Formula E's first race in Rome ran through the EUR district, where Sam Bird held off Lucas di Grassi by 0.970 seconds after pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist retired.
The 2018 Rome ePrix, the first Formula E race in the Italian capital, went to Virgin's Sam Bird by 0.970 seconds over Lucas di Grassi of Audi. Pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist retired on lap 22 with suspension damage, and the race ran over 33 laps in the EUR district.
The 2018 Rome ePrix came seventh in the 2017-18 Formula E season and was the first race the Italian capital had hosted in the series. It took place on a street circuit in the EUR district before a crowd of 45,000, and it was decided by less than a second.
Who won the 2018 Rome ePrix?
Sam Bird of Virgin won the 2018 Rome ePrix on 14 April 2018, starting from second on the grid. Lucas di Grassi of Audi finished second, 0.970 seconds behind, and Andre Lotterer of Techeetah took third. It was his second win this year, and his seventh in the series.
Bird was not the early leader. Felix Rosenqvist of Mahindra had taken pole and led the opening stint, but he hit a kerb on lap 22 and was out with suspension damage. Bird inherited the lead from that point and kept it to the flag.
Mitch Evans of Jaguar was the main threat in the closing laps. He had made his pit stop a lap after the leaders and had more electrical energy available, but he could not find a way past. As his energy ran down, di Grassi and Lotterer went by him in the final laps.
Afterwards Bird said he had expected the chasers to hunt him down on the last lap, and that he had tried to give himself the best possible scenario.
A street circuit in Rome, a pole sitter out on lap 22 and a winning margin of 0.970 seconds made the first Rome ePrix memorable.
Why did Rome take so long to join the Formula E calendar?
Rome had discussed a race with Formula E since 2012, but the 2013 calendar dropped it, and a new city administration did not restore it. A local assembly then voted unanimously in April 2017 to approve five years of permits for racing in the EUR district.
Plans were first discussed on 1 December 2012 by Jean Todt, the FIA president, and Alejandro Agag, the series founder and chief executive, with Gianni Alemanno, then the mayor. They agreed to aim for the 2014-15 season, but the initial calendar released on 1 October 2013 replaced Rome with Hong Kong.
The project was revived in November 2016, when Rome's councillor for sports, Daniele Frongia, said the new administration under Virginia Raggi was planning major events for 2017 and 2018. Raggi kept up correspondence with the FIA about returning the city to the calendar.
After a meeting at City Hall, Agag met Raggi and city officials in February 2017 to discuss requests and assess a possible circuit. The proposal went to the local assembly on 20 April 2017, and members approved permits for racing in the EUR district for the next five years.
On 19 June 2017 the race entered the FIA's provisional 2017-18 calendar, and three months later the World Motor Sport Council made it official. It was the seventh of twelve single-seater electric rounds that season. The last street race in Rome had been staged at the Baths of Caracalla, in 1951, and organisers had expected 30,000 people to attend.
What was the circuit like?
The Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR was a 21-turn street circuit of 2.86 km (1.78 miles), the second longest on the Formula E calendar after Marrakesh. The start was on Via Cristoforo Colombo, and the finish line sat near the Marconi Obelisk. The layout was unveiled on 19 October 2017, months before the race.
Construction began on 3 April 2018, eleven days before the race, and the track was completed on 12 April. The circuit was taken down two days after the event, so it existed only for the race itself.
The route passed major city buildings, including the Rome Convention Center and the Palazzo dei Congressi. Drivers were divided about it. Di Grassi disliked the chicane, Nick Heidfeld felt one turn would be more demanding than it looked, and Nico Prost compared turns four and five with the Montreal Street Circuit.
Several drivers also questioned the starting grid. Di Grassi wanted the grid moved behind turn two, and Heidfeld was doubtful that shifting the line would change much.
How did practice and qualifying go?
Practice ran on the Friday and Saturday. Piquet was fastest in the first Saturday session at 1 minute, 36.134 seconds, and Rosenqvist was quickest in the second at 1 minute, 35.467 seconds. Qualifying was split into four groups of five cars, with the fastest five overall going into a Super Pole shootout.
A half-hour shakedown on the Friday afternoon let teams check their cars and electronics. Piquet picked up a suspended three-place grid penalty for going over the six-lap limit in that session, which would have to be served if he repeated the offence.
Several drivers found their limits in practice. Lopez glanced the turn five barrier in the first session, and Alex Lynn crashed twice. The second crash, approaching the turn sixteen and seventeen chicane with five minutes left, ended the session early.
In qualifying, Blomqvist set the early pace in the first group, Rosenqvist topped the second, and Evans led the third. Lotterer set the quickest group-stage lap, 1 minute, 36.593 seconds, in the fourth.
Rosenqvist took pole with 1 minute, 36.311 seconds. Bird had held pole until Rosenqvist's lap and joined him on the front row. Lotterer lost time in the first sector of his Super Pole lap and finished fourth.
Who took pole and which penalties followed qualifying?
