Fenestraz fires to first Formula E points

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Fenestraz fires to first Formula E points

Rookie Sacha Fenestraz secured his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship points, and Nissan's first of Season 9, with a strong run to eighth in the CORE Diriyah E-Prix Round 3.

Fenestraz Nissan first points in Diriyah Formula E

A struggle to qualify up the order ahead of Round 2 yielded just 17th come the opening race of the weekend for the Frenchman - with little sign of what was to come. Highlighting the importance of going well in qualifying, 12th spot on the grid enabled the Nissan driver to clamber through the middle of the pack and get his hands on an eventual eighth - keeping his nose clean to open his Formula E account, and that of the Japanese manufacturer in Season 9.

"I'm pleased with the result today, scoring my first points in Formula E," said the 23-year-old. "We could have done more in qualifying but we should be happy with the progress we've made and what we discovered over the weekend. We have good pace, especially in the races, but there's still a lot to learn.

"The field is bunched so closely together [often less than a second splitting the top 18 in a session over the Diriyah weekend] that if you make one small mistake in qualifying, it can be really costly. This weekend was a big improvement on Mexico and hopefully we can continue this momentum in India and score more points."

Neither Fenestraz or teammate Nato made the Duels in Diriyah, which undoubtedly gave them an uphill battle for points. The former did manage to tally, while Nato finished 12th and 14th in Rounds 2 and 3. 

Volpe: 'Work to do but potential is there'

Team Principal Tomasso Volpe was optimistic - seeing more in the weekend than the end result, and he's pleased that the team's e-4ORCE 04 chassis and powertrain is able to run right at the sharp end in the hands of customers NEOM McLaren. Work for the factory team to do, then, ahead of Hyderabad, to unlock the full potential of the car beneath its drivers.

"We've got mixed feelings from this double-header," says Volpe. "We came to Diriyah with some new processes, which worked really well, and we're making progress at every race. Qualifying was a bit frustrating - we made a few mistakes - but race pace was really good for both drivers and we were able to move forwards.

Fenestraz Nissan first points in Diriyah Formula E 2

"We're delighted for Sacha on his first points finish - it was a great race from him but we know we can achieve more. We had a good strategy and felt strong as a team - these are good signs for the rest of the season. It's a long championship, so we have to focus on small details and continue making progress.

"We're also really happy to see our customer team take their first pole and podium in Formula E - proving the pace of the Nissan e-4ORCE 04. Congratulations to them, and we'll work hard ahead of India. There's still a lot of work to do to reach our full potential but we're on the right path."