Returning to Monaco after a one year hiatus, Formula E went racing once again on the iconic street circuit. The MS Amlin Andretti team steadily improved through the practice sessions but weren’t able to convert this to a strong Qualifying performance. Going out in Group 1, Antonio Felix da Costa couldn’t find enough grip during qualifying and finished P17 while his teammate Robin Frijns fared slightly better at P13. Post Qualifying penalties for Duval moved both MS Amlin drivers up one spot on the starting grid.
The first few laps of the race were both chaotic and fast, which allowed Frijns to make a push into the top 10 very early in the race. da Costa followed closely behind and after a safety car caused early pit stops by Lap 23 they were both in the top 10 with Frijns P8 and da Costa P10.
The second half of the Monaco ePrix was all about saving energy on a longer than expected stint. Frijns found himself battling Esteban Gutierrez for the eighth position, which caused him to use more energy than the team was targeting. With the margin razor-thin, Frijns ran out of power just short of the finish line and dropped out of the top 10, finishing P12. da Costa was able to meet his targets and finished P9 before a post-race penalty for a pit-lane violation knocked him back to P11.
From beautiful Monaco, the FIA Formula E Championship travels to the streets of Paris for Round 6 of competition on May 20. To keep up on all the electric street racing action between rounds, visit msamlin-andrettife.com and follow @MSAmlinAndretti on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
