The second London E-Prix held on Sunday, July 25, not only gave something to talk about for Alexander Lynn’s surprise victory, who after more than 40 races achieved his first win. The Portuguese Lucas di Grassi was involved on a controversial action causing him a black flag.
At 22 minutes to the end -and after a mishap between António Félix Da Costa and André Lotterer- the safety car appeared, while di Grassi went to pits, presumably to solve some inconvenience.
However, the Portuguese driver did not stop and exited the pit lane in first position, ahead of then-leader Stoffel Vandoorne.
Read also: Surprises and controversy in London: Alex Lynn gets his first Formula E victory
“Everything we did today (Sunday) was clearly allowed by the Championship rules. We could only do it if the safety car was at a speed below the pit lane limit, otherwise I would lose positions,” explained di Grassi on Twitter after the race.
The driver said that he stood with the team when the decision was made. He also admitted that his penalty was properly applied.
After the illegal overtaking, Lucas was penalized with a drive through, a decision not recognized by Audi, who preferred not to inform about the decision to the driver before the end of the race.
“It was a smart strategy by the team, who saw an opportunity in the rules and took advantage of it. The title fight is very close and we didn’t want to leave any opportunity”
Lucas di Grassi, Audi ABT driver
Although di Grassi received the checkered flag, it was Alexander Lynn who eventually won the race.
Written by | Osward Rubio
