Günther overtakes Cassidy & Vergne to win Formula E New York City E-Prix
Running in fourth for much of the opening phase of the race, Günther managed his usable energy better than his rivals, running with three percent more than leader Cassidy.
The race turned on its head on Lap 31, when Vergne attempted an optimistic lunge into the Turn 10 hairpin on race leader Cassidy.
The Virgin Racing driver turned in, forcing both drivers to take a narrow line on exit which ultimately allowed Günther through into the lead.
Vergne settled into second ahead of Lucas di Grassi, and Cassidy, who went from the lead of the race down to fourth in a matter of moments.
Günther’s impressive energy management allowed him to extend his lead to two seconds over Vergne, to claim his third win in the championship.
The two-time Formula E champion was disappointed to miss out on another win in New York, although second moves him into serious championship contention.
Formula E stalwart Lucas di Grassi continued his fine run of form, moving up from seventh to finish third.
Cassidy fended off Virgin teammate Robin Frijns to finish fourth. Frijns’ fifth-place finish moves him level with Edoardo Mortara even though the Dutchman has still yet to take a win this season.
Next up was the Nissan e.dams duo of Sebastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland.
Andre Lotterer finished eighth ahead of Sam Bird, who recovered from 20th to finish inside the points.
Bird’s heavy shunt in practice put him on the backfoot going into qualifying but the British driver put in a fine performance to pick up a couple of points.
Rene Rast rounded out the points-paying positions in the second Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler.
Alex Lynn narrowly missed out on the points in 11th and was left to rue an incident with Pascal Wehrlein into the Turn 10 hairpin where the Porsche driver locked up and spun him around.
It was a miserable day for the Mercedes pair as Stoffel Vandoorne failed to make the chequered flag, while Nyck de Vries finished 13th. Championship leader Mortara finished 14th.
Click here for the full FIA Formula E race results from the first New York City E-Prix.
