Formula E

Guenther grabs New York FE win with epic third-to-first move

by Matt Beer
3 min read

BMW’s Maximilian Guenther turned his so far mostly miserable 2021 ABB Formula E World Championship season around by snatching victory in the New York opener with a sublime third-to-first move.

Going into the closing stages, poleman Nick Cassidy of Envision Virgin was under heavy pressure from DS Techeetah driver Jean-Eric Vergne, Guenther and Audi’s Lucas di Grassi, with Cassidy having used more energy than all his pursuers.

Vergne pounced with a move into the Manhatten hairpin six minutes from the end, but as he did so Guenther took advantage to surge down the inside of both.

The BMW then made a break, with Vergne exiting the corner back where he started in second and Cassidy elbowed right down to fourth behind di Grassi.

Fifth place for Cassidy’s team-mate Robin Frijns moves him equal with Edoardo Mortara at the top of the championship, with Mortara only able to reach 14th after his troubled qualifying run.

Frijns had made excellent progress from 11th on the grid, helped by taking his attack modes much later than most of his rivals.

Sebastien Buemi slipped back from an early third place to sixth ahead of Nissan e.dams team-mate Oliver Rowland, Andre Lotterer’s Porsche and the Jaguar of Sam Bird – who impressively rose from 20th on the grid to ninth after a crash-strewn build-up to the race.

Rene Rast also came through the order in the second Audi, taking the final point despite starting 22nd.

Alex Lynn Pascal Wehrlein collision New York Formula E 2021

Second-row qualifier Alex Lynn ended up 11th, having run wide at the first corner trying to pass Vergne for second and later been rammed by Pascal Wehrlein, who had to retire as a result.

Mercedes again failed to score – Nyck de Vries finishing only 13th and Stoffel Vandoorne retiring with damage.

Mitch Evans’s title hopes also received another blow as his Jaguar appeared to cut out and strand him on track.

Race Results

Pos Name Team Car Laps Laps Led Total Time Fastest Lap Pitstops Pts
1 Maximilian Günther BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.21 38 8 46m24.747s 1m11.425s 0 25
2 Jean-Eric Vergne DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE21 38 0 +2.072s 1m11.613s 0 18
3 Lucas Di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE07 38 0 +2.832s 1m11.67s 0 15
4 Nick Cassidy Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE07 38 1 +4.623s 1m11.834s 0 15
5 Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE07 38 0 +-46m0-39s 1m11.9s 0 10
6 Sébastien Buemi Nissan e.DAMS Nissan IM03 38 0 +6.37s 1m11.827s 0 9
7 Oliver Rowland Nissan e.DAMS Nissan IM03 38 0 +6.581s 1m11.673s 0 6
8 André Lotterer TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Porsche 99X Electric 38 0 +7.826s 1m11.69s 0 4
9 Sam Bird Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type 5 38 0 +8.489s 1m11.082s 0 3
10 René Rast Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE07 38 0 +11.917s 1m11.702s 0 1
11 Alex Lynn Mahinda Racing Mahindra M7Electro 38 0 +14.912s 1m11.783s 0 0
12 António Félix da Costa DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE21 38 0 +15.289s 1m11.52s 0 0
13 Nyck de Vries Mercedes-Benz EQ Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 38 0 +27.523s 1m11.724s 0 0
14 Edoardo Mortara RokIT Venturi Racing Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 38 0 +27.698s 1m11.502s 0 0
15 Norman Nato RokIT Venturi Racing Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 38 0 +28.472s 1m10.823s 0 0
16 Tom Blomqvist NIO 333 Formula E Team NIO 333 001 38 0 +28.746s 1m11.93s 0 0
17 Joel Eriksson Dragon / Penske Autosport Penske EV-5 38 0 +41.106s 1m12.318s 0 0
18 Sérgio Sette Câmara Dragon / Penske Autosport Penske EV-5 38 0 +49.849s 1m12.007s 1 0
Jake Dennis BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.21 30 2 DNF 1m11.031s 2 0
Alexander Sims Mahinda Racing Mahindra M7Electro 29 15 DNF 1m12.021s 2 0
Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes-Benz EQ Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 27 1 DNF 1m11.271s 1 0
Mitch Evans Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type 5 14 1 DNF 1m11.987s 0 0
Oliver Turvey NIO 333 Formula E Team NIO 333 001 11 DNF 1m13.455s 2 0
Pascal Wehrlein TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Porsche 99X Electric 10 10 DNF 1m11.87s 1 0
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