Britain's Sam Bird claims victory in opening weekend of 2017/18 Formula E season
Bird admitted afterwards that the stress of a topsy-turvy few days out on the track was as stressful as proposing to his girlfriend
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.There was success for Britain on a dramatic opening weekend of the Formula E season in Hong Kong.
Sam Bird, who admitted the stress of a topsy-turvy few days was as stressful as proposing to his girlfriend, leaves a happy man after clinching victory in the opening E-Prix and leading the Driver’s Championship.
Bird finished a successful weekend for his DS Virgin Racing team, who lead the Manufacturers Championship with 38 points, by combating a 10-place grid penalty and moving up from 13th place to sixth to follow his victory in Race 1. He gained another position to fifth after race winner Daniel Abt was disqualified for a technical breach with his car.
After what has been a month to remember – from popping the question to girlfriend Hollie Harrington after winning the 6 Hours of Bahrain endurance race to wining the first Formula E race of the season – Bird admitted he couldn’t have asked for much more.
“Proposing was really stressful as well so both very stressful situations but both with positive outcomes,” he said. “It was an amazing result.
“It was just a shame about the grid penalty because otherwise it would have been another, I don’t want to say simple podium, but we definitely would have been up there in Race 2.
“If you had told me at the start of the weekend that I would have 35 points then I would have taken it. There are some cars out there that looks very, very quick so we need to find a bit more pace but I can’t complain too much as we’re leading the teams.”
Bird’s DS Virgin Racing teammate Alex Lynn missed out on the chance to score heavily from fifth position as he fell down to 10th position in Race 2 after running out of usable energy causing him to crawl over the finish line. He finished ninth in the opening race.
NIO Formula E Team’s Oliver Turvey finished just behind Bird in seventh place to secure his first points of the season after technical issues meant he was cut away in 17th in Race 1.
It was a good weekend for the British teams as Panasonic Jaguar Racing made their return to the motor racing podium for the first time in 15 years as Mitch Evans finished third in Race 2 while DS Virgin Racing lead all manufacturers.
But the story of the day was Abt, on his 25th birthday, winning his first ever E-Prix and having it cruelly taken away due to a technical breach of the rules. The security code on the car parts tested after the race did not match those listed before the race, ensuring Abt was stripped of the title by the FIA to effectively ruin his birthday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments