Former McLaren Driver Endures Terrible FE Debut

It was a year to forget on the track for former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne when he was soundly beaten by Fernando Alonso in Formula 1. It seemed like his fortune was finally turning around when he started his maiden Formula E race in 4th. Sadly, Lady Luck abandoned him once again after he finished third-last on his Formula E debut with the Mercedes-affiliated team, HWA.

Vandoorne opted for a move to the all-electric series after he was dropped by McLaren on the back of a disappointing 2018 Formula 1 season. The Belgian had been out-qualified by veteran teammate Fernando Alonso in all 21 races.

Things appeared to be going better for the Belgian when he qualified fifth and was promoted another spot on the grid after penalties were applied.

However, he soon found himself going backwards and only Alex Sims and Edoardo Mortara – who crashed on the opening lap – finished behind him.

Another former F1 face on debut was Felipe Massa – the Brazilian finishing 14th with Venturi.

The race was won by Antonio Felix Da Costa, handing victory to BMW on the manufacturer’s FE debut. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne finished second after a thrilling race-long battle with the Portuguese driver, with Jerome D’Ambrosio rounding off the podium.

With new cars and new rules for drivers to handle, the attack mode zone offered the race a huge layer of intrigue, with cars given a four-minute power boost as a reward for running off-line.

The race was certainly exciting with drama right from the start of the race. After the warm-up, pole-sitter, Antonio Felix Da Costa missed his grid slot and was askew. Fortunately, he managed to keep the lead when the race began.

There were also plenty of penalties handed out due to technical infringements. One victim was DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, but he managed to fight his way up to 2nd.

Da Costa’s teammate, Jose Maria Lopez managed to miss the Attack Mode activation spot twice, and Mahindra’s Jerome D’Ambrosio was not going to deny himself a free podium.