 2021 Rome E-Prix II
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The updated Rome circuit for 2021 | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 11 April 2021 | |
| E-Prix No. | 73 | |
| Official Name | 2021 ABB Formula E Rome E-Prix II | |
| Location |  Circuito Cittadino dell’EUREsposizione Universale Roma, Rome, Italy | |
| Format | 45 min + 1 lap | |
| Lap length | 3.380 km (2.100 mi) | |
| Distance | 23 laps / 77.740 km (48.305 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Nick Cassidy
| |
| Team |  Envision Virgin Racing
| |
| Time | 1:52.011 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Stoffel Vandoorne
| |
| Team |  Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:41.820 on lap 12 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Alexander Sims
|
Pascal Wehrlein
|
| Winner Team | Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
| |
| Time | 46:52.603 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2021 Rome E-Prix I
|
 2021 Valencia E-Prix I
| |
The 2021 Rome E-Prix II, formally known as the 2021 ABB FIA Formula E Rome E-Prix II was the fourth race of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR in Esposizione Universale Roma, Rome, Italy on 11 April 2021.[1] The race, which was the second of the season held in Rome, would see Stoffel Vandoorne claim victory in dominant fashion.[2]
Qualifying saw Nick Cassidy sweep to pole position as pre-session rain jumbled the order, with Cassidy joined on the front row by fellow rookie Norman Nato.[3] Pascal Wehrlein was the best of the "veterans" in third, while 2021 Rome E-Prix I winner Jean-Éric Vergne found himself down in twentieth on the grid.[3]
With the circuit still damp in crucial patches, particularly on the start line, the race would start behind the Safety Car as it had on Saturday, meaning Cassidy would lead the field away after one slow tour.[2] However, a software glitch under braking for turn three sent the New Zealander into a spin, dumping Cassidy back to eleventh as Nato swept past to claim the lead.[2]
Cassidy picked himself back up and began making his way back up the order, with quick fire moves on Sam Bird and Sébastien Buemi put him back into the top ten.[2] Nato, meanwhile, had Wehrlein and Vandoorne hounding him for the lead, and would be forced to relent to both on lap four as Wehrlein and Vandoorne both elbowed their way through.[2]
After that Attack Mode would come into play, with Oliver Rowland the first to arm the boost, only to take out Cassidy when trying to re-pass the #37 Envision Virgin.[2] Vandoorne, meanwhile, would manage to hold second when armed the boost a lap later, and subsequently managed to jump Wehrlein when the #99 Porsche went through the Activation Zone a couple of minutes later.[2]
Wehrlein would be denied the chance to use the boost to retaliate, however, after contact between Buemi and Lucas di Grassi caused the #11 Audi to stop on the exit of turn seven, triggering a Full Course Yellow.[2] That intervention hence saw Wehrlein burn through his first AM boost, before being jumped instantly by Alexander Sims when the FCY period ended, having dropped a long way off the back of Vandoorne to boot.[2]
With that the fight for victory looked to be over, with Vandoorne holding a comfortable five second margin over Sims, while Wehrlein simply lacked the pace to challenge the #29 Mahindra for second.[2] Instead, Wehrlein would slip behind the rookie Nato as the race wore on, before another heavily damaged Audi caused the race to be neutralised in the closing stages.[2]
A full Safety Car was required to clear up the debris from René Rast's accident, the German racer having broken his suspension before crashing heavily at turn one.[2] The race would hence resume with one lap to go, with Vandoorne having to use FanBoost on the final tour in a bid to keep Sims at bay in a one-lap shoot-out for victory.[2]
Ultimately Vandoorne would do enough to keep Sims at bay, claiming his second FE victory to leap up the Championship table.[2] Sims claimed second ahead of Nato, before the Frenchman was penalised for using too much energy, handing the final podium spot to Wehrlein.[2] Edoardo Mortara was next up ahead of Maximilian Günther, Mitch Evans, António Félix da Costa, Buemi, Tom Blomqvist and Nico Müller, before further penalties were applied post-race.[2]
Background[]
There were no changes made to the lengthened Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR after its debut on Saturday, with the conditions similarly unpredictable as the field reconvened on Sunday.[1] Indeed, overnight rain and an on/off drizzle ensured that the new circuit remained damp in patches and wet in others, with the mix of new and old tarmac and white lines meaning the circuit was treacherous in certain places.[1] There would also be no changes to the entry list, with Oliver Turvey cleared to start after NIO built a new car for the Brit after his huge accident in FP1.[4]
Rome Rush[]
Sam Bird had moved to the top of the Championship after his second podium of the campaign in the first Rome Race, which left the Brit with a nine point lead over his former teammate Robin Frijns. The Dutchman himself had also climbed up the order, overhauling former leader Nyck de Vries, with the younger Dutch driver having slipped to third, eleven off the lead. Mitch Evans and race winner Jean-Éric Vergne then completed the top five, while Norman Nato, André Lotterer, Jake Dennis and Nick Cassidy had become the final four drivers yet to score in 2020/21.
Jaguar Racing had extended their lead in the Teams' Championship after their maiden double podium, the British squad having moved onto 70 points for the campaign. DS Techeetah had moved up five places to second, but remained 34 points off the lead, while Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team had slipped back to third on 39 points. Envision Virgin Racing and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler then completed the top five, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport had scored their first points of the campaign but remained in last place.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Rome E-Prix II is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2021 Rome E-Prix II 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 opening group of the qualifying session was to feature those positioned first through sixth in the Championship, and was hence headlined by new Championship leader Sam Bird for Jaguar Racing.[6] He would be joined on track by teammate Mitch Evans in the #20 Jaguar, as well as former leader Nyck de Vries in the first of the Mercedes.[6] Also in action would by Robin Frijns and René Rast in their customer and factory Audis respectively, as well as Rome E-Prix I winner Jean-Éric Vergne for DS Techeetah.[6]
Heavy rain before the session left the Rome circuit wet and treacherous, meaning drivers would likely be unable to complete a warm-up lap within the four minute window.[7] Indeed, Vergne was the first driver to leave the pits with de Vries on his tail, with those two swapping positions as they left the pitlane with three and a half minutes to go.[7] Both would go on to complete their out-laps before going straight to full power with less than a minute to go, with Rast, Bird, Frijns and Evans spread out behind them.[7]
de Vries was hence the first driver to complete a flying lap on the soaking Rome circuit, and would show how tricky the conditions were with a huge slide through turn three, with further twitches through the middle part of the lap.[7] The Dutchman would set the benchmark at 2:01.229, which Vergne and Rast would both fail to beat, with Vergne alarmingly some three seconds off the pace in the new Techeetah.[7] Rast was next and slotted in between the two, before Bird swept across the line to go fastest by over a second, having had a "crisis" at turn six.[7]
The Brit was followed across the line by Frijns, whose put together a miserable third sector to drop in behind de Vries, while Evans rounded out the group a few moments later just three tenths slower than teammate Bird.[7]
Group 2[]
The second sextet featured seventh through twelfth in the Championship, with the two Nissan e.Dams of Oliver Rowland and Sébastien Buemi among the contenders.[6] They would be joined on track by the #13 DS Techeetah of defending Champion António Félix da Costa, as well as Edoardo Mortara in the ROKiT Venturi run Mercedes.[6] Pascal Wehrlein would also enter the fray in the first of the Porsches, as well as Sérgio Sette Câmara in the year old #7 Dragon/Penske.[6]
Conditions were scarcely better than the end of Group One when da Costa led the second sextet out of the pitlane, with the Portuguese racer instantly having a slide on the brakes for turn three.[7] The Portuguese racer was followed onto the track by Wehrlein, Sette Câmara and Mortara, while Rowland and Buemi would wait until those four had cleared the first sector before they left the pits.[7] da Costa was hence the first driver to set a flying lap, although his run already looked to be jeopardy when he had a huge slide on the brakes for turn three at the start of his run.[7]
da Costa recovered to set a time good enough for third, although his effort was instantly put into the shade by Wehrlein, who notably used a wide line through turn fifteen to go fastest overall, setting new fastest first and second sectors.[7] Sette Câmara was meant to be next but stopped on track, managing to drag his car to an escape road after losing power out of the chicane, before Mortara swept across the line to go second, some seven tenths down on the #99 Porsche.[7] Rowland followed a few seconds later but paid for a poor third sector, losing a whole second to Wehrlein to go third, while Buemi slotted into fourth behind his teammate.[7]
Group 3[]
Group three saw those positioned thirteenth to eighteenth after the third race of the campaign join the qualifying session, with pole sitter from Saturday Stoffel Vandoorne the standout name of the group.[6] The Belgian pilot was to be joined by 2016/17 Champion Lucas di Grassi in the #11 Audi, as well as both Mahindra Racing entries of Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn.[6] Also in action would be Nico Müller in the second of the Dragons, as well as Oliver Turvey who knew that regardless of where he qualified, he would start the race from the pitlane after causing a huge accident at the end of FP1.[6]
