Putrajaya ePrix Ratings: Dragon Racing

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Over the course of the season, ERN senior editor Laurence Thorn will be rating the performances of all drivers and teams on each ePrix weekend.

This time around, he takes a look at Dragon Racing and their two drivers, Loïc Duval and Jérôme d’Ambrosio, in Putrajaya.

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Dragon Racing – 8/10
Double suspension failure ruins Dragon’s race

After a double top-five finish in Beijing, Dragon Racing were brought back down to earth in Putrajaya. After a race in which Loïc Duval led and Jérôme d’Ambrosio ran in the podium places, showing once again their strong pace as well as the efficiency of the Venturi power unit, laps 30 and 33 of the race turned out to be disastrous. Duval would first suffer a suspension failure three laps from the end of the race while running second, ruining his chances of a third career Formula E podium. On the very last lap of the race, team-mate d’Ambrosio would then suffer the same fate while also running in second place. The Belgian driver had stopped on lap 18, which was one lap later than the majority of the field. This continued the trend shown in Beijing, where both Dragon cars were among the most efficient in the field. One negative point for Dragon was Duval’s pit stop – the Frenchman was leading the race but lost four seconds, and two places, to Antonio Felix da Costa and Lucas di Grassi.

Average rating (2 races): 8.25

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Loïc Duval (qualified 3rd, classified 16th) – 8/10
Suspension failure leads to disappointing end for rapid Duval

Just like in Beijing, Duval showed strong pace in Putrajaya, running at the front throughout the race day – until a suspension failure three laps from the end of the race robbed him of a podium place. Starting third after reaching the Super Pole session, he moved up to P2 immediately when Stephane Sarrazin was unable to get going on the dummy grid. Duval then kept Sebastien Buemi honest at the front, unable to challenge the Swiss driver for the lead but also not letting him get a massive lead. After Buemi suffered a car issue on lap 15, Duval inherited the lead, and held this until he pitted two laps later. Unfortunately, four seconds were lost in the pits which translated to two places, as both Antonio Felix da Costa and Lucas di Grassi got past. While da Costa would later suffer an issue, moving Duval up a place, the Frenchman also made a brave move on countryman Nicolas Prost to run in second place – until the suspension damage three laps from the end that caused his retirement.

Average rating (2 races): 8

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Jérôme d’Ambrosio (qualified 7th, classified 14th) – 8/10
Last lap heartbreak after hard-fought race

For the second ePrix in succession, d’Ambrosio ran competitively but was slightly behind team-mate Duval in both qualifying and the race. However, he showed better battery management than Duval, stopping one lap later which allowed him to leapfrog Robin Frijns, and fought hard to reach second place with three laps to go before the final lap failure prevented him from finishing the race. After qualifying in seventh, and starting in P6 due to Sarrazin’s issue, d’Ambrosio was passed by Robin Frijns on the first lap, and would stay behind the Dutchman until the car swap phase. A slow stop for Frijns saw d’Ambrosio get past, and the Belgian then worked his way up to P3 until Duval’s issue. Unfortunately, d’Ambrosio suffered the same failure that affected the other Dragon car, meaning he was unable to cap off a strong race with a podium.

Average rating (2 races): 7.75

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Images courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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