 2020 Santiago E-Prix
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Parque O'Higgins Circuit was updated for 2020. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 18 January 2020 | |
| E-Prix No. | 61 | |
| Official Name | 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix[1] | |
| Location |  Parque O'Higgins Circuit, O'Higgins Park, Santiago, Chile
| |
| Lap length | 2.287 km (1.421 mi) | |
| Distance | 40 laps / 91.480 km (56.843 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Mitch Evans
| |
| Team |  Jaguar Racing
| |
| Time | 1:04.827 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver | Sam Bird
| |
| Team | Envision Virgin Racing
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:07.535 on lap 22 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
 Maximilian Günther
|
 António Félix da Costa
|
Mitch Evans
|
| Winner Team |  BMW i Andretti Motorsport
| |
| Time | 46:11.511 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
 2019 Diriyah E-Prix II
|
 2020 Mexico City E-Prix
| |
The 2020 Santiago E-Prix, otherwise officially known as the 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix, was the third round of the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Parque O'Higgins Circuit in Santiago, Chile, on 18 January 2020.[1][2] The race was held in spite of widespread discontent in the Chilean city, which had seen several months of protests after a change in national laws, although the political situation had calmed prior to the race.[3]
Qualifying for the Santiago E-Prix saw Mitch Evans sweep to a dominate pole position, beating Maximilian Günther of Andretti-BMW by over a quarter of a second.[4] Pascal Wehrlein and Felipe Massa would share the second row, while Oliver Turvey caused a stir by getting the NIO through to Super Pole, and beating 2015/16 Champion Sébastien Buemi.[4]
The race itself came amid huge heat, meaning battery temperatures were the main concern with many teams predicting that it would be a tight finish to the race in terms of energy and temps.[5] Regardless, all 24 drivers would line-up on the grid for the start, with hasty repairs for Ma Qing Hua and Oliver Rowland completed after heavy accidents in qualifying and practice.[5]
The start of the race saw Evans ease into an early lead, leaving Günther, on the dirty side of the grid, to defend from Wehrlein.[5] Ultimately the elder German would ease his Mahindra ahead of the BMW through turns one and two, with an otherwise clean start further down.[5]
The opening laps proved fairly tame, although Alexander Sims caused a stir with a series of overtakes, albeit at the cost of his front wing structure.[5] He would, however, cause the only FCY of the race when he stopped on track on lap six, which lasted just twenty seconds.[5]
The race resumed just in time for Rowland to pitch Sam Bird into a spin, dumping the Virgin to the back of the field, while Rowland's front wing disintegrated on the start/finish straight.[5] Out front, meanwhile, Evans would use both of his Attack Modes in the opening fifteen minutes, while Günther briefly dropped behind Mortara.[5]
Indeed, Günther would show the power of Attack Mode, blasting past Mortara before cruising past Wehrlein before either could respond.[5] With that he was clear to hunt down and pass Evans, who was left to rue his two early AM uses, as behind Mortara and teammate Felipe Massa came to physical blows.[5]
The inter-Venturi battle moved the two DS Techeetahs up the field, with Jean-Éric Vergne and António Félix da Costa working together to move through the field.[5] However, that team work would only last until Vergne suffered a front bodywork failure after leading da Costa past Wehrlein, with the Frenchman moving across desperately to block his teammate.[5]
Yet, the damage to his front wing would eventually tell, with Vergne deciding to retire as the bodywork rubbed badly on his tyre.[5] That released da Costa to hunt down the leaders, taking Evans with ease before setting a series of stunning laps to catch Evans with a handful of laps to go.[5]
Into the final laps and da Costa barged past Günther at turn ten for the lead, only for his engineers to radio him to ease his pace with battery temperatures alarmingly high, a trend that was being shared throughout the field.[5] That gave Günther hope of revenge, and as the duo came charging through turn eight for the final time on the final lap, the German youngster swept ahead of the DS Techeetah.[5]
That, ultimately, decided the race, with Günther sweeping home to claim his maiden victory and podium finish.[5] da Costa was a frustrated second, two seconds down, while behind Nyck de Vries elbowed his way past Evans out of the final corner, only to be slapped with a five second time penalty.[5] Evans hence claimed third ahead of Wehrlein, de Vries was dumped to fifth, while Stoffel Vandoorne, Lucas di Grassi, James Calado, Massa and Bird emerged through the late chaos to complete the points scorers.[5]
Background[]
The 2019/20 edition of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship was set to arrive in Santiago, Chile for its third round of the season, with the Chilean capital hosting its annual FE race on 18 January 2020.[6] Once again backed by industrial giants Antofagasta Minerals, the E-Prix would be staged on a revised version of the Parque O'Higgins Circuit, which had been modified to appease drivers after criticism in 2019.[7] These changes saw the elimination of the chicane on the loop, a reversal of the hairpins at the end of the lap, and a re-profiled first corner.[7]
Worldly Wonders[]
Ahead of the Santiago E-Prix of 2020 there would be news regarding the 2020/21 edition of the FE Championship, with a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council approving a significant development for the series.[8] After several months of investigation and negotiation with the FIA, Formula E Holdings had signed a deal with the organising body to get the Formula E Championship sanctioned as a World Championship, effectively ensuring the series had equal status with Formula One and the World Endurance Championship.[8] As such, the 2020/21 season would be the first FE season to be classified as a World Championship, with a global schedule and entries from multiple manufacturers fulfilling the FIA's criteria.[8]
Generational Plans[]
Elsewhere the WMSC meeting in December 2019 would also discuss the series plans for the 2022/23 season and beyond, outlining the FIA's plan for the "Generation 3" version of the rulebook.[9] The main concept changes would include an increase in power to 450 kW, the introduction of re-gen on the front axle, and the implementation of fast-charging.[9] The latter of these changes had been the topic of debate for the series for over a year, and had an ambitious target of 30 seconds for a charge during a pitstop.[9]
Furthermore, the proposed increase in overall performance of the "Gen 3" cars would mean that the FE series would have to race on "FIA Grade 2" circuits, due to the kinetic forces the new car would produce.[9] As such the new plans also included a provision to revise current FE circuits, and to check even further increases in power out-put and performance increase.[9] Tenders for the new design, including the base chassis, battery supplier and tyres, were to be released in January 2020, while the winners were set to be announced in June 2020.[9]
Sims Sensations[]
Victory in the previous race in Diriyah had put Alexander Sims at the head of the early Championship table, with 35 points to his name. Stoffel Vandoorne arrived in Chile in second, five off the lead, while 2019 Diriyah E-Prix I winner Sam Bird had slipped to third having failed to score in the second Saudi race. Oliver Rowland and Lucas di Grassi were next, with di Grassi level on eighteen points with André Lotterer, with sixteen drivers having scored in the opening two rounds.
In the Teams Championship it was Mercedes who had been shuffled to the head of the pack in Diriyah, having left their debut weekend on 38 points. They hence led series veterans Envision Virgin Racing by two points, in spite of the British squad failing to score at all in the second race, with a further point back to BMW-Andretti. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler and Nissan e.Dams then completed the top five, with everyone bar NIO having registered their first points of the campaign in the opening two races.
FanBoost voting for the Santiago E-Prix opened on 13 January 2020, and remained open through the opening minutes of the race.[4]
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2020 Santiago E-Prix is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2020 Santiago E-Prix would be conducted in FE's standard format, with the field split into four groups of six cars, based on Championship position.[4] The first group would feature those in the top six in the Championship and so on, with each group getting six minutes on track to set a full 250 kW lap.[4] The top six overall would then progress to the Super Pole shootout, getting one final lap at full power to try and claim pole position.[4]
After the session a point would be handed to the fastest driver in the Group Stage, while three were to be awarded to the winner of Super Pole.[4]
Group 1[]
The opening group of the day would feature those in the top six in the Championship, and hence would be headlined by Alexander Sims, hunting his fourth pole position in a row.[11] Joining him would be former Champion Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, as well as the first of the customer Audis piloted by Sam Bird.[11] Oliver Rowland would also feature for Nissan e.Dams as would Stoffel Vandoorne and André Lotterer, representing new manufacturers Mercedes and Porsche respectively.[11]
First out onto the circuit would be Lotterer in the #36 Porsche, joined swiftly by Sims in the BMW-Andretti, the only two drivers of the group opting to complete a warm-up lap.[11] The rest of the sextet would remain in the pitlane, believing that the high temperatures would mean they did not have to complete a full warm-up lap at 200 kw/h.[11] They hence emerged together with a minute and a half to go, just as Lotterer and Sims opened their full power laps.[12]
