de Silvestro takes first points in Formula E

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Simona de Silvestro made history in Long Beach by becoming the first female driver to score points in the Formula E championship.

The Swiss driver, nicknamed ‘The Iron Maiden’, qualified her Amlin Andretti car 13th on the grid and stayed out of trouble en route to ninth place, picking up two points and moving to 17th in the championship standings.

de Silvestro is the third female driver to take part in Formula E, with both Michela Cerruti and Katherine Legge starting the inaugural championship for Trulli and Aguri respectively. Cerruti took part in four races with a best finish of 12th in the 2014 Punta del Este ePrix, while Legge finished 15th in both Beijing and Putrajaya before being replaced by Salvador Duran.

For de Silvestro, the location of her first Formula E points had an extra special meaning due to her previous experience of racing in America.

“I’m pretty happy to get my first points in Formula E,” said de Silvestro. “We’ve been so close so many times and we’ve never got them. So it’s a great step forward. The weekend was good, pretty happy to have it happen in Long Beach too because most of my racing has happened here in the U.S. so it feels like home. You always want to do well in front of your home crowd.”

Roger Griffiths, the Co-Team Principal of Amlin Andretti, heaped praise onto his driver and believes the result will be helpful going into the next round.

“I’m very happy to see Simona finally get off the ground and score some points,” said Griffiths.

“A ninth place finish for her. She drove a great race. She kept it clean, met all her energy targets and had a good clean car change. Those are all the pieces you need to do well and score points. It’s good for the team that we now have both drivers scoring points. I’m sure it’s good for her motivation going into Paris too.”

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Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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