 2021 Monaco E-Prix
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The marginally modified Circuit de Monaco in 2021. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 8 May 2021 | |
| E-Prix No. | 76 | |
| Official Name | 2021 ABB Formula E Monaco E-Prix | |
| Location | Circuit de Monaco Monte Carlo, Monaco | |
| Lap length | 3.318 km (2.062 mi) | |
| Distance | 26 laps / 86.268 km (53.604 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  António Félix da Costa
| |
| Team |  DS Techeetah
| |
| Time | 1:31.317 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Jean-Éric Vergne
| |
| Team | DS Techeetah
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:34.697 on lap 13 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| António Félix da Costa
|
 Robin Frijns
|
 Mitch Evans
|
| Winner Team | DS Techeetah
| |
| Time | 47:20.697 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
 2021 Valencia E-Prix II
|
 2021 Puebla E-Prix I
| |
The 2021 ABB Formula E Monaco E-Prix, otherwise known as the 2021 Monaco E-Prix, was the seventh race of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 8 May 2021.[1] The race would be held on the full version of the legendary Circuit de Monaco, marking the first time that FE had used a circuit that was almost identical to one used by Formula One.[2]
Qualifying for the first Monaco E-Prix on the full Circuit de Monaco would see António Félix da Costa sweep to pole position, the Portuguese ace beating Robin Frijns by just 0.012s.[3] Indeed, an incredibly close fought session saw the top four in Super Pole separated by just 0.059s, while the top 22 in the group stage of qualifying were covered by less than a second.[3]
The start of the race saw da Costa charge into the lead, while Mitch Evans tried to ease down the inside of Frijns into Sainte Devote, but was repulsed.[4] Behind, Pascal Wehrlein spun up his rear wheels and made a miserable start, dumping him to the midfield before contact with Jake Dennis sent the #99 Porsche up over the top of Alexander Sims at the hairpin, destroying the left side of Sims' car.[4]
While Sims was left with terminal damage the #29 Mahindra was able to limp away from the scene without outside intervention, meaning there would be no interruption to the early flow of the race.[4] That fact allowed Frijns to challenge da Costa for the lead during the opening stages, with the #4 Envision Virgin firing down the inside of the #13 DS Techeetah at Sainte Devote for the lead on lap three.[4]
The lead fight would ebb and flow with the intervention of Attack Mode, with da Costa reclaiming the lead in the first exchange on the boost, before Frijns battled back past with AM in the second bout.[4] When both had exhausted their second AM boosts they found themselves being drawn back in by Evans, who had dropped off the back of them after finding himself in a fight for third with Jean-Éric Vergne.[4]
With the Jaguar incoming da Costa used his FanBoost to ease past Frijns for the lead through the tunnel, before Evans caught and passed the #4 Virgin into Sainte Devote on the following tour.[4] Evans then pulled off the move of the race a few moments later, darting out from behind da Costa on the run through Beau Rivage, before sweeping past the #13 DS Techeetah for the lead into Massenet.[4]
Moments later the Safety Car was out, after René Rast had smacked into the outside wall at Sainte Devote, causing an eight minute intervention.[4] That setup a six minute dash to the chequered flag, with Evans holding the lead, but with 1% less energy than da Costa and Evans behind.[4]
The race would be settled on the final tour, with Evans holding the lead until da Costa finally used his extra energy to his advantage by firing past the #20 Jaguar into the Nouvelle Chicane.[4] Evans then set about keeping Frijns at bay, with the #4 Virgin ultimately just managing to beat the New Zealander to the chequered flag as Evans hit zero on the finishing straight.[4]
That, however, was of little consequence to da Costa, who claimed his maiden victory on the streets of Monaco ahead of Frijns and Evans.[4] Vergne finished fourth ahead of Maximilian Günther, Oliver Rowland and Sam Bird, all of whom would fan around Evans as they crossed the line but ended up behind the Jaguar.[4] Nick Cassidy was next up ahead of Lotterer, until he was slapped with a time penalty for causing a collision late on, meaning the final points went to Alex Lynn and Lucas di Grassi.[4]
Background[]
As the Covid-19 Pandemic continued to ravage the 2020/21 season calendar, the Monaco E-Prix of 2021 would miraculously manage to retain its original date of 8 May 2021, although it had been effectively pushed back to the seventh round of the season.[1] Otherwise, there was a lot of change to the Monaco E-Prix from previous staging of the event in 2019, with the field set to use a modified version of the full Circuit de Monaco.[2] Indeed, barring a remodelled Sainte Devote, widening of the Grand Hotel hairpin and some reprofiling of La Rasscasse, the FE field would use a near identical version of the circuit most famously used by the Formula One World Championship for the first time.[2]
On the eve of the race weekend FE reverted to using the Grand Prix version of the Sainte Devote corner, on the grounds of it better suiting energy re-gen at the behest of the teams, and would locate the Attack Mode activation zone at Casino.[5]
Monte Carlo Motivation[]
Dragon Racing were set to debut their new 2020/21 spec powertrain at the Monaco E-Prix, having previously delayed its planned introduction ahead of the 2021 Rome E-Prix I.[6] Likewise, Nissan confirmed that their 2020/21 powertrain would finally make its competitive debut in Monte Carlo, with the IM03 having undergone a final test after the 2021 Valencia E-Prix II.[7]
