VENTURI RACING
Venturi is in its final season as a Mercedes customer team, and will tie up with Maserati for the start of the Gen3 era as the Italian manufacturer makes its return to single-seater racing after a six-decade absence. In the meantime, Venturi continues to fly high in Formula E after spending most of its history in the midfield. Edoardo Mortara was last year’s runner-up in the championship, and led this year’s standings before encountering a tricky weekend in Rome.
Lucas di Grassi, Formula E’s first employed driver and the 2016-17 champion, occupies the second seat. In the form of Macau specialist Mortara, Formula E has one of the world’s best street racers, while di Grassi has a typically aggressive approach. The Brazilian has the capacity to calculate and exploit the rules in the heat of a race, witness his use of the pitlane to try to jump the field under the safety car in last year’s London E-prix. He’s also one of the most invested drivers in the championship with his own interests in e-mobility.
After failing to finish in the past two races, Mortara has slid down to fifth in the drivers’ championship, 22 points off the top four. The Swiss-italian won the second Diriyah race as the Mercedes powertrain ran riot, but has struggled to replicate that form. Di Grassi, meanwhile, has a sole podium to his name this season but has an impressive record in Berlin.
TEAM STATS
Powertrain
Mercedes-eq Silver Arrow 02
Base Monaco
Wins 4
Poles 1
Teams’ championships 0
Drivers’ championships 0