It was a difficult race for the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team in Miami today as the Florida track brought heartache to the team. In what had been a day of mixed emotions, Bruno Senna was forced to retire during the race from a points paying position due to broken suspension. Team mate Karun Chandhok, who had been well and truly on the pace this morning in Free Practice, was unfortunately left out of the points and in 14th.
The day started with delays due to track completion which eventually led to the first Free Practice session being cancelled. In turn the drivers had very limited on track time in which to learn the intricacies before the qualifying session got underway however Chandhok was one the pace setting the second quickest time.
For the race, Senna lined up in 15th overall while Chandhok was in 20th position and as the lights extinguished both Mahindra Racing drivers enjoyed a clean and tidy start. As the race continued Senna began to push to gain positions and before long was running in a points paying position – vying for the fastest lap of the race. However heartache would soon come his way when his suspension collapsed forcing him to retire.
Chandhok was handed a drive through penalty which effectively sent him to the back of the grid and out of the points in 14th. Reflecting on the race Chandhok said, ‘It was difficult, there isn’t really much more that I can say. We had the potential and were pretty quick this morning but the pace wasn’t there in the race and obviously the drive through was tough to take as well.’
Senna added, ‘Today was frustrating for me and for the whole team. We suffered suspension failures; one of which took us out of a points paying position. We’ve raced to the points in the past however today just wasn’t one of those days for us. We will continue to push for the next race to turn this around.’
Team Principal Dilbagh Gill said, ‘It was a very disappointing day for the team and it’s a shame to come away for the first time without any points; it’s especially frustrating when we know we have a fast car. However we will regroup and make sure to come back much stronger in Long Beach.’