Energy Enquiry[]
Elsewhere, there would be a minor tweak to the sporting rulebook ahead of the trip to Monte Carlo, in response to the fallout after the dramatic end to the 2021 Valencia E-Prix I.[8] The final laps of the Valencia E-Prix had been thrown into chaos, as the entire field bar a handful of drivers had been left with too little energy to complete the final two laps of the E-Prix after a late Safety Car.[8] The SC rules dictate that drivers are to be deducted a certain amount of usable energy per minute that they run under SC conditions, and would be a major factor in why only nine drivers were registered as finishing the first Valencia race, and five were disqualified.[8]
To counter future issues arising from that scenario, the FIA and FE agreed to adjust the SC rules ahead of the Monaco E-Prix, whereby no energy reduction would be made if a SC period started, or extended into, the final five minutes of the race.[8]
Valencian Variety[]
With the five leading drivers all having failed to score in the 2021 Valencia E-Prix II there had been no changes at the head of the field after round six, meaning Nyck de Vries had retained his nine point lead over teammate Stoffel Vandoorne. Sam Bird, Robin Frijns and Mitch Evans had likewise held station in third through fifth, while René Rast had ascended to sixth after his run into the points. The day's big winner was Jake Dennis, who gained fourteen positions to move into eighth, while André Lotterer's first points finish of the season meant that all 24 drivers had scored before they arrived in Monte Carlo.
Likewise, there had been no movement atop the Teams' Championship after the sixth race of the campaign, with Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team having retained their 23 point lead. Jaguar Racing had likewise held station in second ahead of Envision Virgin Racing, with none of their drivers having scored, while DS Techeetah had inched closer to the lead trio in fourth. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler had similarly retained fifth but gained ground on the leaders, while BMW-Andretti had moved up to seventh with Dennis' victory.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Monaco E-Prix is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2021 Monaco E-Prix would be conducted in FE's standard format, with the field split into four groups of six cars, based on Championship position.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]
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.[3]
Group 1[]
The first sextet to try out the full Monte Carlo circuit would be those in the top six in the Championship, headlined by Championship leader Nyck de Vries.[10] The Dutchman would be joined in the session by teammate Stoffel Vandoorne in the other factory Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team entry, as well as both of the Jaguar Racing drivers, Sam Bird and Mitch Evans.[10] Robin Frijns would join those four in the Envision Virgin run Audi, as would the factory run #33 Audi of René Rast.[10]
There were near perfect conditions on the Mediterranean coast as those in group one were cleared to join the circuit, meaning the only way that the circuit would improve would be via extra rubber being laid down during the session.[11] As a result, everyone in the first group would only complete an out-lap before committing to their full-power runs, resulting in all six drivers pouring out of the pitlane with two minutes to go.[11] de Vries led them out but was instantly passed by teammate Vandoorne, before the Dutchman made some curious moves to block Bird from passing him several times during their out-laps.[11]
Vandoorne was hence the first driver to complete his run, with the Belgian ace completing a clean run through the lap to set the initial pace at a 1:32.277.[11] de Vries trailed him but would sabotage his own lap by knock a switch on his steering wheel at the Nouvelle Chicane, which turned his car back to race mode, rather than quali-mode.[11] That loss of 50kW of power meant de Vries was over a second slower than his teammate at the end of his run, with Bird instantly relegating the Dutchman to third.[11]
Evans was next across the line and jumped ahead of Vandoorne, before Frijns charged across the line with the fastest first and second sectors to claim top-spot with a 1:31.638.[11] Rast then completed the group with a run to third, with the latter four having all managed to find space after de Vries' questionable tactics on the out-lap.[11]
Group 2[]
Group two saw those positioned seventh through to twelfth in the Championship enter the fray, headlined by quali-ace Oliver Rowland, who had the best qualifying average in the field in the #22 Nissan e.Dams.[10] The Brit would be joined on track by the second best qualifying driver in the field, Pascal Wehrlein in the #99 Porsche, as well as double FE Champion Jean-Éric Vergne.[10] Also in action would be Jake Dennis fresh from his maiden FE pole in Valencia, with Edoardo Mortara and Nico Müller completing the sextet.[10]
There was a slight surprise when Rowland left the pitlane shortly after the start of group two's window, with the Brit opting to complete a warm-up lap at 200 kW.[11] Everyone else in the group would, however, opt to follow group one's example and go straight to full power, meaning Rowland would in-fact be the last driver to set a time.[11] Instead, it was Mortara who would be the first driver to set a flying lap, with Vergne, Dennis, Müller and Wehrlein following in the #48 ROKiT Venturi-Mercedes' wake.[11]
