Lucas di Grassi has extended his lead in the Formula E driver’s championship, after taking his fifth podium from seven races at the Monaco ePrix.
The Audi Sport ABT driver gambled on an aggressive strategy that saw him pit ahead of the rest of the field in an effort to undercut the race leader Sebastien Buemi.
But the risky strategy left him exposed on energy consumption in the second car, which he had to stretch two laps more than Buemi and a chasing Nelson Piquet Jr.
Di Grassi said: “I was second, I felt like I could attack Sebastien but here is very difficult to overtake. I decided myself inside the car and told the team, I said ‘look guys I am going to go for a very aggressive first stint, going to try to gain track position, going to push like hell with the second car and after that I see what happens.”
The strategy meant that the Brazilian driver squeezed past Piquet exiting the pits and narrowly missed out on passing Buemi who had also just left the pits at Sainte Devote.
A close move at the Harbour Hairpin ensued, but with Buemi holding the inside line, di Grassi wasn’t able to pass.
He added: “I was very close, I knew that he would have cold brakes, he would brake early, so there was that first corner to attack but in the end it was not possible. Of course, after that it was very tight, but then the risky strategy has a downside, so I had to save energy, and then Nelson could attack. When Nelson was attacking I was just defending. In Monaco you can defend very easily just staying on the inside – there was no place to overtake really.”
With di Grassi coming home second and championship rival Piquet finishing third, the ABT driver was able to extend his lead to four in the standings.