IN THE HEADLINES

RAST-EST LAP RECOVERY

Audi driver Rene Rast looked set for a torrid Sunday after his podium in race one. He ran over the grass in qualifying, was slowest, but still had his time deleted for rejoining in an unsafe manner. From last he remarkably scored a point for 10th, moving to fourth in the standings, thanks to clocking another point for setting the fastest lap, the third time he’s done so in his Formula E tenure.

BOSSES IN COVID SCARE

Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo was among a number of championship high-ups forced to fly home or quarantine in a Mexico hotel room after coming into contact with a COVID-19 case during a trip out to a restaurant. This came despite even stricter ‘bubble’ measures for Puebla amid initial concerns over security in the area.

PORSCHE FALSE FIRE ALARM

The Puebla fire marshals and medics rushed to the Porsche garage in double-quick time ahead of the race on Sunday when a fire alarm had been activated. Fortunately, this time, the red button – given to each team – was knocked by accident and soon reset.

BUEMI SEEKS RADICAL REMEDY

Sebastien Buemi clocked a 60-grid place drop, converted to a 10s stop/go penalty, ahead of the opening race when he called on his Nissan e.dams crew to swap the motor, invertor and gearbox on his car in a bid to isolate the issue causing his poor form in 2021. But it came to no avail, the 2015-16 champion enduring his sixth and seventh point-less races from nine so far.

UNWANTED ADVERTISEMENT

Andre Lotterer has called for Formula E to ditch its trackside sponsorship banners in favour of painted logos to boost safety. Alexander Sims ripped a 40-metre section off when he was squeezed into the wall by the Porsche driver. The section was then traded between several cars. Sims retired and reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (below) crashed heavily as the stickers enveloped and cooked their brakes.