di Grassi was the first driver out of the pits for third group, although Vandoorne would quickly dart past the #11 Audi in order to get clear of the spray from the veteran Brazilian.[7] Behind, Turvey would venture out of the pits ahead of Müller, while Sims and Lynn opted to hang back and allow some space to open up ahead, given that there were signs that the track was drying in places.[7] However, the circuit overall was still treacherous, as shown by Vandoorne as he had a slide entering turn two and the exit of turn three when opening his flying lap, albeit somewhat less dramatic than the one suffered by da Costa a few minutes earlier.[7]
Vandoorne's effort was impressive in-spite of that slide, with the Belgian racer setting the fastest first sector of the session en-route to second behind Wehrlein.[7] He was hence comfortably ahead of di Grassi, who could only manage eighth come the end of his run after a poor first sector, with Turvey likewise made to pay for a poor run in the opening third of the lap.[7] Müller, meanwhile, would jump to fifth after a good lap, before Sims lit up the timesheets with a new benchmark in the second sector, some eight tenths faster than Wehrlein's effort.[7] An okay third sector left the #29 Mahindra at the top of the timesheets, while teammate Lynn was a lowly twelfth after a rather scruffy run compared to his new teammate.[7]
Group 4[]
The final group of the session featured those who were in the final six positions in the Championship ahead of the second Rome race, with several drivers considered to be threats for Super Pole.[6] Among those would be Nick Cassidy in the #37 Envision Virgin-Audi, as well as André Lotterer in the #36 Porsche after a promising run on Saturday.[6] They would be joined by both of the BMW-Andrettis of Maximilian Günther and Jake Dennis, Norman Nato in the #71 Venturi-Mercedes, and Tom Blomqvist in the #88 NIO.[6]
Lotterer opted to lead the fourth group out onto the circuit for the final part of the group stage, with several drivers from group three revealing that the track was beginning to dry, although remained incredibly slippery.[7] The German veteran was followed onto the circuit by Günther, with Nato, Blomqvist and Cassidy following in short order.[7] That left Dennis in the pits by himself, who was to ultimately sit out the session after a late powertrain issue left his car disabled in its garage.[7]
Lotterer's lap showed that the circuit was indeed drying, with a small slide in turn three turning into a new benchmark in the first sector, followed by a new fastest lap of the session.[7] Günther backed that up by going comfortably second, although had to fight a nervous rear in sector three, before Nato went fastest with a stunning second sector, half a second quicker than Lotterer's.[7] Blomqvist was next up but a mistake ridden lap left him in fourteenth, before Cassidy swept across the line to go third, setting a new fastest first sector as he claimed his place in Super Pole.[7]
Moments after the session it was announced that Lotterer was under investigation for power overuse, the likely result of hitting a bump that lifted the rear of the car into the air, and hence caused a spike in power out-put.[7] The German racer was duly disqualified as he climbed out of his cockpit to prepare for Super Pole, meaning he would start from the back of the grid and lose his spot in the shootout.[7]
Super Pole[]
Lotterer's disqualification elevated Vandoorne back into the Super Pole shootout, with the Belgian racer facing a quick turn-around to get ready for the session.[7] Fortunately the Mercedes driver was on-time to start his flying lap for pole position on a drying circuit, setting a new fastest first sector of the session, only for a nervous rear end on the brakes to cause him to slide through turns seven and into fifteen.[7] The #5 Mercedes hence set a Super Pole benchmark of 1:54.359, which looked to be a vulnerable effort given the sudden jump in times between groups three, four and Super Pole.[7]
Wehrlein would prove this, the German youth going slightly faster than Vandoorne in the first sector, before demolishing the #5 Mercedes' times in the second and third sectors to go fastest with a 1:52.630, finding 1.300 seconds in the final sector alone.[7] Sims went next but appeared to be pushing too hard for the real condition of the circuit, resulting in time sapping slides in turns two, five, seven and fourteen to leave him down in third.[7] Günther went next and would open his lap with a slide exiting turn one, before trying a calmer approach to the second and third sectors that resulted in him completing a clean, but slow, lap that left him trailing Wehrlein by two seconds.[7]
Next onto the circuit was Cassidy, who would open his lap with a surprisingly narrow entry into turn three, a ploy to find some more grip away from the racing line on a corner that had caught out several drivers.[7] The novel line worked as he found a tenth on Wehrlein in the opening sector, before finding half a second in the second and third sectors to go fastest with a 1:52.011.[7] Nato went next to try and claim his maiden pole position, and would brush the wall in turn twelve en-route to setting a new benchmark in the second sector, going a tenth up on Cassidy having been a tenth slower in the first.[7] Yet, small slides in the final sector would bleed time away from Nato's run, leaving him three tenths behind Cassidy to claim second on the grid behind the New Zealander.[7]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2021 Rome E-Prix II are outlined below:
| 2021 Rome E-Prix II Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:52.011 | — | 1 | G4 |
| 2nd | 71 |  Norman Nato
|
 ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:52.343 | +0.332s | 2 | G4 |
| 3rd | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:52.630 | +0.619s | 3 | G2 |
| 4th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:54.359 | +2.348s | 4 | G3 |
| 5th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
 BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:54.701 | +2.690s | 5 | G4 |
| 6th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:55.598 | +3.587s | 6 | G3 |
| Super Pole | |||||||
| 1st | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:56.006 | — | SP | G4 |
| 2nd | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:56.860 | +0.854s | SP | G4 |
| 3rd | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:58.274 | +2.268s | SP | G4 |
| 4th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:58.500 | +2.494s | SP | G3 |
| 5th | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:58.777 | +2.771s | SP | G2 |
| 6th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:59.105 | +3.099s | SP | G3 |
| 7th | 48 |  Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:59.497 | +3.491s | 7 | G2 |
| 8th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:59.512 | +3.506s | 8 | G2 |
| 9th | 6 | Nico Müller
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:59.630 | +3.624s | 9 | G3 |
| 10th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:59.701 | +3.695s | 10 | G2 |
| 11th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:59.734 | +3.733s | 11 | G1 |
| 12th | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
2:00.128 | +4.122s | 12 | G1 |
| 13th | 11 |  Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
2:00.150 | +4.144s | 13 | G3 |
| 14th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
 NIO 333 FE Team
|
2:00.205 | +4.199s | 14 | G4 |
| 15th | 13 |  António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
2:00.557 | +4.551s | 15 | G2 |
| 16th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
2:00.943 | +4.937s | 16 | G3 |
| 17th* | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
2:01.197 | +5.191s | PL* | G3 |
| 18th | 17 |  Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
2:01.229 | +5.223s | 18 | G1 |
| 19th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
2:02.038 | +6.032s | 19 | G1 |
| 20th | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
2:02.061 | +6.055s | 20 | G1 |
| 21st | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
2:04.864 | +8.858s | 21 | G1 |
| 110% Time: 2:07.606[8] | |||||||
| EXC† | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
— | 22 | G4 | |
| NC | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
— | 22 | G2 | |
| NC | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
— | 23 | G4 | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
- * Turvey was to start from the pitlane after causing a dangerous collision in FP1.[4]
- † Lotterer was disqualified from the results of qualifying for power overuse.[9]
Race[]
The rain had swept away from the Italian capital as the field gathered on the grid, for the start, although Race Control would make a late decision to start the race behind the Safety Car due to patches of the circuit remaining damp.[10] Elsewhere, there were changes to the Attack Mode rules, with drivers required to use it three times during the E-Prix, with each activation still lasting the usual four minutes, thereby increasing the amount of energy drivers would have to use and regenerate during the race.[11] Otherwise there would be no changes to the field, with Nick Cassidy to lead the field away behind the MINI Electric Pacesetter, while Oliver Turvey would start from the pitlane as expected.[10]
Report[]
After a single tour of the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR the Safety Car darted into the pitlane and the race began, albeit with a huge gap between Nyck de Vries and Robin Frijns, the fault later placed on the #4 Envision Virgin.[10] At the front, meanwhile, Cassidy would wait until entering the final corner before trying to bolt clear of the rest of the field, with Norman Nato giving chase from second.[10] It was not to be a long stint in the lead for Cassidy, however, for the #37 Virgin would suffer a software glitch on the brakes for turn three, which would send the New Zealander spinning as he entered the 90° left hander.[10]
