Challenging First Day in Rome for the NIO 333 Formula E Team
The NIO 333 Formula E Team endured a challenging first day at the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Rome E-Prix double-header event.
Oliver Turvey, in the #3 NIO 333 FE 001, ran in Group B of Qualifying this morning. A rare mechanical issue hampered his ability to complete his quick lap which resulted in the Briton commencing the Round 4 race in P18 this afternoon.
Dan Ticktum took to the historic Roman streets in his #33 challenger in Group A of the Qualifiers. A lock up during his hot laps, and a Yellow Flag occurrence, meant that he was unable to improve on his opening lap time and lined up in P21 on the grid for start of the race.
By the end of another exciting Formula E contest this afternoon, full of the thrills and spills that has become synonymous with the all-electric street racing series, Oliver and Dan had made some progress for the NIO 333 Formula E Team to take the chequered flag in P17 and P19 respectively .
Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #3
Qualifying Group B – Race Grid Position: P18
Round 4, Provisional Race Result: P17
“It was a tough day after the unusual driveshaft failure on my quickest lap in Qualifying. We were subsequently very unfortunate at the start of the race, getting stuck behind the cars involved in the lap one first corner pile up. After that I followed the team’s strategy to save energy, hoping for a safety car. It all worked well, as we had plenty of energy for a late race charge, but ultimately with no Safety Car deployment we couldn’t capitalise on our advantage. We learnt a lot over the day, as we tried many things, so hopefully we can take this learning forward to improve for tomorrow.”
Dan Ticktum, #33 NIO 333 FE 001
Qualifying Group A – Race Grid Position: P21
Round 4, Provisional Race Result: P19
“A relatively disappointing day. I think the pace in Qualy wasn’t that bad; I thought we could have been maybe about P8 in group, but I locked up in my second push lap. Overall, the car was a bit tricky to drive and I was struggling with front locking all morning. For the race, Oliver and I got caught up in the tangle up at the top of the hill at Turn 7, and then that was sort of my race over as I had damage and that held me back for a couple of laps until the wings fell off. Hopefully, if we can get qualifying right, tomorrow it should be a better day.”
Russell O’Hagan, NIO 333 FE COO/ Deputy Team Principal
“It was a very frustrating day where nothing quite went our way. We showed some good 220kW lap pace in the practice sessions, but we failed to deliver on that in Qualifying with a lock up for Dan and a rare mechanical issue for Oliver. That left us starting a long way from the points positions, so we elected for some strategy gambles which relied on a safety car intervention in the second half of the race. Unfortunately for us that didn’t materialize, but with another full day tomorrow it was a beneficial process to learn everything we have today. We will do better tomorrow!”
Round 5 of the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship commences tomorrow with Free Practice 3 at 08:30 CET followed by Qualifying at 10:40 and the race at 15:04.