Lotterer was the first to record a time, completing a clean effort to go fastest with a 1:05.801, while Sims crossed the line a surprise second, a tenth and a half off.[11] However, both would be beaten by Vandoorne a few moments later, the Belgian ace setting the fastest time of the group at 1:05.566, while Bird made a mess of his final sector to go fourth for Envision Virgin.[11] Behind, Rowland's effort came to an end when he smashed into the barriers at turn five, a tank slapper the cause, while di Grassi was caught out on the dust braking for turn nine and slid partially down an escape road, destroying his effort.[11]
Group 2[]
The second sextet would see those placed seventh to twelfth in the Championship after the 2019 Diriyah E-Prix II hit the circuit, with defending Champion Jean-Éric Vergne headlining the group for DS Techeetah.[11] The Frenchman would be joined on track by the two Dutchmen in the field, namely Nyck de Vries of Mercedes and Robin Frijns of Virgin, as well as Edoardo Mortara in the first of the ROKiT Venturi Mercedes.[11] Daniel Abt was also set to venture out in the second of the factory Audis, while James Calado would lead the Jaguar charge in the #51 car.[11]
Like the first group only two drivers would opt to complete a sighting lap at 200 kw/h, with Calado leading Abt onto the circuit, although they would swap positions during their warm-ups.[11] The rest would come out of the pitlane together, and in typical FE style, would all jostle for position prior to their flying laps, resulting in all six being in danger of missing out on starting their laps.[11] Indeed, Abt and Calado ultimately found themselves at the back of the queue, with Calado just managing to cross the start/finish line to start his flying lap with a second to spare.[11]
The result shuffle left de Vries at the head of the pack, with the Dutchman duly delivering a strong lap to go fastest, beating teammate Vandoorne from group one.[11] Vergne followed him across the line but could only manage third, while Mortara pulled out a stunning lap to go fastest overall, despite having to pass Frijns at turn three.[11] The #4 Virgin pilot had ruined his lap almost instantly by sliding wide at turn three, and hence fell two seconds off the pace, while Abt and Calado had scruffy laps to slot into fifth and ninth respectively.[11]
Group 3[]
Group three saw those positioned thirteenth to eighteenth in the Championship take to the circuit, with several Super Pole contenders among them as a result of potential track evolution.[11] Among the favourites of the sextet would be Maximilian Günther in the #28 BMW-Andretti, as was António Félix da Costa in the #13 DS Techeetah.[11] 2018/19 pole sitters Pascal Wehrlein of Mahindra Racing and Mitch Evans of Jaguar were also major Super Pole threats, as was Jérôme d'Ambrosio in the second Mahindra, while Brendon Hartley of GEOX DRAGON was hoping for a trouble free run.[11]
Once again only two drivers would opt to complete warm-ups, with Günther leading Evans onto the circuit with a lot of time to spare, attempting to avoid a repeat of what happened in group two.[11] Evans later managed to jump Günther to lead the charge across the line, and duly delivered a stunning lap to go fastest, recording a 1:04.941, the first (and ultimately only) lap of the group stage in the 1:04.000s.[11] Günther set an equally strong lap, but small mistakes in sector three ensured that the German youth slotted in just behind the New Zealander at the head of the overall order.[11]
Behind the rest of the group gave themselves enough room to complete their laps without compromising each other, although that proved of little consolation for Hartley, who could only muster eleventh in the Dragon.[11] He was chased across the line by da Costa, although a rather mediocre lap from the Portuguese ace would only get him into sixth, knocking teammate Vergne out of Super Pole.[11] Wehrlein was next and duly knocked da Costa out with a strong run to third, while d'Ambrosio in the sister Mahindra had an OK lap ruined by a driveshaft failure exiting the final corner, leaving him at the back of the field.[11]
Group 4[]
The final group of the session featured six pointless drivers, although that did not mean they should have been ruled out as Super Pole contenders, particularly given the pedigree of several of the group's members.[11] Quali-ace and former Champion Sébastien Buemi was arguably the standout name, joined on track by ex-F1 ace Felipe Massa in the #19 Venturi-Mercedes.[11] Neel Jani would join them in the last of the factory Porsches, Nico Müller would venture out in the #7 Dragon, while the two NIOs of Oliver Turvey and Ma Qing Hua were set to be little more than "also-rans".[11]
The sextet would become a quintet long before the session, however, as Ma's car was unable to repaired in time for qualifying after a heavy accident in second practice.[11] He hence sat out as Jani led Buemi and Turvey onto the circuit to start warm-up laps at 200 kw/h, while Massa and Müller waited in the pits, opting to go straight to their flyers.[11] They duly ventured out ahead of the "sweepers", and hence were the first two drivers in the group to complete their full power laps.[11]
Müller was the first to set his time, although poor first and third sectors left the the Swiss racer in fifteenth overall, moments before Massa went third for Venturi.[11] Buemi was next having passed Jani during their warm-up laps, and duly streaked into Super Pole with a 1:05.390, putting him third overall.[11] Jani himself simply lacked overall pace and so had to settle for eleventh, before Turvey stunned the entire paddock by getting the NIO into fifth, knocking Mortara out of Super Pole.[11]
Super Pole[]
Evans, Günther, Buemi, Massa, Turvey and Wehrlein would be the six drivers to make it into Super Pole, three from group three and three from group four.[11] Wehrlein was the first to set a time in Super Pole, with a clean effort setting a benchmark of 1:05.645, which quickly proved to be a strong time.[11] Indeed, Turvey would lose out to the German racer in both the first and second sectors, so much so that an impressive third sector was not enough to get him ahead of the Mahindra.[11]
Next out was Massa, and once again the Brazilian ace would be unable to match Wehrlein in the first two sectors, only to rally back in the third sector to set an identical effort of 1:05.645.[11] Buemi went next but carried far too much speed into turn one that he had to brake very hard for turn two, meaning he lost a lot of momentum, with further mistakes leaving him in fourth with a 1:05.809.[11] Next out to beat Wehrlein would be Günther in the BMW-Andretti, with the German youth finally breaking his compatriots effort with an ultra clean effort, setting a new benchmark of 1:05.102.[11]
However, having completed his lap Günther was shown to have exited the pitlane in spite of being shown a red light, and hence his effort was thrown into instant jeopardy.[11] Unaware of this, Evans would open his flying lap with a stunning first sector, and duly matched Günther's run in the second in the Jaguar.[11] However, the best was yet to come from the New Zealander, who aced the third and final sector to set the fastest time of the session, claiming pole with a 1:04.827.[11]
Immediately after Evans' lap it was confirmed that Günther had officially left the pitlane before the redlight was shown, contrary to the initial replays shown.[11] The German youth hence had his place in second confirmed ahead of Wehrlein and Massa, while Turvey and Buemi would share the third row.[11]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2020 Santiago E-Prix are outlined below:
| 2020 Santiago E-Prix Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:04.827 | — | 1 | G3 |
| 2nd | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:05.102 | +0.275s | 2 | G3 |
| 3rd | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:05.645 | +0.818s | 3 | G3 |
| 4th | 19 |  Felipe Massa
|
 ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:05.645 | +0.818s | 4 | G4 |
| 5th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
 NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:05.788 | +0.961s | 5 | G4 |
| 6th | 23 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
 Nissan e.Dams
|
1:05.809 | +0.982s | 6 | G4 |
| Super Pole | |||||||
| 1st | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:04.941 | — | SP | G3 |
| 2nd | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:05.169 | +0.228s | SP | G3 |
| 3rd | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:05.390 | +0.449s | SP | G4 |
| 4th | 19 | Felipe Massa
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:05.463 | +0.522s | SP | G4 |
| 5th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:05.510 | +0.569s | SP | G4 |
| 6th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:05.525 | +0.584s | SP | G3 |
| 7th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:05.547 | +0.606s | 7 | G2 |
| 8th | 17 |  Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:05.560 | +0.619s | 8 | G2 |
| 9th | 5 |  Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:05.566 | +0.625s | 9 | G1 |
| 10th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:05.574 | +0.633s | 10 | G3 |
| 11th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:05.625 | +0.684s | 11 | G2 |
| 12th | 18 | Neel Jani
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:05.696 | +0.755s | 12 | G4 |
| 13th | 66 | Daniel Abt
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:05.745 | +0.804s | 13 | G2 |
| 14th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:05.801 | +0.860s | 14 | G1 |
| 15th | 27 | Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:05.848 | +0.907s | 15 | G1 |
| 16th | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:05.886 | +0.945s | 16 | G1 |
| 17th | 6 | Brendon Hartley
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
1:06.126 | +1.185s | 17 | G3 |
| 18th | 51 | James Calado
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:06.305 | +1.364s | 18 | G2 |
| 19th | 7 | Nico Müller
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
1:06.367 | +1.426s | 19 | G4 |
| 20th | 64 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.962 | +3.021s | 20 | G3 |
| 21st | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:09.089 | +4.148s | 21 | G2 |
| 110% Time: 1:11.435[13] | |||||||
| NC* | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:25.526 | +21.585s | 22 | G1 |
| EXC† | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
— | 23 | G1 | |
| EXC‡ | 33 | Ma Qing Hua
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
— | 24 | G4 | |
| Source:[13] | |||||||
- * di Grassi failed to set a time within 110% of the fastest in the group stage, but was allowed to start at the stewards' discretion.[13]
- † Rowland was excluded from the results of qualifying for being allowed to leave Parc Ferme for repairs.[14]
- ‡ Ma was excluded from the results of qualifying for having work carried out on his car under Parc Ferme conditions.[15]
Race[]
Saturday afternoon in Santiago proved even hotter than qualifying, with battery temperatures the main concern ahead of the race as air temperatures peaked at 34°C.[16] At the back of the field, meanwhile, Oliver Rowland and Ma Qing Hua were allowed to start after their heavy accidents in practice and qualifying, albeit at the back of the grid.[16] Otherwise, there were no issues as the field pulled onto the grid proper for the start, with Mitch Evans set to lead the charge from pole position.[16]
Report[]
It proved to be an equal start for Evans and Maximilian Günther on the front row, although as the drivers picked up speed the German youth began to lose ground, a result of starting on the dirty side of the grid.[16] That allowed Pascal Wehrlein to sweep around the outside of the BMW-Andretti into the first corner to claim second behind Evans, as behind Oliver Turvey got the jump on Felipe Massa to claim fourth.[16] Further back the start was surprisingly clean, with no major issues or accidents to thin the field.[16]
Likewise the rest of the opening lap proved fairly tame, until Alexander Sims danced his BMW-Andretti around the outside of André Lotterer in the #36 Porsche at turn nine.[16] That put the Championship leader onto the back of a cluster of cars, resulting in him going into turn ten four-abreast on the inside line with Neel Jani, Daniel Abt and Lotterer, with António Félix da Costa and Nyck de Vries just ahead.[16] The battle on the brakes duly saw Jani tap the back of da Costa and tip the Portuguese ace into a slide wide, allowing Sims to sneak through on the inside as the others scrambled away.[16]
However, in that battle Sims had picked up front bodywork damage which would begin rubbing on his front left tyre, so much so that da Costa was able to dive back ahead of the #27 BMW-Andretti into turn ten on the second lap.[16] Lotterer also tried to take advantage but Sims rallied back at turn eleven to retain twelfth, while Jani had pulled into the pits for repairs.[16] He rejoined two laps down, just in time to see Lotterer smack into the back of Sims on the brakes for turns one/two, causing more damage to the BMW-Andretti as Sims was forced out wide.[16] However, Sims would again defend stoutly and force Lotterer out wide at turn three, allowing Abt to pass the #36 Porsche, while also lapping Jani around the outside of the very same corner.[16]
Out front, meanwhile, Evans had been able to establish a small lead over Wehrlein at the head of the field, with the German racer also having to keep an eye on compatriot Günther just behind.[16] They had also already managed to build a small gap over Turvey in the fourth placed NIO, with the British racer having to defend heavily from Edoardo Mortara and Massa, albeit only when the two Venturi-Mercedes stopped fighting each other.[16] Sébastien Buemi and Stoffel Vandoorne were glued to their tails as a result, while da Costa had managed to get back onto the back of teammate Jean-Éric Vergne to complete the top ten.[16]
As the order out front began to settle, however, the race would be put under a brief Full Course Yellow, as the damage to Sims' car caused the Championship leader to stop on circuit.[16] This was thrown as Vergne and Vandoorne exchanged blows, with Vergne accusing Vandoorne of re-passing him at turn eleven after the FCY was thrown.[16] Yet, there would be no time to debate the merits of that claim, with the race resuming after just 20 seconds of FCY control, Sims' car having been quickly pushed behind the barriers to safety.[16]
Vandoorne was the big loser from the restart, finding both the DS Techeetahs elbowing their way past him through turn four having been caught out by the restart.[16] Elsewhere, Rowland was on the warpath having started at the back of the field, but after some strong early progress would ruin his race by smacking the back of Sam Bird at turn ten, and hence pitch his compatriot into a spin.[16] Rowland would carry on in thirteenth, only for his front wing to blow itself apart on the start/finish straight, and hence cause him to stop for repairs a couple of laps later, while Bird recovered in seventeenth.[16]
