Beijing ePrix Ratings: Team Aguri

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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 Team Aguri and their two drivers, Antonio Felix da Costa and Nathanaël Berthon, in Beijing.

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Team Aguri – 7/10
Energy efficiency leads to points with season 1 powertrain

Team Aguri are of two teams using the season 1 powertrain this campaign – ironically enough, the other team to do so is Andretti, now sponsored by Aguri’s season 1 partner Amlin. While Aguri’s qualifying pace in Beijing was nothing to write home about – both drivers qualified outside the top 15 – rookie Nathanaël Berthon was able to put in a veteran-like race performance, keeping out of trouble and saving a lap’s worth of energy in his car in the first stint. This meant he could pit a lap later than most of those ahead of him and, coupled with the fortunate timing of a Full Course Yellow, jumped up eight places in the order as a result. He was able to stay in the points in the second stint, finishing in P8. Team-mate da Costa, meanwhile, made early contact with Simona de Silvestro, and then collided with Jacques Villeneuve during the pit-stop phase, ending a disappointing race early.

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Antonio Felix da Costa (qualified 16th, DNF) – 5/10
Double contact and early retirement

The only non-full time driver to win a race in the first Formula E season when he triumphed in Buenos Aires, da Costa is competing in Formula E from the start of this season. However, his race day in Beijing was not a good one. After qualifying down in 16th, a good start saw him pass Oliver Turvey on the first lap. A few laps later, though, he would make contact with Simona de Silvestro, causing the Swiss driver to end her race in the barriers. Despite this, da Costa was able to continue, and continued to move up the order with passes on Jacques Villeneuve and Robin Frijns. After pitting, he found himself behind Villeneuve again, and in his attempts to pass the Canadian made an error and collided with the 1997 F1 world champion. This broke the front right suspension on da Costa’s car and led to an early retirement.

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Nathanaël Berthon (qualified 17th, finished 8th) – 7.5/10
Maiden points for impressively mature rookie

Team Aguri tested many drivers in the off-season, with the Japanese outfit finally settling on GP2 race winner Berthon alongside Antonio Felix da Costa. The first race in Beijing justifies the decision to sign Berthon, with the Frenchman driving maturely and showing impressive energy management for a complete Formula E rookie, scoring points on his very first race. After qualifying 17th and spending most of the first stint in 16th, Berthon was able to save some energy and not push until the pit stop phase. This proved absolutely crucial when team-mate da Costa collided with Jacques Villeneuve, bringing out a Full Course Yellow – allowing Berthon to pit from P16 and rejoin in eighth as those who had already pitted lost time. And he then proved this was not a fluke in the second stint, holding position right until the end, and even taking seventh for a few laps as Nicolas Prost retired, before being re-passed on the final lap by Sam Bird.

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Images courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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