Nico Müller left Race 2 of the Monaco E-Prix frustrated after a race that promised more than the final result showed. After charging from 11th on the grid into the race lead, Nico Müller saw his hope of a possible podium finish. However, contact during the second part of the Race destroyed the hope, leading to Müller finishing in 6th place. The Porsche driver leaves the historic streets of Monaco with a total of eight points, leaving him in 5th in the Driver’s Championship Standing.
Strong execution puts Müller into contention
Despite missing out on a strong result, the race initially looked highly promising for the Porsche driver who made rapid progress through the field during the opening stages. Pit Debrief spoke to Müller after the Monaco E-Prix Race 2 where he highlighted the pace of the car and the strong position he had managed to put himself in the first part of the race.
“It went to plan. Even better than the plan,” he said. “I ended up in the lead with a lot of attack mode left which we didn’t expect. Maybe that wasn’t quite optimal, but it was better than expected. We were in a good position, had a car that was raceable. So far, everything went to plan until it didn’t. “
Contact destroyed podium hopes
Müller’s turning point of the race came during a battle, where Jean-Éric Vergne made contact with the Porsche driver. The Swiss driver explained the incident from his perspective:
“That was one of the usual traffic jams. I committed to the outside. I was basically already nose ahead of JEV [Jean-Éric Vergne]. He decided that he was not going for the normal line anymore and opened the steering and sent me on two wheels. I had to stop to not hit the wall straight on. I lost nine places in the proceeding. That’s what destroyed our podium chances.“
When asked how frustrating the situation felt after such a strong opening phase, Müller gave a short but clear answer:
“Very frustrating”
Looking ahead to Sanya after Monaco disappointment
Following the Monaco double-header, Formula E how heads into a five-week break before returning to racing in Sanya, China. A circuit that has not been on the calendar since Season 5 in March 2019. While long breaks are not usually ideal in the middle of a championship battle, Müller believes that the time could help the team.
“We normally don’t like really long breaks, but this time I think we can make use of the time to learn from our mistakes and analyze what has gone wrong. Now we’re ending the weekend to make sure we come back stronger. Sanya is a track I don’t know, so looking forward to discover that one. Pretty confident we’ll make use of the time and come back stronger. “