Fortunately the debris from Rowland's car would land off the racing line, meaning no FCYs or Safety Cars were required to clear the circuit.[16] Out front, meanwhile, Evans would become the first of the leaders to arm Attack Mode, followed by Mortara and Massa as they tried to find a way past Turvey's stubborn NIO.[16] Both Venturis duly dived past the NIO before Turvey could respond, with Mortara's boost also carrying him past Günther as the young German racer armed his boost.[16]
Günther would quickly retaliate and chuck his BMW-Andretti back past Mortara for third with a lunge at turn one on lap twelve, with Wehrlein able to arm Attack Mode without losing second to the fighters behind.[16] Mortara was hence left to fend off teammate Massa, and in an over-aggressive defence managed to knock his teammate towards the wall at turn ten having got out of shape on the brakes.[16] Massa hence had to slow massively and lost out to both DS Techeetahs, which had just passed Turvey in quick succession as the noncompetitive NIO continued its expected slide down the order.[16]
Out front, meanwhile, Evans would activate his second Attack Mode boost with thirty minutes to go, part of Jaguar's plan to avoid battery temperature issues later in the race by taking the boost early.[16] That ensured that he retained a small lead at the head of the field, and prompted Günther to activate his second Attack Mode a lap later to hunt down Wehrlein.[16] He duly caught and passed the #94 Mahindra into turn one, as behind da Costa slipped behind Massa while arming his Attack Mode boost, before dancing around the outside of the Venturi-Mercedes around the outside of turn eight.[16]
Now clear of Wehrlein, Günther would swiftly pull onto the back of Evans, whose Attack Mode boost was now over with half the race still to run.[16] Yet, the New Zealander's resistance would prove very effective, with Günther's first two attempted lunges into turn one not enough to carry him past the #20 Jaguar.[16] Indeed, it seemed as if Günther would run out time to pass Evans with Attack Mode assistance, only to copy da Costa's move on Massa from a couple of laps earlier by dancing his BMW-Andretti around the outside of Evans through turn eight to claim the lead.[16]
With that Günther was clear, quickly establishing a lead over Evans who was suddenly faced with a data loss issue, meaning he had to try and compensate for his battery temperatures without any real references from his car.[16] Behind, Wehrlein was moving to defend from Vergne having armed his second and final Attack Mode boost, while behind da Costa found himself being fed towards the wall by Mortara through turn one/two, allowing de Vries to attack him for seventh.[16] da Costa would, however, hang on and keep de Vries at bay, before selling Mortara a dummy into turn ten that resulted in the Venturi clobbering the outside wall, with de Vries also sneaking through.[16]
da Costa duly charged off to catch back up to teammate Vergne, who had just claimed third from Wehrlein, an duly caught and passed the German's Mahindra with ease on lap 28.[16] Behind, Mortara was slipping down the field as a result of the damage sustained through his various battles across the afternoon, with Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt barging past.[16] Out front, meanwhile, Günther was continuing to escape up the road from Evans, with both carefully managing their battery temperatures as the two DS Techeetahs loomed ever closer.[16]
However, all was not well with Vergne's car, for numerous touches to the front left of his car having caused a structural weakness to his front bodywork, which would completely fail on lap 29.[16] That caused the bodywork to rub on his front-left tyre, throwing up a smoke trail, although Vergne opted to remain on track and hope the bodywork broke off, rather than pit and lose a potential podium.[16] That ultimately caused him to aggressively block teammate da Costa as the Portuguese ace tried to pass, although over the next couple of laps Vergne's pace would collapse as his front-left tyre began to lose pressure.[16]
Indeed, despite the bodywork eventually falling off Vergne would pit to retire on lap 32, having been passed by da Costa, Wehrlein and de Vries in short order through turns eight, nine and ten.[16] da Costa, meanwhile, was now clear to catch the leaders, and duly dived past Evans for second through turns eight/nine, with the New Zealander's pace having dropped as a result of his lack of data.[16] As a result, Günther had established a four second lead at the head of the field with eight minutes to go, meaning da Costa had to push his hot batteries very hard if he was to challenge for the lead.[16]
The next few laps would be some of the best of da Costa's FE career, with the Portuguese ace demolishing Günther's lead in the space of four laps to move into striking position with two minutes and three laps to go.[16] Günther duly moved to defend the inside line into turn nine on lap 37, although that only allowed da Costa to line-up a move on the #28 BMW-Andretti into turn ten, weaving in the mirrors before chucking the #13 DS Techeetah inside the German youth.[16] Yet, momentum would carry the Techeetah right into the side of the BMW-Andretti, with the resulting scramble seeing da Costa move into the lead amid calls of foul play from Günther's engineers.[16]
However, the fight for victory was not over, for da Costa's battery temperatures had soared during his pursuit, and hence meant that he had to instantly begin cooling his car and fend off Günther.[16] Having been told of da Costa's woes, Günther went on the attack, and hence forced da Costa to defend heavily in the closing stages of the race, albeit without inadvertently burning too much energy or causing his own battery temperatures to spike.[16] Indeed, at the start of the final lap it was still unclear as to how the race would finish, with Günther looking to make a lunge at da Costa for the lead into the first corner.[16]
da Costa managed to swat that attack aside, although Günther carried far more momentum and hence found himself tucked in right behind the DS Techeetah as they approached turn eight/nine.[16] Slipstream and slightly more energy allowed Günther to draft outside of da Costa on the long sweeping turn eight, before dancing his BMW-Andretti on the brakes for turn nine to claim the lead, da Costa having had to lift and coast to conserve energy.[16] With that Günther was through, with a clean run through the final corners all he needed to claim a maiden victory.[16]
That, ultimately, was how it finished, with a delighted Günther flashing across the line two seconds clear of da Costa, who was on the verge of running out of energy as he crossed the line.[16] Behind, de Vries had a late charge to third with moves on Wehrlein and Evans, but would take a five second time penalty due to a battery cooling issue on the grid.[16] Evans hence completed the podium ahead of Wehrlein and de Vries, with Vandoorne, di Grassi, Abt, James Calado and Sébastien Buemi completing the points on the provisional classification.[16]
Post-race[]
Unsurprisingly given the chaotic nature of the race there would be large number of investigations and penalties to be applied, resulting in some changes to the order, particularly at the lower-end of the points.[17] Abt and Buemi were the big losers, picking up time penalties for illegal throttle maps, while Jérôme d'Ambrosio was excluded from the race results for an illegal throttle map and running out of energy.[17] Elsewhere, Lotterer was disqualified for using more power than allowed, Müller and Rowland slapped for causing collisions, while Ma received a slew of penalties for various infringements.[18][19]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2020 Santiago E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold:
| 2020 Santiago E-Prix Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
40 | 46:11.511 | 1:07.592 | 25 |
| 2nd | 13 | António Félix da Costa 
|
DS Techeetah
|
40 | +2.067s | 1:07.271 | 18 |
| 3rd | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +5.119s | 1:08.166 | 19G |
| 4th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | +7.050s | 1:07.558 | 12 |
| 5th* | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
40 | +9.883s | 1:07.395 | 10 |
| 6th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
40 | +11.237s | 1:07.311 | 8 |
| 7th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
40 | +14.437s | 1:07.076 | 6 |
| 8th | 51 | James Calado
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +18.255s | 1:07.948 | 4 |
| 9th | 19 | Felipe Massa
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
40 | +20.430s | 1:06.993 | 2 |
| 10th | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
40 | +21.780s | 1:06.948 | 2 |
| 11th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
40 | +27.778s | 1:08.075 | |
| 12th† | 7 | Nico Müller
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
40 | +33.786s | 1:07.920 | |
| 13th‡ | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
40 | +43.257s | 1:07.553 | |
| 14th‡ | 66 | Daniel Abt
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
40 | +47.198s | 1:07.783 | |
| 15th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
39 | +1 Lap | 1:07.559 | |
| 16th§ | 33 | Ma Qing Hua
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
39 | +1 Lap | 1:09.085 | |
| 17th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
36 | +4 Laps | 1:06.405 | |
| NCƒ | 64 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | Out of Energy | 1:07.991 | |
| Ret | 6 | Brendon Hartley
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
35 | Retired | 1:08.149 | |
| Ret | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
32 | Damage | 1:07.747 | |
| Ret | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
29 | Damage | 1:07.551 | |
| DSQ♠ | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
28 | Disqualified | 1:07.535 | |
| Ret | 27 | Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
4 | Damage | 1:08.722 | |
| Ret | 18 | Neel Jani
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
2 | Retired | — | |
| Source:[13] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.- G Indicates a driver was awarded a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the group stage of qualifying.
