Mahindra driver Alex Lynn started second on the grid at the Spanish Valencia E-Prix race awaiting his moment behind winning BMW Andretti driver Jake Dennis.
The 27-year-old planned to attack Dennis for the lead right at the end of the race, but driver Norman Nato pushed him into the gravel trap out of Turn 9 on lap 18, leaving him in fifth place.
After what happened, Lynn managed to compose himself with his own “Attack Mode” and rose to the classification in last place on the podium, marking the second Valencia E-Prix as the first race in which the Briton managed to be among the first three.
“It’s a shame, to be honest. Norman has apologized. But that’s part of the game that was part of our strategy because we took the risk. It’s a shame because I think we had enough energy and the car to win. But we salvaged what we could and that was third,” Lynn said.
Lynn expressed not being discouraged about losing the opportunity to fight Dennis for the win and credited the rookie BMW driver by noting that his compatriot led from start to finish.
It may also interest you: Lucas di Grassi about Valencia EPrix: Everything is working in Formula E
On the other hand, Nato fell from second place to fifth after the penalty was taken into account. The Venturi driver apologized for the incident and said it was a direct consequence of the drivers running too close to each other while saving energy.
“This race was really about energy management, so from the beginning, especially in the corners, we were all trying to save as much energy as possible,” he said.
Nato explained that the touches that occur are not on purpose and that in his particular case he was not even trying to overtake Alex Lynn.
“That’s why I went to apologise because if I was him I would have been angry as well. But we know in Formula E this kind of thing can happen. A small mistake will cost a lot. I’m still learning.”
Written by | Gabriel Sayago
