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On the road to London: Simona de Silvestro

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Simona de Silvestro joined Amlin Andretti at the beginning of the season. The Swiss driver went from barely being able to set a lap in the preseason test to being the first woman to score a point in a Formula E race. It’s been a challenging season for Silvestro, but not one without highlights.

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After the disruption to preseason testing due to the powertrain, de Silvestro arrived at Beijing with not quite as much experience as could be hoped for. Nevertheless, the Swiss driver managed to qualify fourteenth for her first Formula E race.

The race didn’t go quite so well. De Silvestro lasted four laps before being forced to retire after a collision with Antonio Felix da Costa sent her into the wall.

Silvestro found more problems in Putrajaya, when battery temperature problems plagued her entire day. The Swiss driver was unable to set a representative lap time in qualifying, sending her to the back of the grid.

Still struggling, de Silvestro made up a few places during the race, and was aided by the retirements of two other drivers. She finished thirteenth.

There was no luck to be had in Punta del Este either. Whilst on her qualifying lap, de Silvestro hit yellow flags and was forced to slow down, qualifying twelfth.

Trying to mix things up, the Swiss driver tried to stay out longer in her first stint, but only ended up losing ground and finished the race eleventh.

Things were quieter for de Silvestro in Buenos Aires. The Swiss driver qualified fourteenth in a trouble free session.

The race was equally quiet. After losing a lot of places in the opening laps, de Silvestro spent the majority of the race fighting Jerome d’Ambrosio at the back of the field, only making up places when others retired. She finished fourteenth.

After qualifying twelfth – starting eleventh due to da Costa’s penalty – de Silvestro enjoyed a competitive battle with her team mate Frijns in the opening stint in Mexico.

The second stint wasn’t as enjoyable, when de Silvestro found herself stuck behind other drivers. An off late in the race cost her even more places and she finished fifteenth.

If de Silvestro was going to score points anywhere, there would be nowhere better for it than Andretti’s home race. The Swiss driver qualified thirteenth and managed a clean, consistent race to finish ninth, making her the first woman to score points in Formula E

Paris was a return to the frustration. The Swiss driver qualified twelfth but lost three places due to wheel spin at the start of the race. She became stuck behind drivers using more energy and finished fifteenth, the last of the finishers.

After qualifying fourteenth, penalties further up the field saw de Silvestro start the Berlin ePrix in tenth, the highest she’s started this season so far.

The race was difficult, the lose of regen due to overheating in her first car making it difficult to improve in the opening stint. Still, she managed to recover, finishing ninth and helping Andretti to their first double points of the season.

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qualifying simona

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race simona

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de Silvestro comes to London eighteenth in the championship with only four points. London will be a difficult weekend for the Swiss driver. With the luck rarely there in qualifying and the track difficult to overtake on, it may be difficult for de Silvestro to finish inside the points but, with the positive momentum from Berlin, anything can happen.

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Image courtesy of Rajan Jangda

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