- * de Vries was awarded a five second time penalty for an illegal cooling temperature on the grid.[20]
- † Müller handed a ten second time penalty for causing a collision with Lotterer.[21]
- ‡ Buemi and Abt were handed 30 second time penalties, converted from drive-through penalties for illegal throttle layouts.[17]
- § Ma received multiple penalties for illegal Attack Mode use (5s) and not activcating Attack Mode (10s stop-go converted to 45s time penalty).[19]
- ƒ d'Ambrosio was unable to be classified for using more than the permitted energy allowance.[22]
- ♠ Lotterer was disqualified from the results of the race for using more than the maximum power allowed during the race (230.51 kW).[18]
Milestones[]
- 50th E-Prix start for Oliver Turvey.
- Edoardo Mortara made his 25th start.
- Neel Jani started his fifth E-Prix.
- Maiden victory for Maximilian Günther.
- Günther also secured his first podium finish.
- Andretti Formula E claimed their third win as an entrant.
- BMW secured their third win as a powertrain manufacturer.
- Mitch Evans scored his fifth podium.
Standings[]
Stoffel Vandoorne moved to the top of the Championship as a result of the chaos in Santiago, moving three ahead of Alexander Sims. Behind, Sam Bird had retained third, while race winner Maximilian Günther shot into fourth after his maiden triumph, three behind the Brit. Lucas di Grassi then completed the top five, with nineteen drivers on the board after the opening three races.
In the Teams Championship it was race winners BMW-Andretti who led the way leaving Santiago, ending the weekend with two wins and 60 points. They hence overhauled Mercedes at the head of the table, four clear of their Germanic rivals, while Envision Virgin had slipped to third. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler were next ahead of Jaguar Racing, while NIO had remained as the only pointless team in the field.
|
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Formula E set for Santiago's streets', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/10/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/october/formula-e-set-for-santiagos-streets/, (Accessed 12/10/2017)
- ↑ '2019/20 calendar revealed: London and Seoul star in sixth Formula E campaign', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/2019-20-season-calendar-revealed, (Accessed 14/06/2019)
- ↑ Chile protests: President Piñera condemns police 'abuses', bbc.co.uk, (British Broadcasting Company: News, 18/11/2019), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-50459961, (Accessed 25/11/2019)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 'Jaguar's Evans dominates chaotic Qualifying ahead of Santiago showdown', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/january/santiago-qualifying-2020, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 'Guenther seals the win in final lap dash in Santiago scorcher', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/january/santiago-race-report-2020, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCal - ↑ 7.0 7.1 'Santiago', racingcircuits.info, (Racing Circuits, 2019), https://www.racingcircuits.info/south-america/chile/santiago.html, (Accessed 25/11/2019)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 'Formula E granted World Championship status for 2020/21 season', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 03/12/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/december/formula-e-world-championship, (Accessed 03/12/2019)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Sam Smith, 'REVEALED: Next Gen Formula E Concept Details', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 04/12/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/revealed-next-gen-formula-e-concept-details/, (Accessed 04/12/2019)
- ↑ 'Final 2019/20 season entry list revealed', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/10/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/november/season-six-full-entry-list, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
- ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 11.33 11.34 11.35 11.36 11.37 11.38 11.39 11.40 11.41 11.42 11.43 11.44 11.45 'Qualifying LIVE - Santiago | 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dARgBQ0PiPY&t=4544s, (Accessed 20/01/2020)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGP - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 'Round 3 - Santiago ePrix: Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/, (Accessed 21/01/2020)
- ↑ 'Decision No. 7', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 19/01/2020)
- ↑ 'Decision No. 8', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 19/01/2020)
- ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15 16.16 16.17 16.18 16.19 16.20 16.21 16.22 16.23 16.24 16.25 16.26 16.27 16.28 16.29 16.30 16.31 16.32 16.33 16.34 16.35 16.36 16.37 16.38 16.39 16.40 16.41 16.42 16.43 16.44 16.45 16.46 16.47 16.48 16.49 16.50 16.51 16.52 16.53 16.54 16.55 16.56 16.57 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 'Decision No. 53', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 'Decision No. 21', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 'Decision No. 14', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 'Decision No. 13', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 'Decision No.18', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)
- ↑ 'Decision No. 55', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/01/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 18/01/2020)