Further development unlocks future potential for Lola Yamaha ABT

It was a challenging weekend for Lola Yamaha ABT, though one which also showed positive pace and promising development at the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit.

A very dusty track, damp conditions and high temperatures presented challenges throughout the sessions. In qualifying both drivers showed promising pace but both qualified 10th in their respective groups to start P19 (Zane) and P20 (Lucas) on the grid, with the Barbadian’s session impacted when Oliver Rowland (Nissan) hit the wall just ahead of him.

During the race, each side of the garage deployed a different strategy to try to maximise results. Zane chose to take Attack Mode early, working his way up to P13. The rookie then showcased the racing prowess that earnt him his spot in the series to not only pass Sam Bird (McLaren) but also hold off reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein (Tag Heuer Porsche) for most of the latter’s Attack Mode. Unfortunately, the Barbadian then received a drive through penalty for overpower that effectively ended his race, leading him to finish in P18.

Lucas deployed an energy saving strategy, which he executed well, giving him the power to push the car and use his unrivalled experience in the series to give fans some exciting wheel-to-wheel action, make up places and finish in P13.

Lucas di Grassi, #11
“It’s been a difficult day here in Jakarta. We didn’t have a good qualifying, finishing 10th in our group. In the race we had a good strategy, managing to save a lot of energy in the beginning which gave us the ability to really attack at the end, ultimately finishing 13th. So, we made good progress from 20th but not quite enough for points on this occasion. However, we learnt a lot of lessons and collected a lot of data which we are going to analyse to make sure we come back stronger for Berlin.”

Zane Maloney, #22
“Overall, it was a positive day for the team, I think that we did quite a good job generally. We got a bit unlucky in qualifying when Rowland ahead of me hit the wall and there was a lot of debris which resulted in us losing time there. Starting the race from P19, we had a good strategy, decent pace and maximised everything we could. It was the first time really that we were fighting Porsche and Nissan on pure pace, which was obviously good fun. Then we got the drive through for overpower, which we need to investigate, but the race was over really for us after that. Ultimately, I’m very happy with how everything’s going with the team, with everyone working very hard and being very motivated – and it’s showing with the improvements in pace that I’m sure we’ll soon be able to convert into results on track.”

Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars
“Qualifying threw everything at us: dust, dirt, a degrading track, and damp. In the race, both drivers ran to their respective strategies, Zane attacking early and making places with Lucas hanging back and saving energy for a predicted safety car which came on lap 24. Although our dual strategies did not result in points today, both drivers showed the pace the Lola T001 is capable of and raced against others well and robustly.”

Fred Espinos, Team Director, Lola Yamaha ABT
“It was not an easy weekend but the hard work the whole team has put in has resulted in many positives and we are heading in the right direction. In the race, we had very good pace and we tried two different strategies with the different cars and executed them very well. Although we were unlucky with what happened in the race, we made the most of what we had and did everything right in a way.

"There’s now a lot of analysis to do and it’s good we have a bit of time between now and Berlin to do this and implement changes to help us continue to improve. Of course, there’s also frustration in the team as this weekend we were more or less at the back in all the sessions which did not accurately represent our potential. For example, in qualifying, Zane was always in the top 5 and without the incident on track he wouldn’t have qualified at the back, which was not reflective of his pace today. We still have four races to go and hopefully we can achieve some points which will be a good reward for the work that has been done over the past few weeks."

Following this weekend’s race, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is returning to Berlin on July 12th and 13th. Find out where to watch the action where you are here.