Both Jaguar TCS Racing drivers and Season 8 World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne have all been slapped with a one-place grid penalty for Saturday’s Mexico City E-Prix, with each driver committing the same offence.
The season-opening Free Practice 1 on Friday evening was an eventful affair, with running having been cut short following a heavy crash for Jake Hughes at Turn 1. The NEOM McLaren driver had set the fastest time in the session seconds before his crash, which brought the session to an end. Hughes’ car has required a new survival cell.
It had already been extended by 10 minutes after Maximilian Günther came to a halt on the start/finish straight, after he collided with the wall at the final corner and broke his rear suspension. Two red flags in the first practice session certainly marked a memorable way for Formula E to return.
However, the drama from the session continued afterwards, following the announcement that Nick Cassidy, Mitch Evans and Vandoorne had all been given a grid penalty. All three drivers failed to enter their garage as prescribed in the regulations when a red flag is flown, resulting in each receiving a one-place grid drop.
With starting position being vital at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit, it’s a less than ideal scenario for both Jaguar drivers in particular.
Elsewhere, Norman Nato received a €1,000 fine for using too much power in the session, whilst Sérgio Sette Câmara was fined €1,800 and given a penalty point for going 18 km/h over the 50 km/h pit-lane speed limit.
