The Monaco E-Prix (MON) race was very dramatic for António Félix da Costa (POR). He was deprived of his 6th position in the ninth race of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship because of a rule violation.
In the words of Roger Griffiths, BMW i Andretti Motorsport team principal, “This was caused by contact during the race between António and Mitch Evans. He then grabbed the steering wheel and accidentally switched to the higher power mode. He was unaware that he had done so and, as a team, we don’t receive the telemetry, so it took a little while for us to realize what had happened. That meant that he drove using too much energy for a period of time and he has been punished for this rule infringement. This was an accidental infringement but the penalty was the logical decision. As a team, we’re very disappointed with this outcome but we respect the decision made by race control.”
Alexander Sims (GBR) and Félix da Costa were ranked sixth and eight when they began the Monaco E-Prix. They did very well until the end of the race when Sim had a spin due to a crash with Robin Frijns ((NED, Envision Virgin Racing). Sim finished 15th while the Felix who remained at the sixth position throughout the race was stripped out of his standing due to the rule infringement.
The next race will start in Berlin from May 25.