The No. 18 Porsche 99X Electric of Neel Jani (Switzerland) was forced to retire from the January 18 race after just a few laps. Teammate André Lotterer (Germany) crossed the finishing line at the Santiago E-Prix in 22nd-place in his No. 36 Porsche 99X Electric, but was later disqualified having exceeded the maximum permitted energy amount.
Having started the race twelfth on the grid, Jani was involved in a racing accident through no fault of his own on the first lap and had to pit for repairs. He was able to return to the 1.42-mile (2.287-km) street circuit, but the damage to his car was too severe to continue racing. Lotterer had qualified in 14th-place but was involved in an incident in the race and also had to make a pit stop for repairs. He did manage to continue gaining valuable development laps for the new team and race car.
Following the race in Chile, Lotterer is in ninth-place in the drivers’ standings; Neel Jani is currently in 23rd-position. After three races, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is ninth in the team standings. The fourth race of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship 2019/2020 will take place on February 15, 2020 in Mexico City.
Amiel Lindesay, Head of Operations Formula E.
“It was one of those difficult Formula E races with a few incidents. Unfortunately, the opening phase saw one of our cars damaged so severely that we had to make an early stop. Thanks to some great work from our mechanics, André was able to rejoin the race. It was an unlucky day for us, however moments like this are part of motorsport. Despite the result, there are some positive aspects, as the pace was there. We will go back on the attack in Mexico.”
Neel Jani, Driver, No. 18 TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric.
“We certainly had the potential to score some points. However, at the end of the first lap I was hit by another car as I turned in, which pushed me into the car next to me. That broke the front suspension on my car. Now we are looking ahead. If we continue to work hard until the next race we have a good chance of being competitive again. I remain positive despite the result. I only missed out on Super Pole by 0.15-seconds. We want to build on that in Mexico.”
André Lotterer, Driver, No. 36 TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric.
“Unfortunately, the race finished early for me and Neel after our collisions. It's a shame but it's part of racing sometimes. Starting the race from 14th-place means that it can get a bit chaotic in the middle of the field. It was important that we were able to repair the car and return to the track. That allowed us to chalk us some more kilometers, to help us take another step forward in the next race.”