Mortara's lap would ultimately flatter to deceive, with the Swiss racer running slightly wide at Loews, before brushing the wall exiting Portier en-route to sixth overall.[11] Vergne was next up and would overcome a small lock-up at Sainte Devote to go third overall, with Dennis slotting into fifth a few seconds later with a clean effort.[11] Müller was next up but could only claim ninth, Wehrlein jumped into fourth, while Rowland put together strong first and third sectors to claim fourth to displace the #99 Porsche and complete the group.[11]
Group 3[]
Group three would be headlined by reigning FE Champion António Félix da Costa in the #13 DS Techeetah join the fray, in a group filled with drivers positioned thirteenth through eighteenth in the Championship.[10] The Portuguese ace would be joined on track by Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn in the two Mahindras, as well as the #36 Porsche of André Lotterer.[10] Also in action would by the #37 Virgin-Audi of Nick Cassidy, as well as the #8 NIO of Oliver Turvey.[10]
Like group one everyone in the third sextet opted to go straight out of the pits and into full-power runs, with da Costa and Sims leaving the pits half a minute earlier than everyone else.[11] da Costa was the first of those two to leave the pits, while Lynn would lead the rest of the group out a few seconds after Sims left the pitlane.[11] Fortunately all of the drivers would find space for themselves over the course of the out-lap, with Cassidy, Lotterer and Turvey evenly spaced behind Lynn.[11]
da Costa, meanwhile, would set about setting a strong effort at the head of the group three field, clambering all over the inside kerb at Sainte Devote to open a lap that was good enough to leave him in third with fastest first sector.[11] Sims, meanwhile, was made to pay for a poor second sector and so could only slot into eighth, with teammate Lynn smacking the kerb exiting the final corner as he claimed seventh at the end of his run.[11] Cassidy followed and used a strong first sector to jump into sixth, Lotterer had a poor run through the first two thirds of the lap and ended up in fifteenth, while Turvey was a second off the ultimate pace as he slotted into seventeenth.[11]
Group 4[]
The fourth and final sextet featured those drivers in the bottom six of the Championship upon arrival in Monte Carlo, and would feature two of FE's former major protagonists and Champions.[10] Indeed, both Lucas di Grassi of Audi and Sébastien Buemi of Nissan e.Dams would feature in the final group, with Maximilian Günther the only other stand-out name given his qualifying form.[10] They would be joined on track by Sérgio Sette Câmara in the #7 Dragon/Penske, Norman Nato in the second Venturi, and Tom Blomqvist in the #88 NIO, with the latter trio expected to challenge for the top half of the grid at best.[10]
Like teammate Rowland, Buemi would be the only driver in the final group to complete a warm-up lap, meaning the Nissan duo were the only drivers in the entire field to intentionally complete laps at 200 kW.[11] As he set up for his warm-up run, Günther led the rest of the group out of the pitlane, all of whom would go straight onto their full power runs.[11] The #28 BMW-Andretti would be followed onto the circuit by Nato, di Grassi, Sette Câmara and Blomqvist, with Buemi's warm-up lap meaning he would start his flying lap after everyone else.[11]
As a result it was Günther who was the first to complete a full power run in group four, with the German youth going on to claim third at the end of his run, passing Buemi on the run to Tabac.[11] Nato trailed the BMW but was only able to secure tenth, while a miserable run through the second sector left di Grassi down in sixteenth come the end of his lap.[11] The Brazilian would, at least, manage to complete a run, unlike compatriot Sette Câmara who locked up entering the final corner and spun backwards into the barriers, ruining his lap and triggering a red flag.[11]
That red flag prevented both Blomqvist and Buemi from completing their runs, meaning they would get to try their luck again once Sette Câmara's car was removed and the session restarted.[11] Unfortunately both drivers would complete rather underwhelming runs, with Buemi only able to claim thirteenth and Blomqvist nineteenth, although just one second covered the top twenty-two drivers come the end of the session.[11]
Super Pole[]
After the delay to the end of the group stage of qualifying, Rowland was only given two minutes to get ready for Super Pole, resulting in the #22 Nissan leaving the pitlane just as the pitlane was officially closed for his timed lap.[11] That fact would lead to Rowland's run being struck from the record, although the Brit would record a reasonably strong lap, notably bouncing off the kerb exiting Portier to record a 1:31.547.[11] News of his lap being deleted would come as Vergne completed his run, with the #25 DS Techeetah completing an even cleaner effort to go fastest with a 1:31.376.[11]
Vergne was followed onto the circuit by teammate da Costa, who would again use a huge amount of kerb at Sainte Devote to open his lap, and would be rewarded with the fastest first sector of the session.[11] The Portuguese ace would also use all of the kerb at the Grand Hotel Hairpin and the exit kerb at Portier to set a strong second sector, before matching Vergne in the third sector to go fastest with a 1:31.317.[11] Günther went next but after a recording a very strong opening sector, would bleed away time over the rest of his run to end up seven tenths off of da Costa's benchmark.[11]
Next out onto the circuit was Evans, and the New Zealander would open his lap on maximum attack, throwing the #20 Jaguar into Sainte Devote and then Massenet with beautifully controlled slides to set a first sector just 0.001s down on da Costa's.[11] An equally aggressive second sector saw him drop just 0.070s to da Costa, before ending his lap with a brush against the barriers exiting Tabac to split the two DS Techeetahs and claim second.[11] That left Frijns as the only driver who could beat da Costa, although after losing a tenth in the first sector to the Portuguese racer, it seemed as if the Dutchman would miss out on pole.[11]
