RIYADH: The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns to the Big Apple this Saturday and Sunday with the New York City E-Prix on the streets of the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Going into the weekend’s double-header of races with Rounds 11 and 12 of the biggest-ever, 16-race season, it looks to be a four-horse race in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championship.
Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing), Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ), and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) are ahead of the drivers’ pack while their respective teams hold the exact same position in the standings.
Mortara fired himself to the top of the Drivers’ World Championship last time out in Marrakesh, with a third win of the season after holding off intense pressure from DS TECHEETAH’s Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa.
Vergne sits a close second in the running and New York City is somewhere Formula E’s only double champion goes especially well having sealed both his titles there in seasons four and five, complete with podium-topping finish in 2018.
With Evans coming home third in Marrakesh and matching Mortara’s three wins this season, more silverware ensures the Jaguar driver is in the mix for what could be a first World Championship for both Jaguar and Evans.
Marrakesh was tough for Vandoorne, who slipped to 20th on the grid following a disappointing qualifying before he delivered a spectacular damage-limitation performance. Eleven pure overtakes was as much as could be expected in a field often spread by lap times of no more than a second, and the Belgian kept himself in the hunt with valuable points for finishing eighth.
It will be the fifth time the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has raced in New York City, a favorite of the drivers, teams, and fans alike. The 2.32-kilometer, 14-turn racetrack has remained unchanged from its familiar layout, set against the iconic cityscape backdrop of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The circuit winds its way around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in the heart of Red Hook.
UK driver Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) is the most successful racer around the Brooklyn Street Circuit with three wins to his name – including a spectacular win-double on Formula E’s first visit to the city.