In the shadow of Moscow’s spectacular Red Square Mahindra Racing Formula E Team’s Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna once again got to grips with a new street circuit as the FIA Formula E Championship moved to Russia. Racing right in the heart of the city the street circuit threw up multiple challenges for the entire field as they maneuvered their way through the tight corners around the tricky and bumpy track.

Getting in to the car this morning for the first free practice session it was clear that both drivers were enjoying the challenges this weekend and were finding the track fun to drive. Coming off the back of a strong opening session Senna was in third overall with Karun in 11th as they looked to highlight their intentions for the day.

The second practice session gave the drivers the opportunity to work on their race pace with their engineers – using the time wisely they concentrated on this instead of setting a flying lap time – however Chandhok was still looking good in seventh overall. Just an hour later and both Chandhok and Senna were back in their Mahindra Racing machines as they lined up for the all-important qualifying; running in the final group of the session Senna set a time which would see him start the Moscow ePrix 15th on the grid with Chandhok just alongside him in 16th.

 As the lights went out later in the afternoon the entire grid survived the first corner and ultimately the first lap with no incidents allowing them to make their way through the impressive Moscow streets with ease. Both Mahindra Racing drivers held their positions over the next few laps with Senna beginning to put the pressure on Antonio Garcia ahead of him.

However, nearing the mid-point of the race Senna, who was looking to gain places in the race, spun as he exited turn one; a move which sent his rear in to the barriers forcing him to make his way back to the pit lane with his rear wing missing. Despite this he lost little time on track getting back to the garage and was able to move in to his second car not too far ahead of his anticipated stop. Chandhok on the other hand came in slightly later than his team mate and was able to re-exit in 16thposition after his stop.

Just a few laps later Chandhok’s pace and energy-saving became apparent as he was able to continue with his strong lap times and was soon enough in to 13th position with Loic Duval ahead who he had set in his sights.

However fortunes would take a further dip for Senna in the final few laps when he was handed a drive through penalty for over speeding in the pit lane; coming in the pit lane on the next lap the Brazilian had just a few laps remaining in which to push to the flag. He was able to recover from his tricky race to take 16th position overall. Meanwhile Chandhok was continuing to run well to his targets and took the flag in 13th place.

Speaking of the result Chandhok said, ‘The day started quite well for us and in Free Practice 2 especially I was really happy with how the car felt – it was nice to drive. However in qualifying as the track had more rubber down we seemed to struggle and others found more pace than we did. The track was tricky and we bottomed out so we didn’t have the pace in qualifying and it’s qualifying where everything matters. The race pace was good but from there, there’s very little you can achieve. We have another couple of races in London to look forward to where we aim to improve.’

Senna added, ‘We started at the back and we were good for pace but there’s a lot of others around you in that area. We decided to go for a long first stint and a shorter second one which was working really well for us but unfortunately with a few laps to go in the stint I hit the wall. These things happen and I had to pit ahead of schedule. This compromised my second stint and the race was gone from there really. We made some positive steps this weekend and look to continue this for the final two races.’

Team Principal Dilbagh Gill said, ‘It was a shame to come away from the race without any points considering that this morning we felt confident and were pleased with our pace. We were off the pace in qualifying and with street circuits we all know how important your qualifying positions are. We gained a few positions and Chandhok was strong in his 13th place finish but it wasn’t the weekend we had hoped for here in Moscow.’