Indeed, Frijns' lap seemed to be getting away from him, with the #4 Virgin-Audi sliding on the brakes for turn five, before a huge lock-up on the brakes for the Nouvelle Chicane, although Frijns made the corner.[11] Yet, Frijns would still only trail da Costa by a tenth as he flashed through Tabac, and after acing the final sector, the Dutchman would end his lap just 0.012s behind da Costa with the fastest third sector of the session.[11] da Costa would hence start the Monaco E-Prix from pole, with Frijns alongside, while Rowland would start the race from sixth after his Super Pole time was officially deleted.[11]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2021 Monaco E-Prix are outlined below:
| 2021 Monaco E-Prix Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:31.317 | — | 1 | G3 |
| 2nd | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
 Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:31.329 | +0.012s | 2 | G1 |
| 3rd | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:31.368 | +0.051s | 3 | G1 |
| 4th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:31.376 | +0.059s | 4 | G3 |
| 5th | 28 |  Maximilian Günther
|
 BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:32.039 | +0.722s | 5 | G4 |
| EXC* | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:31.547 | 6 | G2 | |
| Super Pole | |||||||
| 1st | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:31.638 | — | SP | G1 |
| 2nd | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:31.772 | +0.134s | SP | G1 |
| 3rd | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:31.817 | +0.179s | SP | G4 |
| 4th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:31.832 | +0.194s | SP | G3 |
| 5th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:31.839 | +0.201s | SP | G2 |
| 6th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:31.850 | +0.212s | SP | G2 |
| 7th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:31.853 | +0.215s | 7 | G3 |
| 8th | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:31.900 | +0.262s | 8 | G2 |
| 9th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:31.952 | +0.314s | 9 | G3 |
| 10th† | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:31.964 | +0.326s | 12† | G4 |
| 11th | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:32.125 | +0.487s | 10 | G1 |
| 12th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:32.146 | +0.508s | 11 | G3 |
| 13th | 23 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:32.209 | +0.571s | 13 | G4 |
| 14th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:32.247 | +0.609s | 14 | G2 |
| 15th | 5 |  Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:32.277 | +0.639s | 15 | G1 |
| 16th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:32.281 | +0.643s | 16 | G1 |
| 17th | 11 |  Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:32.303 | +0.665s | 17 | G4 |
| 18th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:32.329 | +0.691s | 18 | G2 |
| 19th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:32.339 | +0.701s | 19 | G3 |
| 20th | 6 | Nico Müller
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:32.344 | +0.706s | 20 | G2 |
| 21st | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:32.630 | +0.992s | 21 | G4 |
| 22nd | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:32.633 | +0.995s | 22 | G3 |
| 23rd‡ | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:33.070 | +1.432s | 24‡ | G1 |
| 110% Time: 1:40.801[12] | |||||||
| NC§ | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
— | 23 | G4 | |
| Source:[12] | |||||||
- * Rowland had his Super Pole time deleted for leaving the pitlane in Super Pole when the red light was shown at the end of the pitlane.[13]
- † Nato was handed a two place grid penalty for failing to respect double yellow flags at in FP1.[14]
- ‡ de Vries was handed a 40 place grid penalty, converted to a drive-through penalty for changing the power box and gearbox of his car.[15][16]
- § Sette Câmara was permitted to start the race at the stewards' discretion.[17]
Race[]
Conditions remained near perfect on the Mediterranean Coast ahead of the E-Prix, with no threat of rain as the field assembled on the dummy grid for FE's first race on the full Circuit de Monaco.[18] Indeed, of slightly more concern was the relatively high ambient temperature, although none of the teams would raise doubts about battery cooling ahead of the race.[18] Elsewhere, Nyck de Vries knew he was going to be in for a difficult race from the back of the grid, for the Dutchman was slapped with a stop-go penalty pre-race after failing to serve a 40 place grid penalty for changing components.[19]
Report[]
A short blast on the throttle and the field moved from the dummy grid to the proper grid, with António Félix da Costa starting the race from pole position.[18] When the lights went out the Portuguese ace duly converted pole into an early lead into Sainte Devote, as behind Mitch Evans tried to fire down the inside of Robin Frijns, although the #4 Envision Virgin pilot braked later and held second.[18] Instead, the big loser at the start would be Pascal Wehrlein, who tumbled into the midfield from eighth on the grid after getting too much wheelspin as he tried to launch off the grid.[18]