Cassidy regathered himself and rejoined between the two Jaguars of Sam Bird and Mitch Evans down in eleventh, as Nato assumed the lead at the head of the field.[10] The New Zealander duly threw his car back past Bird into turn seven to reclaim tenth place, as ahead Alexander Sims had a half look at passing Maximilian Günther for fourth.[10] Behind it proved to be a rather clean opening lap, with no major issues of note in the lower half of the field, barring an early stop-go penalty for André Lotterer for changing parts after the pre-race deadline.[10]
A brief lull for two laps would see the order settle out front, with Nato leading from Pascal Wehrlein and Stoffel Vandoorne, while Cassidy made another aggressive lunge at turn seven, this time to take ninth from Sébastien Buemi on lap three.[10] Bird would also make his way past the #23 Nissan e.Dams, firing down the inside of Buemi for tenth at turn four, before attention focused back on the leaders as they thundered towards turn seven.[10] Indeed, as Nato entered the braking zone for the 90° left Wehrlein would throw the #99 Porsche down the inside of the #71 ROKiT Venturi-Mercedes, securing the lead with the ambitious lunge.[10]
With that Wehrlein was away, trying to build before Vandoorne tried to make his own way past Nato for second.[10] That move would come a few moments after Wehrlein's, however, with Vandoorne first trying a lunge at turn fourteen, which Nato swatted aside, before squeezing the #5 Mercedes down the inside of the sister #71 Venturi-Mercedes through turn fifteen.[10] He too would go blasting away from Nato in a bid to catch the now leading #99 Porsche, with Nato dropping back into the sights of Günther and Sims behind, while Cassidy's climb continued with a move on Nico Müller for eighth.[10]
Cassidy's charge continued on the following tour with a look at Rowland into turn seven, although the #22 Nissan repulsed the attentions of the #37 Virgin-Audi to hold the position.[10] Rowland then armed Attack Mode for the first time and slipped behind Cassidy, only to instantly try and fire back past into turn sixteen with the boost as they braked for the right-hander.[10] Unfortunately there would not be enough room for two cars, resulting in Rowland knocking Cassidy into the barriers with a puncture, resulting Cassidy having to limp back to the pits for repairs.[10]
The following tour saw an en-masse jump for AM, with Sims leading the charge ahead of Edoardo Mortara, Evans, António Félix da Costa, who had made stunning progress from the back of the field, de Vries, Tom Blomqvist and Jean-Éric Vergne.[10] On the following tour Vandoorne went for the boost and held onto second, planning to undercut Wehrlein, while Sims ended up ahead of Nato and Günther after they armed AM.[10] Nato would then find himself having to fend off Rowland, who scythed down the inside of the Frenchman into turn sixteen for fourth, while Bird tried and failed to pull off a lunge at Müller into turn four but had to take to the escape road, dropping to thirteenth.[10]
A lap later and Vandoorne was closing in on Wehrlein, with the #99 Porsche opting against taking the AM boost in-spite of Vandoorne's rapid approach.[10] That ultimately proved to be a mistake from Wehrlein, for as he armed AM on the following tour and dropped down behind Vandoorne, a Full Course Yellow was thrown that neutralised the race.[10] The cause would be a collision between Buemi and di Grassi entering turn seven, whereby the Swiss racer moved to the inside of the #11 Audi as they approached the corner, only for di Grassi to move across at the same moment.[10] The resulting contact sent di Grassi spearing into the wall and sliding down an escape road, while Buemi was left with damage but continued.[10]
The FCY intervention would burn through all of Wehrlein's AM time, and would also see him drop well off the back of Vandoorne, instead ending up right on the sights of Sims.[10] At the restart Wehrlein's race would take another negative turn, with the German youth slow to react, and hence would fall instantly behind Sims, the #29 Mahindra darting around the #99 Porsche as the race returned to full green flag conditions.[10] Vandoorne, meanwhile, would suddenly find himself with a five second lead, which proved more than enough for him to arm AM a second time without falling behind Sims and Wehrlein.[10]
Elsewhere, Nato would fall behind Günther after arming AM, before elbowing his way past the #28 BMW-Andretti at turn four on the following tour.[10] Mortara, meanwhile, would pull a similar move on Rowland to secure sixth at turn seven a few moments later, before de Vries would clip the wall at turn four after locking up, dumping him back to eleventh having just cracked the top ten.[10] da Costa was the main beneficiary as he moved up to tenth, before he sent the #13 DS Techeetah diving past Buemi to secure eighth, with Evans getting past a lap later win an identical move.[10]
