Once again, the Formula E team Mercedes-EQ experienced a weekend to forget in New York City. The team remained without points four times in the last five races. In the overall standings, which they led before the New York City E-Prix, they slipped to 5th place. And it is still not clear how the Gen3 era will continue. After a strong start to the season, Mercedes is in crisis.
Saturday in New York started out difficult for the team: Nyck de Vries only finished 18th on the grid in qualifying group 1. Things seemed to be going better for Stoffel Vandoorne: After the first two sectors of his 250 kW lap, he was on the super pole course, but then came into contact with the wall, which resulted in a puncture.
0.1 seconds ahead of Pascal Wehrlein in the Porsche became 1.3 seconds behind. While Wehrlein was allowed to compete in third place in the super pole, Vandoorne was only 21st and had to start the race from the penultimate row.
Things didn’t go much better in the race: De Vries was able to finish the race in 13th place, but suffered for the entire duration of the race from the fact that his car was damaged in a collision shortly after the start. Vandoorne also had “enemy contact” in the race. He suffered another puncture and was eliminated.
“I was hit from behind on the first lap. That happened to me for the third race in a row,” said de Vries after the race. “I still tried to avoid the car in front of me, but that was impossible and I touched the man in front of me. I lost my right front fender, which affected the vehicle’s balance from then on. As a result, the car was no longer so nice to drive.”
Vandoorne: “All in all a day to forget”
“I have to take full responsibility for my starting position,” explains team-mate Vandoorne. “The touch wasn’t very hard, just very light, but it was enough to damage the rim. We wanted to save a lot of energy coming from behind and then try to fight our way forward,” he explains the racing tactics.
This seemed to work at first. “We succeeded a bit, but then I got stuck in the field and had another puncture in the front left,” the Belgian continued. “That was it for me. Two punctures, both of which cost me very dearly. All in all, a day to forget.” By reducing the number of tires available, Vandoorne only had six functional tires available for race Sunday.
The starting position before qualifying on Sunday seemed much better: Both drivers competed in the second qualifying group. But it was just then that it began to rain. After the group, however, the rain stopped again, so that all other drivers found better conditions. The Mercedes drivers therefore only qualified for positions 20 and 22. In the race, Vandoorne worked his way up to position 12, although he had to drive with a badly worn tire. De Vries remained colorless and only turned 18.
De Vries: “We weren’t that competitive”
“All in all, we lacked a bit of grip, and when the field is so hard fought and everyone is so close together, an old tire is not exactly ideal,” said Vandoorne after the race on Sunday. “We lacked the pace a little and I had to struggle with the right rear tire, which was practically barely rubber on it even before the start.”
“That was a very tough weekend,” said a disappointed Nyck de Vries. “I think the underlying insight is that we weren’t as competitive this weekend. At the same time, we may have had a bit of bad luck with the first group in Saturday qualifying and the rain in the second qualifying on Sunday, which affected our group . “
“It is more than disappointing that we have to start the journey home without a single point in our luggage,” said Ian James, summarizing the atmosphere in the team after the two races. “The weekend in New York didn’t bring what we had hoped for. It was neither the weekend we needed nor what we should have delivered.”
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James: “The World Cup is still open”
“It’s frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity and a challenge for the team to fight back,” said James. “And if there is a group that I think can get back to it, it is this team. They have this fighting spirit, and the team is looking at the data right now, leaving no stone unturned to make sure we get back. However, we are determined and fully motivated to keep fighting for every possible point for the rest of the season. “
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“There are only four races left”, James already looks ahead. “These are four chances at two venues that are both very dear to our hearts: London and Berlin. And I am confident that we will take advantage of them – the World Cup is still open.”
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Meanwhile, it is still not clear how things will go with Mercedes in Formula E. Although an option as a manufacturer for the Gen3 era was signed weeks ago, an official announcement of the whereabouts in the electric racing series is still pending. “We are not in a position to make a final decision at the moment,” said Mercedes team boss Ian James in April. At that time it was really only about “details”.
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