Otherwise it proved to be a fairly well mannered start, until the pack came through the Grand Hotel hairpin for the first time at full race speed.[18] While the leaders would get through untroubled, contact between Wehrlein and the back of Alexander Sims in the middle of the pack allowed Sébastien Buemi to duck inside the pair of them through the tight hairpin, before the #23 Nissan e.Dams inadvertently fed the #29 Mahindra into the outside wall on the exit.[18] Wehrlein, meanwhile, was left with nowhere to go and would literally climb all over the left hand side of Sims' car after being punted into the back by Jake Dennis, causing heavy damage to the Mahindra, while Dennis himself was subsequently hit in the back by de Vries who ended up being blocked by the #27 BMW-Andretti.[18]
Miraculously, however, Sims and Dennis would move their cars from the scene without outside assistance, while the marshals were quick to remove bits of the #29 Mahindra and #99 Porsche under the cover of yellow flags.[18] That meant that da Costa was able to establish a small lead at the head of the field over Frijns over the rest of the opening tour, while Evans stalked them ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne in third.[18] Elsewhere, Sam Bird would make a fair amount of ground courtesy of the Sims crunch, moving into twelfth, while de Vries served his penalty at the end of the first lap, dumping him well off the back of the field.[18]
da Costa's lead was short lived, for a charging Frijns would quickly ease back onto the tail of the #13 DS Techeetah during the early stages, and would even have a half-look at taking the lead at the start of lap three.[18] A lap later and Frijns was through for the lead, lunging past the Portuguese ace who would opt not to make a late move to try and resist the oncoming #4 Virgin.[18] That fight would, however, allow Evans to close onto the back of them, while Vergne was also in the fight until he locked up and ran wide at the chicane, dropping him back into the sights of Oliver Rowland and Maximilian Günther.[18]
The lead fight would settle into a stalemate after Frijns' move, with da Costa content to simply sit behind the Virgin and conserve energy, while Evans bounced between being within one and two seconds of them in third.[18] Elsewhere, Bird would stealthily make his way into the points with simple lunges on Norman Nato and Buemi into Sainte Devote on successive laps, while Lucas di Grassi used a more aggressive approach to pass Nato at the hairpin, pushing the #71 Venturi out of his way to claim twelfth.[18] Elsewhere, Rowland and Günther would exchange blows behind Vergne, with the German youth unable to pass the stubborn Brit despite being one of the first drivers to arm Attack Mode.[18]
Back with the leaders and da Costa would arm AM on lap nine, dropping him back to fourth behind Evans and Vergne as the #25 DS Techeetah moved to attack Evans for what was now second place.[18] Evans resisted at the hairpin so Vergne was forced to try a lunge into the chicane on the outside of the #20 Jaguar, which would result in contact between the two as they tried to go through side-by-side.[18] Evans would be forced to cut the second element of the chicane due to a lack of room and so remained ahead of Vergne, although both would be passed by da Costa who was beautifully placed to dart inside the pair of them to reclaim second without losing ground.[18]
Vergne's assault continued into Tabac, although a robust defence from Evans would deny the Frenchman, and instead allowed Günther to pass the pair of them on the run to the Swimming Pool.[18] da Costa, meanwhile, would quickly close the gap to Frijns having not been caught behind Evans and Vergne, and duly leapt back ahead of the #4 Virgin when Frijns took AM on the following tour.[18] Evans, meanwhile, resist letting Vergne through in-spite of some discussion over whether he had gained an advantage at the chicane, with Vergne curiously resisting calls to take AM from the Techeetah team.[18]
Two minutes into Frijns' AM boost and da Costa's AM boost was over, allowing the #4 Virgin to close back onto the tail of the #13 DS Techeetah, before sweeping past without resistance into turn one on lap twelve.[18] Behind, Vergne would finally arm his first Attack Mode but dropped behind Nick Cassidy, before instantly passing the #37 Virgin into the chicane to reclaim fifth.[18] That became fourth when Evans finally let him through at Massenet before taking AM for the first time as, out front, Frijns would decide to instantly take AM for the second time after his first AM boost ended, handing the lead back to da Costa.[18]
Frijns would use AM to dance past da Costa out of the tunnel a few moments later, reclaiming the lead and prompting the #13 DS Techeetah to arm his second AM boost on the following tour, opening out a two second gap between the two main protagonists for victory.[18] Furthermore, da Costa would drop back behind teammate Vergne and emerge alongside Evans, and would duly go side-by-side with the #20 Jaguar through to the hairpin, where da Costa finally secured third with the inside line.[18] The Portuguese racer then closed onto the tail of his teammate, although Vergne would decide to try and arm his second AM boost before da Costa could throw a lunge at him for second.[18]
Unfortunately for Vergne he would manage to miss one of the sensors in the Attack Mode activation zone, meaning his AM boost failed to activate.[18] That meant that he had effectively forfeited second on the road, dropping behind da Costa and Evans, but didn't have the effective reward of the additional 35 kW of power.[18] Furthermore, the #25 Techeetah would soon lose fourth to an AM boosted Günther on the brakes for the chicane, the German youth having dropped back when he took the boost following da Costa, while Evans was able to arm his second AM boost without dropping back behind the #28 BMW or Vergne.[18]
