Breaking news

Formula E Rome E-Prix I

Di Grassi: "No reason" for Audi to fail in Rome

Lucas di Grassi says there was “no reason” for his car to fail while leading the Rome E-Prix, which cost Audi its first Formula E win in almost two years.

Matt Kew

Edited: Apr 12, 2021, 8:50 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Lucas Di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler

Audi developed an in-house powertrain for the first time for the 2021 season, its last in the championship, as it seeks a first victory since di Grassi triumphed in the Berlin E-Prix in May 2019.

Di Grassi inherited the lead of the Rome race early on after a collision for polesitter Stoffel Vandoorne and Andre Lotterer was complemented by a drive-through penalty for Oliver Rowland, when the Nissan e.dams driver was adjudged to have exceeded energy limits.

The Brazilian lost out to chaser and eventual winner Jean-Eric Vergne through the two uses of attack mode but repassed the DS Techeetah driver with a well-executed lunge into Turn 4.

However, his race was then ended by an as-yet-unconfirmed driveshaft failure on the run to Turn 6, which forced Vandoorne to go off-line to pass him over a manhole cover that launched him into a spin and meant the race was ended under safety car conditions.

Read Also:

Di Grassi told Motorsport.com he had driven a completely clean race and there was no apparent cause for the car to die.

The 2016-17 champion said: “It was a mechanical failure [at] the rear end, we are not sure why. It needs to be opened up to exactly pinpoint it. But it was not software, not electricity, not battery.

“It was some mechanical components that failed. Then I didn't have any drive. I could hear the motor spinning, but I had no drive.

Lucas Di Grassi leads Jean-Eric Vergne in Rome E-Prix

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

“I was looking at the dash see if there was any alarm or anything going on, but it was dead. Without any touch, without any contact with the wall. The car had zero marks, it was a very good race. There was no reason for that to happen.”

Di Grassi reckoned he had lost out to Vergne through the attack mode phase because he had been the point of reference for drivers on a slippery track, which followed a brief shower after qualifying.

He continued: “In the conditions like we had, it was an extremely difficult race because it's half wet, half dry. If you're the leader car as I was, you are the reference. People behind you are kind of easy to stay with you because you need to understand if that corner is wet or not.

“Vergne used his experience and good strategy to pass me with attack mode, but we had more pace today. We were able to pass back both times. The race was ours for the taking. The track was drying up and my pace was getting better.”

Vergne said he had let di Grassi pass because he was attempting to save energy and thought he could re-overtake.

“I did not block Lucas, when he wanted to overtake me,” he said. “I was already saving a lot of energy. I knew he had a bit less.

“When I saw him trying to attack me, I just let it be. I knew there was like six, seven laps to go on this point... I could get him again at the end.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Vandoorne's Rome E-Prix crash cause revealed

Next article Porsche's Lotterer defends Rome collision with Vandoorne

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Jack Miller explains pitlane outburst: "We look like w***ers"

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

Jack Miller explains pitlane outburst: "We look like w***ers"

Isack Hadjar summoned to Mexico GP stewards for "misconduct" in F1 paddock

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

13 min

Isack Hadjar summoned to Mexico GP stewards for "misconduct" in F1 paddock

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Pedro Acosta beats Marc Marquez in tense sprint

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

2 h

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Pedro Acosta beats Marc Marquez in tense sprint

Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

4 h

Ducati copies swingarm fins and Aprilia responds with upgraded version

Feature

Discover prime content

Why ‘Mr Formula E’ has called time on his racing career

Formula E

By James Newbold

Why ‘Mr Formula E’ has called time on his racing career

The team orders debacle that made for a controversial Formula E title decider

Formula E

London ePrix II

The team orders debacle that made for a controversial Formula E title decider

The 'incredible stories' that could be told in Formula E's London title decider

Formula E

London ePrix I

The 'incredible stories' that could be told in Formula E's London title decider

Cars, stars, and the shootout winners from the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed

General

By Maciej Hamera

Cars, stars, and the shootout winners from the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts