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Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) won the 5th Monaco E-Prix on Saturday, starting from 4th place on the grid and perfectly managing the incidents of an intense and thrilling race from start to finish, to beat under the flag Mitch Evans (Jaguar ), who started from pole position, and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah), which allows him to jump in the lead of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The Belgian now holds 81 points, ahead of Vergne (75), Evans (72) and Frijns (71), after 6 rounds out of 16 scheduled this Season 8. This is Vandoorne’s third victory in Formula E, after Berlin in 2020 and Rome in 2021. Above all, it is the first victory for an electric Mercedes in Monaco, in the last season for the German brand in Formula E. And it allows Mercedes to retain the lead of the constructors’ championship with 120 points, ahead of DS Techeetah (105) and Jaguar (94). The situation is therefore in the process of settling in this Season 8.
At the start, Evans started ahead of Wehrlein, Vergne, Vandoorne, Di Grassi, Lotterer, De Vries and Frijns. Da Costa, last year’s winner, was the first to switch to Attack Mode to take 9th place, behind de Vries. In the lead, the waltz of passages to Attack Mode allowed Wehrlein, who had started alongside Evans on the front row, to take control and stay in the lead for a while. Halfway through the race, the German in a Porsche led the way, ahead of Vergne, Vandoorne and Evans.
When Wehrlein slowed down and stalled at the exit of the tunnel, the Marshalls of Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM), whose expert unit was founded 50 years ago by President Michel Boeri, swiftly pushed the Porsche towards the chicane, where he parked it for good. At that time, for maximum safety, the “Full Course Yellow”, triggered immediately by the race direction, forced all his rivals to drive at a maximum speed of 50 km/h. Too bad for JEV and Di Grassi, who had just chosen to use the Attack Mode and couldn’t take advantage of it, which served Vandoorne and Evans well.
The following incident involved the other Porsche of Andre Lotterer, pushed about the safety barrier at Sainte Dévote by the out of control Nissan of Oliver Rowland, under the eyes of a delighted Robin Frijns (Envision). Enough to cause the appearance of the Safety Car when Vandoorne had just activated his Fan Boost. There were only about ten minutes left when the race started again, with Vandoorne ahead of Evans, Vergne and di Grassi, followed by Frijns, Da Costa and Mortara. The race director then added four minutes, to take into account the neutralization by the Safety Car, and Evans used his last Attack Mode to go past Vergne and swoop down on Vandoorne, who resisted until the end to the New Zealander in a Jaguar.
So this was the composition of the final podium, ahead of Frijns, Da Costa and di Grassi, 6th, who saved the honor of Venturi, at home, while teammate Edoardo Mortara, once again cursed in the Principality, had finished the race in slow motion before parking for good. As for the day’s comeback, it was achieved by Seb Buemi (Nissan), winner of the first two editions (2015, 2017) and 9th under the checkered flag, although he started on the 22nd (and last) place on the grid.
“Monaco is one of the most special races you can win as a driver”, reacted Vandoorne, delighted, getting out of his electric Mercedes. He had already won in the Principality, in 2015, during the feature GP2 race (the old name of F2). “The luck finally turned in our favour, but I had an incredible feeling in the car, it was perfect, so a big thanks to the whole team,” the Belgian winner added.
Beaten but overall happy with his day, Vergne summed up the situation well: “It was a good race for us, but we were unlucky with the Attack Mode, we clearly wasted it with the Full Course Yellow. I would have liked to fight for the win today but I will be satisfied with these good points. We have to keep working and I am looking forward to continuing this season”. It will be in Berlin, May 14 and 15, for the 7th and 8th rounds of this wonderful Season 8.
Not only was he the very first winner of a Monaco E-Prix, but he remains the one and only double winner: in 2015 and again in 2017, Sébastien Buemi was untouchable in the streets of the Principality. The first time was historic, as the first ever race for Formula E in Europe, along Port Hercule, in a shortened version of Circuit de Monaco. That day, starting from pole position, Buemi (e.dams Renault) won after a race started by a pile-up at the first corner, between six cars. Two years later, still on a shortened circuit, Buemi again started on pole and again he won, after 51 laps, ahead of Lucas di Grassi (2nd) and Nick Heidfeld (3rd).
We are now in 2022 and the Swiss driver is less often at the forefront, because his Franco-Japanese team is not as efficient as before, but he is optimistic because he is back in Monaco: “We are coming out of two difficult years, and for us here it’s is closer to Mexico, with very fast corners, for FEs, and a softer surface, very different from Rome, so it should suit us better. FE is very tight now, so you have to score points all the time, even if you don’t win. The winner is the one who makes the fewest mistakes, and not necessarily the one who is the fastest, because it is very difficult to optimize the whole package. In fact, you have to be consistent all year round”.
A former FE champion, in 2016, a double endurance world champion, a three-time Le Mans winner, Buemi is well placed to judge the new regulations that are being put in place: “It’s difficult to get everything right with the regulations, because you have to make a compromise between technology, the show and the rest. In Europe, it’s cultural, we always want to have a lot of technology in the cars, whereas in Indycar it seems that they have had the same cars for 15 years”, Buemi smiles. “Before in FE, there were big gaps between the teams, but this year it’s very close in performance, only a few tenths between several teams,” adds Buemi. This is precisely what makes him optimistic for this weekend, because the famous cliché is “never two without three” and he feels that he has a chance.
Then remains the topic of the moment, the Gen3 presented on Thursday 28 April in Monaco as a world premiere: “The new Gen3 single-seater will correspond to a +step+ of a few seconds per lap, but it may be necessary to wait for another generation of cars until it really becomes impressive”, tempers Buemi. He continues endurance, with Toyota, but he still loves FE. He was entered in all eight seasons since the founding of the discipline (4-time vice-champion, in addition to his 2016 title), he won 13 times, he scored over 800 points, so he remains one of the benchmarks of the category: “It is progressing well, there is a much better brand awareness all round, but FE should never stop improving”, Buemi warns. He is as wise as he is lucid, and aware that the competition remains severe, from other categories. It’s up to the FE to play, again this weekend in Monaco, and then with the Gen3. Game on.
Formula E’s Gen3 all-electric race car was unveiled on Thursday at the Yacht Club de Monaco, ahead of the Monaco E-Prix race weekend. And everybody invited was stunned by the sheer beauty of the new car, set to race from Season 9.
The official unveiling was a very special event on the site of one of the most glamourous motor racing events of this world. A special event for manufacturers, teams, drivers, partners and VIP guests, but fans all over the world were also able to experience the show via the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s digital channels, in order to get a first in-depth look.
“Formula E’s Gen3 race car represents a leap forward for motorsport and electric mobility,” sayd Jamie Reigle, Formula E CEO. “Designed to demonstrate that high performance, efficiency and sustainability can be packaged together without compromise, the Gen3 car is our most powerful, lightest, and fastest race car to date. We are happy that we finally took the covers off the Gen3 in Monaco, a location steeped in motor racing history, and we are eager to see this car lighting up city streets around the world next season.”
While the world saw the Gen3 race car for the first time, on Thursday, Formula E has its sights further into the future of all-electric single-seater motorsport. In Monaco, Formula E and the FIA have also planned to host a roundtable event bringing together leaders from manufacturers across the automotive sector. This summit is designed to focus on potential innovations and technology roadmaps for the Gen4 era, as Formula E affirms its position as the pinnacle of electric mobility development and racing.
The 5th edition of the Monaco E-Prix will take place on Saturday 30 of April. Tickets are still available to attend to the 6th round of the FIA ABB Formula E 2022 World Championship. A single price of €30 is applied to access to the event. Children aged between 6 and 15 years old will benefit from free tickets.
Where to buy your tickets?
Online: www.monaco-eprix.com
On site: ACM Official Ticket Office – 44, rue Grimaldi – Monaco
Other points of sale in Monaco:
In figures, 675 volunteers will work this year. Among them, 125 have been trained in fire control. 51 will be dedicated to the Technical Commission.
Finally, let us note the presence of 49 women, including 13 new ones. Our Marshals will receive in a few days their equipment that they will wear during the 3 Spring events this year.
In the context of the 5th Monaco E-Prix (30 April 2022), 13th Monaco Historic Grand Prix (13 to 15 May 2022) and 79th Monaco Grand Prix (26 to 29 May 2022), the Automobile Club de Monaco would like to inform you of the Opening of the “Resident Access” Office, located in Square Gastaud, from Monday 7 March 2022.
The office will be open to residents, companies and VTCs from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, for the issue of passes only.
Registrations must be made in advance on the dedicated website: https://riverains.acm.mc/
Contact : +377 97 77 95 70 – [email protected]
For specific “Boat Access” requests, documents will be issued directly at the SEPM (Société d’Exploitation des Ports de Monaco), located at 30, Quai l’Hirondelle, from 25 April to 29 May, from 9am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm.
Contact : +377 97 77 30 14 – [email protected]