Back with the leaders and da Costa's AM would end just as he caught back up with Frijns, while Evans and Günther were slowly catching the lead duo as da Costa shaped up a move for the lead.[18] With eighteen minutes to go the Portuguese racer made his bid for the lead, using FanBoost to draw alongside Frijns through the tunnel, before completing the move with a lunge around the outside of the #4 Virgin into the chicane.[18] That move would, however, compromise both drivers, and hence allow the AM boosted Evans right onto their collective tails with two minutes left of his extra power.[18]
Unsurprisingly the #20 Jaguar would breeze past Frijns on the run to Sainte Devote on the following tour, Frijns opting to half the defend the inside line as the Jaguar swept past on the outside.[18] However, it was on the run up the hill to Massenet that Evans truly stole the show, with the New Zealander jinking out from da Costa's tail as they flashed through Beau Rivage, before the extra power carried him past the #13 DS Techeetah as they weaved through the gentle curves to Massenet.[18] Indeed, da Costa had left just enough room for Evans to make such a move, with Evans fully ahead of the Techeetah as they hit the brakes for Massenet and into the lead.[18]
That move was perfectly timed, for an accident just moments after Evans swept around the nose of da Costa's Techeetah would see the Safety Car deployed, with René Rast stranded halfway up the hill.[18] The #33 Audi would end up there after being fed into the wall at Sainte Devote, after Rast had tried to run around the outside of Cassidy through the right-hander but run out of room.[18] Contact with the barriers destroyed the driveshafts, with Rast unfortunately managing to stop in a location that lacked easy access to a crane.[18]
An eight minute intervention, and hence 8 kWh energy reduction, would follow that incident, with the SC sent back into the pits with six minutes left on the clock.[18] Evans, who by that stage had a 1% energy deficit to da Costa and Frijns behind, would bolt exiting the Swimming Pool at the end of lap 21, although both da Costa and Frijns would go with the #20 Jaguar.[18] Behind, Günther trailed them and remained a contender for victory but with a small energy deficit of his own, while Vergne was forced to take AM for the second time after the restart, and hence dropped from fifth to eighth in the crocodile.[18]
Vergne set about recovering lost ground within moments of taking AM, reclaiming seventh from Bird into the chicane before the #10 Jaguar could even consider making a defensive move.[18] A lap later and the #25 Techeetah was into sixth, blasting past Cassidy through the tunnel, a move which would also allow Bird to use FanBoost to attack the #37 Virgin into Tabac, although Bird would back off.[18] Vergne, meanwhile, would carry on and throw a lunge at Rowland for fifth into Sainte Devote at the start of lap 24, before moving back into fourth later around that very same lap when he darted past Günther exiting the tunnel.[18]
Out front, meanwhile, Evans was having to put together a very defensive drive to keep da Costa and Frijns at bay, and as the clock hit zero had been unable to overcome his 1% energy deficit to his closest challengers.[18] At the start of the 26th and final lap the New Zealander had 3% battery to get to the chequered flag, with da Costa and Evans both having 4%, although Frijns had the added threat of Vergne behind.[18] Indeed, Vergne still believed he could claim victory from fourth, although his bid to pass Frijns with the aid of FanBoost into the chicane on the penultimate tour had been resisted by the #4 Virgin.[18]
Evans would drive incredibly defensively on the final lap, covering the inside line into both Sainte Devote and the hairpin in order to keep da Costa at bay.[18] Yet, the long run through the tunnel to the chicane would ultimately cost him victory, with da Costa able to simply ease past with his extra energy and claim the lead with half a lap to go, Evans having to relent and conserve.[18] Frijns would also try and pass the Jaguar at the chicane, although their side-by-side run through the left-right-left complex would see Evans again cut across the escape road claiming that he had nowhere else to go.[18]
da Costa, meanwhile, was away, establishing a three second lead in the final sector as he collected a memorable last-lap victory on the streets of Monte Carlo, his first in any category at the Principality.[18] Behind, Evans would hold onto second until he hit 0% energy as he came within sight of the chequered flag, resulting in Frijns darting around the outside of the #20 Jaguar to claim second, beating Evans by just 0.024s, while Vergne missed out on the podium to the New Zealander by 0.348s as he tried to get down the inside of the Jaguar on the curving start/finish straight.[18] Günther and Rowland were also in that huddle behind the hampered Evans but had to settle for fifth and sixth, while the remaining points went to Bird, Cassidy, André Lotterer and Alex Lynn.[18]
Post-Race[]
After the race both Techeetah and BMW-Andretti would protest the results, believing that Evans had gained a lasting advantage with his cut across the chicane on the final lap.[20] However, the FIA would deem that Evans had not gained such an advantage and hence would retain third, with BMW's protest thrown out without being considered, having been sent to the officials after the 30 minute post-race deadline for such documents to be submitted.[20] There would, however, be one alteration to the final results, with Lotterer handed a five second time penalty for an unseen collision with Lucas di Grassi, with put the #36 Porsche back down to seventeenth, while Lynn and di Grassi moved up to ninth and tenth.[21]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2021 Monaco E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.
