Amlin Andretti’s Robin Frijns finished ninth in both races when the FIA Formula E Series ran in Brooklyn, NY on July 15 and 16. His teammate António Félix da Costa finished out of the points in both races.
The event, run on a 1.95 km, ten-turn circuit in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, marked the first time that an FIA sanctioned series had run in New York City.
Frijns started sixteenth in the Saturday race, moving up soon after the start. A late pit stop enabled him to save enough energy to move up two positions to ninth on the final lap. Félix da Costa had to pit early after making contact with another car. He finished twelfth.
The Amlin Andretti team had to change the gearbox in Frijns’ car after a practice crash. Because of the change he had to take a ten-place grid penalty and a five second pitstop penalty. He conserved battery life on the first stint, making an exceptionally late pit stop for his car change on the 28th lap of the 40-lap race. The energy advantage from the late stop enabled Frijns to pass several drivers on the final lap, moving him into ninth for the team’s first back-to-back points finishes of the season. Félix da Costa ran as high as eighth, but a penalty for contact with another car set him back to fifteenth at the finish.
Sam Bird won both races for DS Virgin Racing. The Formula E season finishes with a pair of races on the streets of Montreal on July 29-30.—Brian S. Morgan