Out front, meanwhile, Vandoorne's lead was only increasing over Sims, the Belgian racer activating his third and final AM boost without losing the lead, with Sims likewise able to hold his own in second.[10] Wehrlein, meanwhile, would not only fall off the tail of Sims, but would instead fall into the sights of Nato, who duly used AM to scythe past the #99 Porsche at turn seven to secure third.[10] Elsewhere, da Costa used FanBoost to claim seventh, dancing one side and then the other of Rowland, before the race was neutralised for a second time, this time behind the SC.[10]
The cause was René Rast, who would hit the wall exiting the final corner and damage his right-rear suspension, which duly broke as he swept into turn one a few seconds later.[10] The #33 Audi was then sent slamming into the outside wall of turn one, causing heavy damage to the car and leaving debris scattered across the circuit down to turn two.[10] Fortunately Rast would escape unharmed, although the clean-up would take up almost all of the time left in the race.[10]
Indeed, there would only be enough time for one lap when the race finally restarted, with Vandoorne having to immediately go on the defensive after bolting at turn nineteen.[10] Sims would stick with him, however, meaning the Belgian racer would have to use FanBoost to deny the Brit a chance at challenging into turn seven, a ploy which would secure him the victory.[10] Behind, however, there would be drama involving Vandoorne's teammate de Vries, who would get out of shape while trying to make ground on the brakes for the 90° left, resulting in him slamming into Championship leader Bird, as well as Rowland to dump all of them out of the points.[10]
With that the race appeared to be over, with Vandoorne sweeping to victory ahead of Sims, the Brit simply unable to get close enough to challenge the #5 Mercedes in the final sector.[10] Behind, however, there would be drama as Nato hit 0.0% energy exiting the final corner, almost allowing Wehrlein to dart ahead to complete the podium, although the #71 Venturi-Mercedes would make it to the line ahead of the #99 Porsche.[10] Nato was subsequently disqualified from the race for using more than the allotted 40 kWh of energy permitted, elevating Wehrlein onto the podium, as a wave of other penalties altered the final order.[10]
After the race a discrepancy in the RESS cooling fluid was found in post-race scrutineering in two of the three podium finishing cars, resulting in the results remaining provisional until a full investigation was completed.[12]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2021 Rome E-Prix II is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.
| 2021 Rome E-Prix II Race Result* | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne 
|
Mercedes
|
23 | 46:52.603 | 1:41.820 | 26 |
| 2nd | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
23 | +0.666s | 1:42.240 | 18 |
| 3rd | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
23 | +2.346s | 1:42.752 | 15 |
| 4th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
23 | +5.018s | 1:41.825 | 12 |
| 5th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
23 | +5.305s | 1:42.065 | 10 |
| 6th | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
23 | +5.671s | 1:42.035 | 8 |
| 7th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
23 | +6.133s | 1:41.838 | 6 |
| 8th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
23 | +12.032s | 1:42.003 | 4 |
| 9th | 6 | Nico Müller
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
23 | +12.872s | 1:42.839 | 2 |
| 10th† | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
23 | +14.795s | 1:42.362 | 1 |
| 11th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
23 | +15.676s | 1:42.594 | |
| 12th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
23 | +16.009s | 1:42.491 | |
| 13th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
23 | +16.352s | 1:41.369 | |
| 14th | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
23 | +17.134s | 1:42.419 | |
| 15th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
23 | +17.838s | 1:43.682 | |
| 16th‡ | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
23 | +21.140s | 1:41.975 | |
| 17th§ | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
23 | +37.697s | 1:41.713 | |
| 18thƒ | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
23 | +43.103s | 1:41.581 | |
| DSQ♠ | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
23 | Disqualified | 1:41.945 | 1G |
| Ret | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
22 | Collision | 1:41.481 | |
| Ret♣ | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
22 | Collision | 1:40.771 | |
| Ret§ | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
21 | Damage | 1:41.935 | 3 |
| Ret | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
19 | Accident | 1:40.902 | |
| Ret | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
7 | Collision | 1:43.964 | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.[13]- G Indicates a driver claimed a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the group stage of qualifying.