| 2021 Monaco E-Prix Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 13 | António Félix da Costa 
|
DS Techeetah
|
26 | 47:20.697 | 1:35.173 | 28 |
| 2nd | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
26 | +2.848s | 1:35.315 | 19G |
| 3rd | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
26 | +2.872s | 1:35.298 | 15 |
| 4th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
26 | +3.120s | 1:34.697 | 13 |
| 5th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
26 | +3.270s | 1:35.371 | 10 |
| 6th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
26 | +3.865s | 1:35.156 | 8 |
| 7th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
26 | +4.150s | 1:35.133 | 6 |
| 8th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
26 | +4.752s | 1:35.864 | 4 |
| 9th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
26 | +5.759s | 1:35.709 | 2 |
| 10th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
26 | +6.225s | 1:34.708 | 1 |
| 11th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
26 | +6.567s | 1:35.801 | |
| 12th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
26 | +7.097s | 1:35.852 | |
| 13th | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
26 | +8.507s | 1:36.089 | |
| 14th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
26 | +9.240s | 1:35.904 | |
| 15th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
26 | +9.499s | 1:35.937 | |
| 16th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
26 | +9.822s | 1:35.151 | |
| 17th* | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
26 | +10.503s | 1:35.012 | |
| 18th | 6 | Nico Müller
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
26 | +11.450s | 1:36.026 | |
| 19th | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
26 | +12.067s | 1:35.619 | |
| Ret | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
23 | Retired | 1:36.102 | |
| Ret | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
21 | Collision | 1:35.717 | |
| Ret† | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
21 | Collision | 1:34.428† | |
| Ret | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
18 | Accident | 1:34.586 | |
| Ret | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
0 | Collision | — | |
| Source:[12] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.[22]- G Indicates a driver claimed a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the group stage of qualifying.
- * Lotterer was awarded a five second time penalty for causing a collision with di Grassi.[21]
- † Vandoorne recorded the fastest lap of the race (1:34.428) but was ineligible to claim the bonus points as he did not finish in the top ten.[12]
Milestones[]
- Sixth win for António Félix da Costa.
- Techeetah claimed their thirteenth victory as an entrant.
- DS secured their thirteenth win as a powertrain manufacturer.
Standings[]
Second place for Robin Frijns in Monte Carlo was enough to move the Dutchman to the head of the Championship, despite the fact that he had yet to win a race in 2020/21. Indeed, that result had moved him five points ahead of Nyck de Vries, while Mitch Evans, also yet to win a race in season seven, had moved into third, eight off the lead. Monaco E-Prix winner António Félix da Costa, meanwhile, had leapt up to fourth, ten points off the lead, while Sam Bird completed the top five with a thirteen point deficit to his former teammate.
In the Teams' Championship the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team had retained the lead, in-spite of the fact that they had failed to score at all during the trip to Monte Carlo. Their advantage had been reduced, however, with second placed Jaguar Racing having closed the gap to the German marque's factory squad to just two points as the halfway point of the season approached. DS Techeetah, meanwhile, had leapt into third, seven off the lead, while Envision Virgin and BMW-Andretti rounded out the top five.
