Di Grassi wins Mexico ePrix ahead of dramatic battle for second
UPDATE: Lucas di Grassi has been disqualified
Lucas di Grassi used FanBoost to pass pole-sitter Jerome d’Ambrosio and win the inaugural Mexico ePrix.
However, the race will best be remembered for the battle that then broke out for second position, as Sebastien Buemi could not find a clean way past d’Ambrosio.
At one point, Buemi succeeded, but in making the pass he had cut the chicane. Buemi refused to yield the position and so d’Ambrosio cut another turn to take the position back.
Meanwhile behind them in fourth place, Buemi’s e.dams Renault teammate Nico Prost was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for an unsafe pit release, dropping him back behind Loic Duval.
The first half of the race was relatively incident free, with d'Ambrosio leading di Grassi, Prost, Buemi and Abt into the pits. Buemi just barely leapfrogged his teammates in the pits (so close in fact, that the stewards handed Prost the aformentioned penalty), with di Grassi making his pass for the lead and the win soonafter.
Buemi had proven to be the fastest driver during practice, but a mistake during his qualifying run saw him line up in fifth position on the grid, leading to the heated battles in the second half of the race.
Fortunately all of the drivers were able to cross the finish line without incident, barring Antonio Felix da Costa, whose race was plagued with various penalties and minor incidents that came to an end when he spun his car into the wall with 11 laps to go.
Lucas di Grassi now leads the points as the series heads to California, where the Long Beach ePrix will take place on April 2.
Full race results:
1. Lucas di Grassi - ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
2. Jerome d'Ambrosio - Dragon Racing
3. Sebastien Buemi - Renault e.dams
4. Loic Duval - Dragon Racing
5. Nico Prost - Renault e.dams
6. Robin Frijns - Andretti
7. Sam Bird - DS Virgin Racing
8. Daniel Abt - ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
9. Nick Heidfeld - Mahindra Racing
10. Stephane Sarrazin - Venturi
11. Bruno Senna - Mahindra Racing
12. Oliver Turvey - NEXTEV TCR
13. Mike Conwaay - Venturi
14. Nelson Piquet Jr. - NEXTEV TCR
15. Simona de Silvestro - Andretti
16. Salvador Duran - Team Aguri
17. Jean-Eric Vergne - DS Virgin Racing
18. Antonio Felix da Costa - Team Aguri