- * The results of the race were provisional pending an investigation into Technical Report 18/post race scrutineering due to a question regarding the RESS cooling fluid in two of the top three cars.[12]
- † Buemi received a five second time penalty for causing a collision with di Grassi.[14]
- ‡ Rowland was handed a ten second time penalty for causing a collision with Cassidy.[15]
- § Lynn and Cassidy were awarded drive through penalties converted into 30 second time penalties for failing to use their third Attack Mode boosts.[16][17]
- ƒ Frijns received a five second time penalty for falling more then ten car lengths behind the proceeding car behind the Safety Car, as well as a drive through penalty converted to a 30 second time penalty for failing to activate his third Attack Mode boost.[18][19]
- ♠ Nato was disqualified from the results of the race for using more than the allotted 40 kWh of energy.[20]
- ♣ de Vries would serve a five place grid penalty at the 2021 Valencia E-Prix I for causing a collision with Bird and Rowland.[21]
Milestones[]
- 50th race for Robin Frijns.
- Maximilian Günther started his 25th E-Prix.
- Sérgio Sette Câmara and Tom Blomqvist made their tenth E-Prix starts.
- Maiden pole position for Nick Cassidy.
- Cassidy scored his first FIA Formula E Championship points.
- Second career victory for Stoffel Vandoorne.
- Also Vandoorne's fifth podium finish.
- Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team secured their third win as an entrant.
- Third win for Mercedes as a powertrain supplier.
- Maiden points score for Norman Nato.
Standings[]
Sam Bird retained his status as the Championship leader as the field left Rome, the British ace having held onto a four point lead despite being taken out on the final tour in the second Rome race. His teammate Mitch Evans, meanwhile, had risen to second to leave the Italian capital as the Brit's closest competitor, with the New Zealander holding a five point advantage over Robin Frijns. Race winner Stoffel Vandoorne was next up ahead of his teammate Nyck de Vries, while André Lotterer and Jake Dennis had been left as the only non-scorers in the field.
In the Teams' Championship it was Jaguar Racing who had conquered Rome, the British squad having moved onto 82 points come the end of the fourth race of the campaign. They therefore held a seventeen point lead over the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team in second, with the German squad themselves some nineteen points clear of third placed DS Techeetah. Envision Virgin were next up ahead of the Porsche Formula E Team, while BMW-Andretti remained at the foot of the table.
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'CALENDAR UPDATE: 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 26/03/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/march/season-7-calendar-update, (Accessed 27/03/2021)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 'Redemption for Stoffel Vandoorne in Rome as Mercedes driver seals Round 4 victory', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/april/rome-e-prix-round-4-report, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 'Nick Cassidy seals maiden Julius Baer Pole Position for Rome E-Prix Round 4', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/april/rome-e-prix-round-4-qualifying-report, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 5', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,842, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ '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)
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Doc No.: 73', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,842, (Accessed 20/04/2021)
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 7.33 7.34 7.35 7.36 7.37 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQH - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 'Round 4 - Rome e-Prix: ABB FIA Formula E World Championship: Results Booklet' results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/timing-results#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,841, (Accessed 21/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 24', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,842, (Accessed 21/04/2021)
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 10.33 10.34 10.35 10.36 10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 10.41 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Doc No.: 89', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,842, (Accessed 21/04/2021)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 'TECHNICAL DELEGATE’S REPORT No.18', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/109_Doc%20109%20-%20Technical%20Report%2018.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Bulletin No.8', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard#page=1&zoom=auto,-30,842, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 34', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/104_Doc%20104%20-%20Decision%20No.%2034.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 29', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/94_Doc%2094%20-%20Decision%20No.%2029.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 30', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/98_Doc%2098%20-%20Decision%20No.%2030.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 33', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/103_Doc%20103%20-%20Decision%20No.%2033.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 28', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/93_Doc%2093%20-%20Decision%20No.%2028.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 32', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/101_Doc%20101%20-%20Decision%20No.%2032.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 31', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/100_Doc%20100%20-%20Decision%20No.%2031.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
- ↑ 'ROUND 3 & 4 - ROME E-PRIX 9 - 11 APRIL 2021: Decision No. 35', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/04/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/04_R04%20Rome/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/105_Doc%20105%20-%20Decision%20No.%2035.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 11/04/2021)
| 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 |