While Porsche joined the Formula E series last season, the Monaco E-Prix was not on the calendar during the 2019-20 season, so Porsche’s 99X Electric has never raced there. This was a new opportunity for the German team to learn another new track, and unfortunately lady luck was not on their side. After podium results in Rome and Valencia, Porsche netted zero points from the race in the principality. While Andre Lotterer managed to finish in 9th, he had a collision with another car on the final lap of the race and was awarded a time penalty, pushing him back to 17th. Teammate Pascal Wehrlein was caught up in a collision instigated by another competitor, and was forced to retire from the race shortly before the checkered flag. When you place a big bet, you have to be prepared to walk away from the table empty-handed, and that’s exactly what happened to Porsche.
During the race Pascal started in 8th after a tight qualifying which saw him off pole by only 0.05 of a second. Traffic piled up at the hairpin during the first lap of the race, however, and he was stuck behind stopped cars, dropping him to 15th in the blink of an eye. Because the circuit is so tight and passing is difficult in such closely matched cars, Wehrlein was not able to make up ground lost. In the closing laps of the race he was hit from behind by a competitor, and the resulting flat tire caused him to sit out the rest of the event.
Lotterer, meanwhile, started from 19th on the grid. With the benefit of starting near the back, he was able to miss the stoppage that caught up Pascal on lap one, gaining a handful of spots in one fell swoop. During his second use of attack mode, he made up a bit more ground, elevating himself to twelfth. In the closing stages, he made up more places to end the race in 9th. His avoidable contact penalty undid all of that work, unfortunately, knocking him out of the points once more.
Comments on the Monaco E-Prix, Race 7
Amiel Lindesay, Head of Operations Formula E: “Pascal did a good job in qualifying and only just missed out on Super Pole. The start wasn’t ideal. When he got stuck in the middle of traffic at the hairpin, a top placing was out of reach in this initial phase. The qualifying didn’t go well for André but he did a mega job coming from 19th to ninth in the race — not many manage that in Monaco. Unfortunately, the time penalty robbed him of the rewards he deserved. We have six weeks until the next races in Mexico. We’ll use this time to prepare for the challenges of the second half of the season.”
André Lotterer, Porsche works driver (#36): “Things didn’t really come together for me in qualifying, but it went much better in the race. At the start, I stayed out of any trouble and tried to conserve energy and get into a good rhythm. I succeeded. We really wanted to finish in the points, which is a pretty ambitious goal when you start from 19th on the grid, especially in Monaco. And we would’ve made it, too, had it not been for the time penalty at the end. Hopefully, things will go better for us in Mexico.
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#99): “It was a disappointing weekend all in all, at least in view of the result, but once again we underlined our potential. Our speed was pretty good, especially in qualifying. My start wasn’t great. I was shunted from behind in the hairpin. As a result, my car sustained quite a few damages. I’m now looking forward to the two new opportunities that are coming up at the doubleheader in Puebla.”
