- Title victory in Audi's premiere year
- Lucas di Grassi takes second in season finale to finish second in the drivers' classification
- Daniel Abt sets fastest race lap on his way to a podium finish
New York, July 16, 2018 – Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler secured the title in the teams' classification with impressive comeback drives in the season finale. Four podium positons during the weekend, including a one-two finish and 78 of a maximum of 94 possible points, allowed Audi to storm home to win with a 2-point advantage.
Heart-stopping final in New York: the title decision for the teams' classification in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship was open and hard-fought all the way to the final lap, with a mere two points finally making the difference. In Sunday's race, Lucas di Grassi crossed the finish line in second place after 43 laps around the street circuit in Brooklyn, with its view of downtown Manhattan. The Brazilian grabbed the championship runner-up spot with his seventh consecutive podium result.
This was an even more impressive result given that in the first four races of the season, di Grassi didn't finish in the points once. From the sixth race onwards, he stood on the podium after every race.
"No points in four of the races and now I'm second in the drivers' classification – this is a small miracle. It still turned out to be an exceptional season for me and also our team. We never give up and winning the teams' title after such an incredible comeback is the best proof of this," the Brazilian said after the race.
In the four years of Formula E competition, di Grassi has scored 611 points and 27 podium finishes for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler – more than any other driver in the electric racing series.
Teammate, Daniel Abt, finished third on Sunday and scored 15 points as well as an extra point for setting the fastest race lap, making a valuable contribution to the sensational victory in the teams' classification in the final race. It was the fourth for the 25-year old, the most by any driver this season. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler achieved seven fastest laps in the twelve races – a record among the teams.
"We had a big goal and we achieved it. What a comeback – I'm happy and delighted for the entire team. And this includes people not at the track, but also every partner and employee in Ingolstadt, Neuburg and Kempten," said Abt, who with 120 points, two wins and two further podium results here in New York completed by far his most
successful season in four years of competing in Formula E. Abt finished fifth in the drivers' classification.
An ecstatic Team Principal Allan McNish said of the win: "Yes, we were biting our nails all the way to the last corner and the final second of the race, but now it's reality: Teams' Champions! I'll now give Lucas and Daniel a big hug. This season was up and down, and they always did their best. Also, today when a push came to a shove, they delivered the goods. A big thank you also goes to our base camp in Germany. Great job."
"When we travelled to New York, it was clear that it would be a huge challenge. That it would be such a thriller and go all the way to the last corner kept us all speechless," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. "A big thank you also to all the employees at Audi Sport, ABT and Schaeffler at home. This heart-stopping finale was really electrifying."
During the Formula E finale, technology partner Schaeffler offered a view into the future of Formula E. On Saturday evening, Schaeffler invited almost 300 guests – including the German Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Emily Haber – to one of the typical New York rooftops and showed a prototype of the spectacular new Audi e-tron FE05. Featuring jointly-developed powertrain technology from Schaeffler and Audi the FE05 will replace the FE04 in the new season, which will begin with the first race in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in mid-December.
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In 2017, the Audi Group delivered to customers about 1.878 million automobiles of the Audi brand, 3,815 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and 55,900 motorcycles of the Ducati brand. In the 2017 fiscal year, AUDI AG achieved total revenue of €60.1 billion and an operating profit of €5.1 billion. At present, approximately 90,000 people work for the company all over the world, more than 60,000 of them in Germany. Audi focuses on sustainable products and technologies for the future of mobility.