- DS Automobiles put on a brilliant show at the second race of the Monaco E-Prix, with Jean-Eric Vergne leading the pack for more than half of the competitive action
- When the chequered flag fell, Jean-Eric Vergne scored points for sixth place, while Maximilian Günther was classified eighth
- The next E-Prix will take place in Tokyo in two weeks
For DS PENSKE, the key objective for the second race in Monaco was to make the most of qualifying in order to secure the best start positions possible. By locking out the second row of the grid, Maximilian Günther and Jean-Eric Vergne perfectly accomplished their mission, underlining the effectiveness of their cars in wet conditions with a modified setup.
On Sunday, the DS E-TENSE FE25 were able to figure at the sharp end of the action, with Vergne lying second ahead of the first ‘Attack Mode’. This allowed the Frenchman to take the lead of the race, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd. Maximilian Günther was then in third, locked in a fierce battle with his rivals that didn’t allow a moment of rest.
JEV built up a lead of more than three seconds, but the arrival of the Safety Car shook everything up. The subsequent restart marked the start of a strategic battle centred around who could make the most of the second ‘Attack Mode’. In the thick of a spectacular fight, Vergne maintained a top-three place before the track began to dry out, making life more difficult and dropping him down to fifth, and then sixth, in the closing laps – where he eventually took the flag.
Maximilian Günther also did everything to score points on an increasingly drying track. At the finish, the German was classified eighth.
As a result, DS Automobiles not only put on a great show on the streets of the principality of Monaco, but also brought home precious points with both drivers.
The eighth and ninth races of the current Formula E season will take place in two weeks on another street circuit in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance director:
“Today’s race was a lot better for us than yesterday’s. Free practice and qualifying went well, which meant that we were able to start from third and fourth places on the grid. The first part of the race was very good for us and from the start we managed to avoid any contacts. JEV took the lead and managed to stay in front for a long time, right up to the point where the Safety Car wiped out the three-second advantage that he had built up. As soon as the track surface started to dry, it became more difficult for us. JEV eventually finished the race in sixth while Max was eighth, netting us good points in both championships.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, 2018 and 2019 Formula E champion:
“It was a very good first part of the race for us. I got a solid start, and when the track was wet, we were very strong. Then we got unlucky with the Safety Car; especially as throughout the entire weekend up to then just the Full Course Yellow had been favoured. We were less competitive when the track began to dry, as the car had been very much set-up for a wet track. This was the best we could hope for under these circumstances.”
Maximilian Günther :
“Conditions were really tricky, and we got through qualifying well by setting the third and fourth quickest times. JEV got a better start than me, which cost me a few places. At the start of the race it was very difficult as I had no grip and had to battle massive oversteer. This meant that from there I didn’t have a chance to make progress up the leaderboard. I was fourth or fifth throughout most of the race, but things got more complicated once the track started to dry, so we had to focus above all on limiting the damage. That’s exactly what we managed to do by bringing two cars home in the points. We’ve learned a lot from this weekend, and the key point was to have turned the tide and positively addressed our situation after Saturday.”
