HKT Hong Kong ePrix in quotes

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HKT Hong Kong ePrix in quotes

What the drivers made of the first Formula E race in Hong Kong

HKT Hong Kong ePrix in quotes

The inaugural FIA Formula E Championship race in Hong Kong was an unpredictable and exhilarating example of city street racing at its very best.

The views of the top three drivers can be found in individual stories in the News section of the site, but this is the story of the race from the rest of the field

4th Nico Prost Renault e.dams

“It’s going to be a good fight again and it was a good race for us. Seb wins the race and I had a really strong race from the back and got points for the Constructor’s Championship which is good for us. It was a really good first weekend. I think last year we started the season very strongly but I think our advantage was a bit exaggerated last season but I’m sure we will have really good races, I think we are there.”

5th Antonio Felix da Costa Andretti

“It was a good day in general, I was quite surprised with our pace really, really good in free practice and qualifying and we did such a good job that we had to race quite a big going forwards but it worked out. It was a good strategy and the team did a good job – happy with P5 and P6 for the team with the two cars in the points.”

6th Robin Frijns Andretti

“It was an amazing job by the team to get the car prepared. When I got in it and went to brake for the first time I was just hoping that it would stop! It’s great to get good points from starting at the back and today we have shown that we are a really strong team.”

7th Jerome D’Ambrosio Faraday Future Dragon Racing

“Season three is looking good in the sense that the car’s good. I think that we still haven’t been able to maximise the set-up of the car and the understanding of the car but the package is there. To pick up some points today starting from P18 was good, we couldn’t do too much more than that but we are going to fight hard to be back in front in the next race.”

8th Oliver Turvey NEXTEV NIO

“After a really good qualifying session with me being quickest in my group and to end up on the front with both NEXTEV cars was a really pleasing start to the season with the effort NEXTEV had put in over the summer with big changes in the team and the car. It was really pleasing for everyone in the team to get that result. Obviously we were hoping for a better race but it was a really tough race. I got a good start and slightly gained on Nelson but realised it wasn’t worth it closing the door into Turn 1 so we came out of the first corner in first and second. We chose a different strategy and I was going a lap longer and had a bit more energy in the first stint and it was going reasonably well but was struggling to keep the other guys behind and had to give a place to Bird and Buemi and then the safety car came out and it meant that I had more energy which didn’t really help when a safety car comes out but it was a good strategy and a good choice. I think we did the right strategy although we lost a couple of places at the stop and in the second stint I obviously had to save a lot of energy and in our team, the pace we have when we are trying to save energy is a lot worse than in qualifying. I think we definitely need to have a look at the race and analyse it as it looked like our race pace when you’re trying to be efficient with the energy is quite different to the one lap pace. A frustrating race and a hard race, but good that we got some points.”

10th Stephane Sarrazin Venturi

“It was a good race. I started from far back as qualy was really bad and my car was good in the race but unfortunately I had a gearbox issue and had to stop at the hairpin. I lost my seventh position so I finished P10 but I did a good lap so I will see next race.”

11th Nelson Piquet NEXTEV NIO

“It was obviously a mixed day for us. The qualifying result was great for both Oliver and myself, but the race result is disappointing. The start went well and I was able to create a good gap but then I had nowhere to go to avoid Lopez – it could have happened to anyone though. We were all bunched up under the safety car and we simply made the pitstop on the wrong lap. For us, we have to concentrate on working on maximising what we can get out of the car and strategy. I think looking forward to Marrakech we will qualify well and we just have to work hard to prepare for the race as a team. The whole team has been working so hard, and we are going to keep pushing.”

12th Adam Carroll Panasonic Jaguar Racing

“I am feeling pretty pleased. We showed decent and consistent race pace and we were particularly strong on energy management. I would like to say a big thank you to the whole Panasonic Jaguar Racing team. Everybody’s worked really hard to get here and we’ve learnt fast all weekend. There is much more to come.”

13th Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing

“The race was going well with my pace. Compared to Seb’s was fine and I managed to close the gap to Seb and was slowly closing in on Nelson. What happen with Nelson happened and I was able to take the lead and felt very comfortable in the lead and then came in for the pitstop and don’t have a clue what happened. Nothing worked, wheel on, wheel off, wheel off, wheel on, no gears, no anything. Obviously the pace was very good, but we’re without 25 points which I reckon we would’ve had as we smoked past everybody like they were standing still, so disappointing.”

14th Loic Duval Faraday Future Dragon Racing

“In the first stint it was good and after the safety car I was P4 or P5 but when I got in the second car under the safety car I realised I had no brakes and at the re-start I couldn’t manage it so I had to stop the car and we tried the brakes again, went back on track but everything was lost.”

15th Felix Rosenqvist Mahindra Racing

“Obviously I’m not so happy right now but I think we have to take the positives and we were one of the front runners in the session which wasn’t really what I expected. I didn’t really struggle in the race to be honest, it felt very much the opposite and I was able to really attack in the race. I wasn’t able to overtake my teammate but I felt a lot quicker but it’s probably the experience in that situation to keep calm and accept the fact that you cannot pass.”

Ret Daniel Abt Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport

“I wish I had a tenth of the luck of Lucas! It was a big hit that broke the rear wing of the car and then I had to pit because of the black and orange flag. We tried to go for the fastest lap, but that didn’t come off, so not a great day.”

Ret Jean-Eric Vergne DS Virgin Racing

“In qualifying I got a bit unlucky with the red flag and then some little issues on the car and so I started P9. I wasn’t too worried as I have a very good car and in the race we were looking really strong on the long run pace. So the beginning of the race was normal, I had a lot more battery than anyone else around me and I knew what I was doing but I had a loss of power so I just rolled into the pits. If it had happened elsewhere on the track I would’ve had to stop – I also had no radio so didn’t know what was going on. In the end I was one lap down so I tried to push for the fastest lap but I don’t know yet whether I did or not so I just went into the pits as there was no point. It’s only the first race and I believe I can make it up and I’m actually glad it happened in this race to put it in place so these mistakes don’t ever happen”

Ret Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing

“For us, expectations are realistic in the long run and we’ve now got one race under our belt and we’ve got a lot of things to work on. As a whole I think we’ve got a lot to do for the whole championship and hopefully we will become faster and a slicker operation. This weekend’s been great for that as we’ve gathered so much information and a lot to take on for the rest of the season.”

Ret Jose Maria Lopez DS Virgin Racing

“My first race, where to start! I think qualifying was the best thing for me as I wasn’t really expecting to be there but I did a good job being in the first group. I was not expecting too much from the race as I really just wanted to finish the race and try to learn about energy saving and everything else which is different. Unfortunately, into turn one I couldn’t do anything, I was a bit constrained on the outside and couldn’t go to the inside and as I was trying to make my turn, the car inside didn’t let me turn in the amount of space I had and I touched the wall with my wheel and I damaged my suspension and I think after that I think my race was really compromised and we were only trying to do a few laps. At least I got into the pits and tried to finish the race but the suspension without any warning just gave up and suddenly at the chicane and I ended up crashing. Many positive things to take from it though, there is a long way still but I am positive and confident with what the team did and especially as we had a very competitive car."