Consistent Vergne seals more silverware as Frenchman builds momentum

Jean-Eric Vergne plugged away with more silverware at the Monaco E-Prix as the Frenchman strode to third spot and made the best of the situation as Safety Cars and Full Course Yellows played havoc with his ATTACK MODE strategy.

A Full Course Yellow on Lap 16 was required to snatch Pascal Wehrlein’s stricken Porsche after a technical issue left it stranded on the exit of the tunnel. This cost then-race leader Vergne dearly, with the DS driver diving for his second ATTACK MODE activation just prior, rendering it useless as it whiled away during the neutralised race.

GALLERY: The best shots from the Monaco E-Prix

Eventual winner Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) profited, but did fall foul himself during a Safety Car on Lap 18 - wiping out much of his own second 30kW boost of the encounter. Nevertheless, the Mercedes man strode clear, and it was too late for Vergne.

"That ruined my challenge," said the double Formula E champion. "Logically, I still have to be happy with third place. We scored very strong points for the championship standings and we will certainly push again in Berlin.

That finish saw Vergne seal consecutive podium finishes after his second-placed finish in race two from Rome. The Frenchman is on an unmatched streak of six points finishes - all within the top eight - and his podium tally of three is a joint high, as well as a 50% strike rate in Season 8.

Consistency is key in Formula E as Vergne knows better than anybody, and even after losing the Drivers' advantage to Vandoorne for now, he knows he's sitting pretty.

Da Costa: 'The car felt as good as it has all season'

Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa is looking to build momentum of his own after an up-and-down start to the current campaign. The Portuguese has three from six possible points finishes and will be aware that the top four are creeping away, as he finds himself down in 10th in the running at the moment.

Antonio Felix da Costa DS TECHEETAH Monaco E-Prix

Fifth was good enough, he says, and more than that, da Costa felt he had the car underneath him.

"Our pace was good and the team gave me a very good car - probably the best of the season so far," said da Costa. "That gave me confidence and it's always fun when you can race like that.

Fifth and third collectively was a strong haul of points; enough to see it just 15 points behind current leaders Mercedes-EQ.

"We showed the consistency of our team and the performance of our car," adds Team Principal Thomas Chevaucher. "We're only 15 points back from the leaders in the Teams' table and we're definitely in the title race."

Published on 5th May 2022

3 min read