Felix Rosenqvist took his third pole of the season, and it was the sixth pole of his career, set at 1 minute, 36.311 seconds. Afterwards Andretti was fined EUR 10,000 for releasing Felix da Costa's car unsafely, and Felix da Costa lost ten grid positions for a pit lane collision.
A miscommunication sent Lopez out of his garage at the wrong moment, and he hit the sidepod of Felix da Costa's car at low speed. He was then pushed into a wall. Neither driver set a lap time, and the stewards allowed Lopez, Filippi and d'Ambrosio to start the race after penalties.
Buemi had looked set for pole, but an error with his regenerative braking entering turn 13 put him deep and left him fifth. Evans braked late at turn nine and locked his tyres, but he kept third.
How did the race unfold?
The race began in the late afternoon in front of 45,000 people, with air temperatures between 25.05 and 26.25 degrees C and the track between 24 and 26 degrees C. Fan Boost gave an extra 100 kW in the second car, and three drivers were picked for it through a vote of fans.
On the grid Rosenqvist spun his tyres to stop Bird passing, and Evans slid wide on the inside. Turvey made a strong start from seventh and moved up to fifth, passing di Grassi and Buemi around the outside. Lynn touched the back of Vergne's car at the second corner and was shown a black flag, so he had to pit for repairs.
Rosenqvist built a small advantage over Bird in the early laps, and On lap four the FanBoost vote picked Buemi, di Grassi and Filippi. Earlier, Felix da Costa had moved up the order by passing Filippi and Mortara.
On lap 16 a four-car pile-up at the turn 13 hairpin brought out yellow flags, with Heidfeld, Turvey, Filippi and Mortara involved, and all four drivers were able to continue. The mandatory car changes began on the same lap. Felix da Costa made the first stop of the race, while Rosenqvist and Bird came in together, and Rosenqvist kept the lead.
Lynn crashed in the turn ten run-off on lap 18, bringing out a full course yellow. Piquet retired soon after with a seat belt problem that could not be rectified.
On lap 22 Rosenqvist lost his rear-left suspension and drive shaft after the turn 17 kerbs. The failure was first put down to his driving, but a loose bolt was later identified as the cause. Bird took the lead, and race control called a second full course yellow to move the stricken car to safety.
Di Grassi passed Lotterer, and then used Fan Boost to overtake Buemi on the inside on lap 24, cresting a hill for third. Lotterer went by Buemi at turn five on lap 26.
Abt set the race's fastest lap on lap 30, with a time of 1 minute and 37.910 seconds, which earned him a point. He passed Buemi at turn nine soon after.
Evans tried to challenge Bird into turn nine on lap 29, but Bird held his line. With two laps left, Lopez tagged the rear of Mortara's car, damaging its rear wing and ending his own race with suspension damage.
Evans ran short of electrical energy and slowed on the final lap, so Lotterer took third at turn ten. Di Grassi's conservative approach brought him close to Bird, but not close enough, and Bird won by 0.970 seconds.
What were the main results at Rome?
| Position | Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Bird | Virgin | Started second; margin 0.970 seconds |
| 2 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi | Finished 0.970 seconds behind Bird |
| 3 | Andre Lotterer | Techeetah | Passed Evans at turn ten on the last lap |
| 4 | Daniel Abt | Audi | Fastest lap, 1 minute and 37.910 seconds, for one point |
| Retired | Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra | Pole sitter; out on lap 22 with suspension failure |
| Retired | Nelson Piquet Jr | Jaguar | Seat belt problem |
How did the result change the championship?
Vergne kept the Drivers' lead, but his advantage fell to 18 points after Bird's win, which also moved Bird into second. Rosenqvist dropped to third in the Drivers' standings after his retirement from the race. Techeetah extended its lead over Virgin in the Teams' standings.
Buemi kept fourth place in the Drivers' standings. Mahindra failed to score and fell to third in the Teams' Championship, while Audi's result moved it from sixth to fourth.
What controversies followed the race?
Stewards examined the placement of di Grassi's mechanics' hands during Audi's mid-race car change. Audi was cleared after it showed that its procedure was legal. Di Grassi then called for more technology to help stewards reach consistent decisions and reduce their workload.
Seat belt incidents were also in the spotlight. Piquet's belt unbuckled during his second car change, and a similar problem had affected Abt at Punta del Este. The fault was taking too long to fix, so the team retired the car to conserve equipment.
Heidfeld said Turvey's loss of electrical energy, possibly caused by excess frontal brake bias, had left him unable to steer during the four-car crash. Turvey called the incident regrettable and said he had been unable to avoid it. Driot, the e.Dams-Renault team principal, said Buemi had followed Bird's strategy but had been forced to attack too hard in his battle with Turvey.
Why did the pit stop rules matter at Rome?
Formula E had scrapped its minimum pit stop time earlier that season, at the Santiago ePrix. The meeting before Rome was called after a Techeetah mechanic was injured by Lotterer in Mexico City, and the FIA reminded teams that pit stop safety rests with them.
Jean Todt, the FIA president, said the minimum time had been dropped after two years of research, and that teams and drivers would be reported to the stewards if they unbuckled early or buckled late. The FIA also gave each team two cameras, one above the second car, to help stewards review incidents after the race.
