Formula E finally arrives in Europe: on Saturday (April 23) the electric racing series competes in the heart of the French capital Paris. Lucas di Grassi leads the overall standings by one point going into the seventh round of the eleven race season. Most recently, the Brazilian celebrated together with his team mate Daniel Abt on the podium in the USA.
A track around Les Invalides, the Eiffel Tower as backdrop and the banks of the River Seine just a few metres away: without a shadow of doubt, the Paris ePrix provides one of the most spectacular backdrops in Formula E history to date. At only 1.920 kilometres in length, the track is the shortest on this year’s calendar and with its long straights and tight corners promises an exciting showdown at this early stage in Paris.
The current situation in the championship guarantees a nail-biting atmosphere: after his victory in the last event in Long Beach, Lucas di Grassi is one point ahead of his archrival Sébastien Buemi from the Renault factory team, which contests its home race in Paris. In the team standings, the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport squad is only six points behind the French equipe. The winner of a Formula E race scores 25 points.
“Paris is a new highlight in the calendar – congratulations to Formula E for being able to organize this Formula E race in the city centre;” says Lucas di Grassi. “The track and the environment complement the series perfectly.” The South American aims to pile on the pressure when Formula E makes its European debut this season: “It may well be the home race for our friends and competitors from France, but it’s of no interest to me. We’ll also try to win there.” So far, di Grassi has mounted the podium five times, including two wins, in six races.
Although team mate Daniel Abt is still waiting for his first victory, everything appears to be clicking into place now for the youngest driver on the grid with two starts in Super Pole and a podium finish in Long Beach. “Paris should be a real highlight, but is also a new track that nobody knows,” says the German, “We will continue with the same levels of focus and motivation and will do everything within our powers to mount the podium again soon – preferably together.”
Team principal Hans-Jürgen Abt also wants this: “I’m looking forward to the European Formula E races. We’re already noticing how the interest of the media and fans continues to grow,” he says. “The season so far has shown just how strong our ABT Schaeffler FE01 is in comparison to the competition. This is also a great endorsement for the hard work invested during the development by our partner Schaeffler.” Abt expects keen interest for the next race: “The event in Paris in particular is generating a huge amount of hype – but we’ll stay cool and try to extract the maximum. Because it goes without saying that our major goal is to travel to our home race in Berlin as championship leaders.”
The seventh race of the season starts on Saturday, April 23 at 16:00. As usual, Eurosport broadcasts live. The practice and qualifying session can be viewed in Eurosport’s fee-based player.
