:

So that concludes this beautiful weekend of double Hong Kong ePrix with victories from Sam Bird and Felix Rosenqvist. See you now on January 13 for the Marrakech ePrix.