It was a sunny, sunny win for Lucas di Grassi at the Long Beach Formula E Grand Prix today, both with the weather and with dual podium appearances for di Grassi's team, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport. While Venturi's Stéphane Sarrazin took second place by just 0.787 of a second, di Grassi's teammate Daniel Abt came in third. This was a much, much better result than the pseudo-win di Grassi came away with in Mexico City just three weeks ago. The win today puts di Grassi into second place overall, after Renault e.Dams' Sébastien Buemi, who finished in 16th place after an early crash into Robin Frijns
There were other highlights throughout the Faraday Future Long Beach ePrix. Simona De Silvestro, who started in 13th position and finished in 9th, became the first female driver to score points in a Formula E race (Formula E awards points to the top ten finishers).
For a short while, I watched from the grandstands with friends. They have two kids, and the youngest was asleep in his stroller just maybe 15 feet from the track for most of the race. Try that at a Formula 1 event. The crowd seemed to enjoy the race, cheering as the cars sped past and certainly making it known when they didn't like one passing attempt or other maneuver. Of course, when the video feed cut out at the end of the race and the announcer said he had to check the results from the Formula E website, the fans were not amused.
Before the race, Abt Tweeted that he was not happy with his qualifying time, but that didn't stop him from "giving his all," as he said he would.
After the race, I felt like I did after the Miami Formula E race I went to last year. It's an exciting experience for electric car fans, but the race itself is quite short. 41 laps and just 43 or so minutes mean that people paying the full ticket price of $35 are paying about a dollar a minute for their racing entertainment. Of course, there are a number of other electric things to do at a race, like see the new paint job on the Faraday Future FFZERO1 concept or see BMW's line-up of plug-in vehicles. The "EJay" played tunes to keep people entertained and the festival atmosphere is enjoyable. Based on discussion with my friends and other fans in attendance, people seemed to think the day was well spent. Lucas di Grassi undoubtedly agrees.
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WATCH @Sebastien_buemi @RENAULTedams send @RFrijns @AmlinAndrettiFE into a spin, and a change for the lead! #LBePrix https://t.co/hkxpgWzvLZ
— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) April 2, 2016
There were other highlights throughout the Faraday Future Long Beach ePrix. Simona De Silvestro, who started in 13th position and finished in 9th, became the first female driver to score points in a Formula E race (Formula E awards points to the top ten finishers).
For a short while, I watched from the grandstands with friends. They have two kids, and the youngest was asleep in his stroller just maybe 15 feet from the track for most of the race. Try that at a Formula 1 event. The crowd seemed to enjoy the race, cheering as the cars sped past and certainly making it known when they didn't like one passing attempt or other maneuver. Of course, when the video feed cut out at the end of the race and the announcer said he had to check the results from the Formula E website, the fans were not amused.
Before the race, Abt Tweeted that he was not happy with his qualifying time, but that didn't stop him from "giving his all," as he said he would.
Not happy with quali.. Just struggling to make sth out of the new tires. But we got an exciting race ahead I will give my all!✌️🇺🇸 #FormulaE
— Daniel Abt (@Daniel_Abt) April 2, 2016
After the race, I felt like I did after the Miami Formula E race I went to last year. It's an exciting experience for electric car fans, but the race itself is quite short. 41 laps and just 43 or so minutes mean that people paying the full ticket price of $35 are paying about a dollar a minute for their racing entertainment. Of course, there are a number of other electric things to do at a race, like see the new paint job on the Faraday Future FFZERO1 concept or see BMW's line-up of plug-in vehicles. The "EJay" played tunes to keep people entertained and the festival atmosphere is enjoyable. Based on discussion with my friends and other fans in attendance, people seemed to think the day was well spent. Lucas di Grassi undoubtedly agrees.
Related Video:
Featured Gallery Formula E Long Beach ePrix 2016
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