Mahindra cars forced to retire after crashing on second lap of Hong Kong ePrix
For a team that ruled the track with three podium finishes in all three races here, nothing really went as per plan for Mahindra Racing during the 50th Formula E race here yesterday. The wet weather ruined the Indian team's qualifying session as Pascal Wehrlein and Jerome D'Ambrosio ended up at the bottom of the grid after beginning the proceedings.
Though the rain settled down a bit before the race, the conditions remained challenging for drivers. After seeing off the first lap safely by all the cars, the second lap witnessed some drama on the track.
Felipe Nasr, in his Geox Dragon, crashed into the wall on Turn Two when he was in 19th position. The accident resulted in Mahindra Racing cars colliding with the stricken car as there was no space to avoid Nasr. It was all over for the three cars within five minutes of the race.
"I think it was obvious that there was an issue with Nasr's car as there was smoke coming out of it. So, Dragon should have brought him into the pits, made the car safe and then sent him out. In my opinion, they caused a dangerous collision and that needs to be looked at," said D'Ambrosio about his former team for whom he raced for four years.
Mahindra Racing team principal and CEO, Dilbagh Gill said: "It's unfortunate that on the occasion to celebrate 50 races for Mahindra Racing, it turned into our shortest race of our Formula E history. We struggled in the morning in practice a little bit, which set us up for a challenging qualifying. We were not getting the traction and grip due to wet weather. We are obviously very disappointed but we are still up there in both championships [driver and team]."
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