Stoffel Vandoorne claims Monaco E-Prix victory, home team ROKiT falter

MONACO: It was a winning weekend in Monte Carlo for Mercedes EQ driver Stoffel Vandoorne in the FIA Formula E World Championship’s crown jewel event, the 2022 Monaco E-Prix, on Saturday.

The Belgian beat out in-form driver Mitch Evans in the Jaguar, who came home in second, while Jean-Eric Vergne closed out the podium places.

ROKiT Venturi Racing secured points on home turf by taking sixth place.

Following a strong start to Season 8, the Monegasque team carried momentum throughout practice for the sixth race of the current campaign.

Drivers Edoardo Mortara and Lucas di Grassi launched their qualifying efforts from Group A, and while the Swiss-Italian driver missed out on the top four, Lucas successfully advanced to the duel stages.

In the fourth quarter-final, the Brazilian faced Mitch Evans and after falling short of the Jaguar driver by 0.285 seconds, secured fifth on the grid. Edo, meanwhile, lined up in 16th.

The duo started the 45 minute + one lap affair well and while Lucas maintained fifth, Mortara overtook both Sam Bird and Dan Ticktum on the opening lap to advance to 14th.

After snatching fourth with 28 minutes remaining, Lucas remained within reach of the podium positions and closely followed Vergne in the fight for third.

In a masterful recovery drive, meanwhile, Mortara strategically used Attack Mode to rise through the ranks, gaining 10 positions to run as high as sixth.

Unfortunately, contact with his team mate forced the Swiss-Italian to retire in the closing minutes of the race, leaving Lucas as ROKiT Venturi Racing’s sole challenger.

The Season 3 champion fell away from the podium fight in the final stages to take sixth place at the chequered flag.

As a result, ROKiT Venturi Racing scored eight points and currently holds fifth in the World Teams’ Championship.

“It was great to be back in Monaco this weekend. A home race is always very special but to have a home race at motorsport’s most famous circuit is incredible,” Jerome D’Ambrosio, ROKiT team principal, said. 

“From our side, it’s good to come away with some points but unfortunately, today is a day where we could have picked up more points.

“We made a good start with both drivers and Lucas was firmly in the podium fight before the Safety Car which impacted his strategy on Attack Mode.

“From Edo’s side, he did a great job to fight forward up to sixth after starting down in 16th, in the final stages, Edo and Lucas made contact with one another in the Nouvelle chicane.

“Seeing our drivers collide on track is unacceptable, it’s disrespectful to the team, to the work that everybody puts in and it should never happen. We’re disappointed and from here we need to reset so we can be in the best position for Berlin.”

Formula E’s eighth season will resume on 14 May in Berlin, Germany.