On the road to London: Robin Frijns

Frijns was immediately quick in his Formula E debut, qualifying thirteenth for the Beijing race, the highest of the season one powertrain cars. He managed to make a few places up after the midrace pit stop. The Dutchman was promoted to tenth after Prost’s retirement but had to slow down at the final corner and lost the place to Stephane Sarrazin. Daniel Abt’s post race penalty gave Frijns the place back though and he left his first Formula E race with a single point.

Putrajaya saw Frijns become the first rookie of the season to take a podium, after finishing third. The Andretti driver started eighth on the grid and showed excellent energy management to stay out longer in his first stint. The Dutch driver pushed hard during the race but suffered from temperature problems in his second car. Then, in the closing stages of the race, Frijns hit a wall. He crabbed over the finish line but, because of the chaos others were seeing, managed to bring the car across the line in third.

Frijns started the race in Punta del Este ninth, but had problems during the race that meant he had a slow first stint. Inconsistencies in the energy levels during his second stint made it hard for the Andretti driver to recover and he eventually crossed the line in tenth.

It was a sixth place start for Frijns in the fourth race of the championship, but he soon pushed into the top five, and stayed there for most of the race, until a problem with the regen meant the Dutchman locked up and ran straight on in the closing stages of the race. He finished tenth.

It was a disappointing qualifying session for Frijns in Mexico, putting him twelfth on the grid for the race. The Dutchman drove a “smart” race and conserved his energy to push in the closing stages of the race, eventually crossing the line in sixth. Lucas di Grassi’s disqualification put him in fifth.

Frijns suffered a heartbreak in Andretti’s home race. The Dutchman qualified fifth for the race and had moved up into fourth, fighting for the podium, when Sebastien Buemi hit the back of his car. The collision resulted in a broken rear wing for Frijns and he had to pit, coming out at the back of the field. He recovered to fifteenth, his finish outside the points, but was on course for a second Formula E podium.

Another strong qualifying put Frijns sixth on the grid for the Paris ePrix, but he fell back during the race. The Andretti driver provided the best entertainment during the race, becoming involved in a fierce battle with Antonio Felix da Costa. Frijns finished the better of the pair, crossing the line in seventh.

It was a difficult qualifying session for Frijns. He started twelfth on the grid after disqualifications higher up in the field bumped him up from where he’d finished in the session, but it was still going to be a tough race. The Dutch driver was able to make up places early on in the race but a slow pit stop wiped all that away and a late safety car stopped him moving forwards. He finished sixth.