Robin Frijns secured his maiden Formula E victory during today’s hectic Paris E-Prix to move to the top of the drivers’ standings and see his Envision Virgin Racing team become the first to secure multiple wins this season.
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who was also celebrating King’s Day – an important National Holiday in the Netherlands – overcame changeable weather conditions in the French capital, together with multiple restarts, to take the chequered flag.
Frijns started in third place as the race got underway behind the safety car due to the adverse weather conditions. However, he soon found himself out front after a mistake by Oliver Rowland promoted him to second-spot, before a move up the inside on Sebastien Buemi at Turn 10 saw him leading the race.
The remainder of the race was far from straightforward though as Frijns had to contend with no less than four Full Course Yellow periods, plus a Safety Car, as the heavy rain and tricky conditions caught out several drivers during the incident-filled race.
The result now sees the team maintain its title push with second spot in the constructors’ championship, as well as its impressive podium streak at the Parisian circuit which has seen it secure a top three finish at all four events.
Meanwhile, British team-mate Sam Bird endured a frustrating afternoon after working his way up into a points position only then to get innocently caught up in an incident with Jerome D’Ambrosio. That led to several cars being affected and seeing D’Ambrosio handed a three-place grid penalty for the next race. Despite being at the back of the field, Bird worked his way back up the order to bring his car home in 11th place.
Frijns said: “That was one of the toughest races of my career but a great result! We were driving in very tricky, slippery conditions and being the lead car, you never know what to expect. I felt I was quicker than [Sebastien] Buemi and managed to get the move early on but after that it was really tough. It’s a great result for the team too and also to do it on King’s Day!”
Frijns said: “That was one of the toughest races of my career but a great result! We were driving in very tricky, slippery conditions and being the lead car, you never know what to expect. I felt I was quicker than [Sebastien] Buemi and managed to get the move early on but after that it was really tough. It’s a great result for the team too and also to do it on King’s Day!”
Bird said: “That was a difficult and frustrating race for me but I’m extremely happy for Robin for a well-deserved win. I got hit from behind at Turn 3 which sent me to the back of the field and out of the points. It was a hectic race and a shame there were so many incidents, but I imagine a good one to watch from the grandstands! We’ll keep working hard and push on for Monaco in two weeks’ time.”
Sylvain Filippi, Managing Director at Envision Virgin Racing, said: “As a Parisian, winning today was a great feeling! The team, as ever, have done an amazing job on both sides of the garage and my thanks goes to every one of them, together with all our partners and to our technical partner Audi Sport. We’ve had a packed programme here today with our Innovation Summit plus so many guests, including our first race with our new partner Harley-Davidson, and it’s great to bring them a result like this. My congratulations goes again to Robin for his first Formula E win.”
Envision Group’s Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board, who was on site to support the team, added: “Well done to Robin for the great result today and to the team for their great performance. The team continue to grow from strength to strength and today’s result is testament to that.”
The next Formula E round takes place in Monaco on May 11th
2018/2019 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Paris E-Prix – Classification:
1. Robin Frijns, Envision Virgin Racing, 32 laps (25pts, FL)
2. Andre Lotterer, DS Techeetah, +1.373s (18pts)
3. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, +3.175s (15pts)
4. Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 3.666s (12pts)
5. Maximilan Gunther, Geox Dragon, +5.456s (10pts)
6. Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Techeetah, +6.694s (8pts)
7. Antonio Felix da Costa, BMW i Andretti Formula E, 7.238s (6pts)
8. Gary Paffett, HWA Racelab, +7.901s (4pts)
9. Felipe Massa, Venturi Formula E, +10.522s (2pts)
10. Pascal Wehrlein, Mahindra Racing, +10.998s (1pt)
11. Sam Bird, Envision Virgin Racing, +11.488s
[Pole = Oliver Rowland]
Driver standings (after Rd 8):
1. Robin Frijns, 81pts
2. Andre Lotterer, 80pts
3. Antonio Felix da Costa, 70pts
4. Lucas di Grassi, 70pts
5. Jerome D’Ambrosio, 65pts
9. Sam Bird, 54pts
Team standings (after Rd 8):
1. DS Techeetah, 142pts
2. Envision Virgin Racing, 135pts
3. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 129pts
4. Mahindra Racing, 103pts
5. BMW i Andretti Formula E, 88pts