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'FIA publishes provisional 2020/21 Formula E calendar', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/06/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/june/2021-race-calendar, (Accessed 19/06/2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sam Smith, 'FORMULA E NOW SET TO USE FULL MONACO GP F1 LAYOUT AFTER ALL', the-race.com, (The Race, 09/04/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/formula-e-now-set-to-use-full-monaco-gp-f1-layout-after-all/, (Accessed 09/04/2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 'Reigning champion da Costa takes Julius Baer Pole Position for the Monaco E-Prix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/may/monaco-e-prix-qualifying-report, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 'Da Costa pounces at the last to pinch masterful Monaco E-Prix victory', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/may/monaco-e-prix-round-7-report, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ Sam Smith, 'LAST-MINUTE CHANGES MADE TO MONACO FORMULA E TRACK', the-race.com, (The Race, 04/05/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/last-minute-changes-made-to-monaco-formula-e-track/, (Accessed 05/05/2021)
- ↑ Matt Kew, 'New Dragon FE car now expected to debut in Monaco', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 09/04/2021), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/new-dragon-fe-car-now-expected-to-debut-in-monaco/6170158/, (Accessed 09/04/2021)
- ↑ Sam Smith, 'DELAYED NEW NISSAN CLEARED FOR MONACO DEBUT AFTER FINAL TEST', the-race.com, (The Race, 27/04/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/delayed-new-nissan-cleared-for-monaco-debut-after-final-test/, (Accessed 01/05/2021)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Valentin Khorounzhiy and Sam Smith, 'FORMULA E ENACTS ENERGY RULE TWEAK TO PREVENT VALENCIA REPEAT', the-race.com, (The Race, 05/04/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/formula-e-enacts-energy-rule-tweak-to-prevent-valencia-repeat/, (Accessed 05/05/2021)
- ↑ 'Entry list confirmed for 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/12/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/december/2020-21-formula-e-confirmed-entry-list-fia, (Accessed 11/02/2021)
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Qualifying Groups', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/07_R07%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/020_Doc%2020%20-%20Qualifying%20Groups.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 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 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQH - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults - ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 5', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/07_R07%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/030_Doc%2030%20-%20Decision%20No.%205.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 2', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/07_R07%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/025_Doc%2025%20-%20Decision%20No.%202.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 7', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,786, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 8', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,786, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 6', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,786, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 18.11 18.12 18.13 18.14 18.15 18.16 18.17 18.18 18.19 18.20 18.21 18.22 18.23 18.24 18.25 18.26 18.27 18.28 18.29 18.30 18.31 18.32 18.33 18.34 18.35 18.36 18.37 18.38 18.39 18.40 18.41 18.42 18.43 18.44 18.45 18.46 18.47 18.48 18.49 18.50 18.51 18.52 18.53 18.54 18.55 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedDevPQP - ↑ 20.0 20.1 [Translated] Uhr von Daniel Geradtz, 'Formel E, Monaco: Techeetah und BMW scheitern mit Protesten', motorsport-magazin.com, (Motorsport Magazin, 08/05/2021), https://www.motorsport-magazin.com/formele/news-270788-formel-e-monaco-techeetah-und-bmw-scheitern-mit-protesten/, (Accessed 10/05/2021)
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: Decision No. 13', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/07_R07%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/048_Doc%2048%20-%20Decision%20No.%2013.pdf, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 7 - MONACO E-PRIX 8 MAY 2021: FanBoost', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/07_R07%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/043_Doc%2043%20-%20Bulletin%20No.%205.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 08/05/2021)
| 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship |
|---|
| Entrants |
| Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler • BMW i Andretti Motorsport • Dragon/Penske Autosport • DS Techeetah • Envision Virgin Racing • Jaguar Racing • Mahindra Racing • Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team • NIO 333 FE Team • Nissan e.Dams • ROKiT Venturi Racing • TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team |
| Manufacturers |
| Audi • BMW • DS • Jaguar • Mahindra & Mahindra • Mercedes-Benz • NIO • Nissan • Penske • Porsche |
| Cars |
| Spark SRT05e |
| Audi e-tron FE07 • BMW iFE.21 • DS E-Tense FE20 • DS E-Tense FE 21 • Jaguar I-Type V • Mahindra M7Electro • Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 • NIO 333 FE 001 • Nissan IM02 • Nissan IM03 • Penske EV-4 • Penske EV-5 • Porsche 99X Electric |
| Drivers |
| 4 Robin Frijns • 5 Stoffel Vandoorne • 6 Nico Müller/Joel Eriksson • 7 Sérgio Sette Câmara • 8 Oliver Turvey • 10 Sam Bird • 11 Lucas di Grassi • 13 António Félix da Costa • 17 Nyck de Vries • 20 Mitch Evans • 22 Oliver Rowland • 23 Sébastien Buemi • 25 Jean-Éric Vergne • 27 Jake Dennis • 28 Maximilian Günther • 29 Alexander Sims • 33 René Rast • 36 André Lotterer • 48 Edoardo Mortara • 71 Norman Nato • 88 Tom Blomqvist • 94 Alex Lynn • 99 Pascal Wehrlein |
| E-Prix |
| Diriyah I • Diriyah II • Rome I • Rome II • Valencia I • Valencia II • Monaco • Puebla I • Puebla II • New York City I • New York City II • London I • London II • Berlin I • Berlin II |
| Cancelled E-Prix |
| Marrakesh E-Prix • Mexico City E-Prix • Paris E-Prix • Santiago E-Prix • Sanya E-Prix • Seoul E-Prix |
| Tests |
| Valencia |
| Related Content |
| 2019/20 • 2021/22 |