DISAPPOINTING TRIP TO THE PRINCIPALITY FOR PAFFETT

Despite gaining five positions in the race, Gary Paffett was unable to pick up any points at the Monaco E-Prix this past weekend as the HWA RACELAB’s driver finished the ninth round of the season in 12th place.

With cloudy skies setting the scene over the picturesque Monaco harbour, the morning went smoothly for Gary and his HWA RACELAB team as they recorded plenty of laps and got up to speed around the 1.76-kilometre circuit - with Gary finishing the two practice sessions in 20th and 16th place respectively.

With no margin for error around the tight and twisty Monaco streets, Gary made slight contact with the barrier on his flying lap and his lap time was only enough to secure 20th place after qualifying. However, several drivers were subsequently awarded grid penalties, meaning that the SAP-sponsored driver started his first-ever race in Monaco from 17th place.

With overtaking extremely difficult around the Monaco circuit, progress in the race was going to be difficult for Gary but he stayed clear of any trouble towards the back of the field and ran the majority of the race in his 17th place starting position. However, as the race drew closer to its conclusion, Gary was able to capitalise on other driver’s mistakes and slowly progressed up the order.

Eventually bringing his Venturi VFE05 across the finishing line in 14th place, Gary was promoted up the order a few hours after crossing the finishing line as post-race penalties were issues to two competitors. This meant that Gary’s race result was changed to 12th position finish but unfortunately still meant no points.

Gary Paffett reflected on a tough race in Monaco and accepted his qualifying performance was not good enough.

"A tough race from 17th on the grid. It is really difficult to overtake here, even harder than at the other Formula E circuits. It was ultimately a case of staying clear of trouble and making up a few positions in the process. I did that in the end, in 12th place. Unfortunately, it was not enough to finish in the points this time, but I only have myself to blame for that, as my qualifying was not good enough."

Ulrich Fritz, Team Principal HWA RACELAB, took the positives out of the race which saw both HWA RACELAB cars finish, and again collect more valuable data.

"Firstly, we are happy to have finished the race with both cars without any crashes. The pace is there and the reliability of the cars is improving all the time. Overtaking is really tough at this circuit. Time and time again there was contact with other drivers, which made it difficult for Stoffel and Gary. Congratulations to Felipe and Venturi on the podium at their home race. We are now looking forward to Berlin."

The next round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship takes Gary and HWA RACELAB to Germany for the BMW i Berlin E-Prix Presented by CBMM Niobium on May 25th.