Formula E season moves on to Round 6 at Uruguay next. The race is only a week away, taking place in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Will the DS Virgin Racing team secure solid points in Uruguay? The answer to that question all depends on how reliable their new gearbox is and holds up during the race.
Will The DS Virgin Racing Team Secure Solid Points in Uruguay?
In 1⃣ week we return to sunny Punta del Este – who else is ready? 🙋🏻♂️🙋🏻♀️
Read all about it here ⬇️https://t.co/5pqXCXMFCJ#FormulaE #PuntaEsteEPrix pic.twitter.com/QsFrN4KYRi
— Envision Racing (@Envision_Racing) March 9, 2018
Grid Penalties
Both Alex Lynn and Sam Bird received 10-place grid penalties due to their second changing of the gearbox ahead of Mexico City. Lynn changed his first “free” gearbox at the Santiago E-Prix and Bird changed his at the Marrakesh E-Prix.
Thomas Chevaucher, Performance Technical Director, explained to Autosport that “We had a production deviation – the specification of the part didn’t change from last year but we changed it for mileage reasons.”
“We changed one gearbox after Hong Kong, one after Marrakesh, then we changed two gearboxes now – so all four gearboxes have been changed in the garage.”
(https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/134621/both-ds-virgin-drivers-get-grid-penalties)
A true display of force this weekend at the #MexicoCityEprix by @DSVirginRacing! Showing just how fierce they can be in the face of intense competition! 💪 #MexicoCity #FormulaE #Eprix #Mexico pic.twitter.com/SqRfpPRokI
— Kaspersky Motorsport (@kl_motorsport) March 4, 2018
Mexico City E-Prix Results
Lynn finished the Mexico City E-Prix in tenth place, securing one point towards his championship and for DS Virgin Racing in the Constructors’ Championship. Bird wasn’t as lucky, he finished seventeenth. This was due to Nico Prost of Renault E.Dams, Felix Rosenqvist, and Nick Heidfeld of Mahindra Racing all not finishing the race due to issues.
Waiting for the weekend like… #FridayFeeling #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/6YajxN8wkQ
— Envision Racing (@Envision_Racing) March 9, 2018
Championship Standings
As of now, DS Virgin Racing sits in fourth place with 70 points to their name. Only four points behind the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team. Techeetah leads the championship with 99 points and Mahindra Racing are second with 90 points. The DS Virgin Racing drivers need to accumulate some points finishing results in the final part of the season to have a shot at taking the championship.
Realistically, they have a fighting chance at placing third by the end of the season. There is an off chance of winning the title if the lead teams have some sort of problems throughout the rest of the season.
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