Stewards confirmed that they rejected two protests regarding impeding ahead of the Formula E London E-Prix. First it was Nissan, who alleged Nico Müller of Andretti of impeding, the Mahindra on Mitch Evans.
Nissan protest against Müller
Right after the group stages of Formula E qualifying in London , Nissan have lodged a protest to the stewards. Allegedly, Müller impeded Norman Nato in Group A.
The Andretti driver explained that he was on a different run sequence compared to Nato and prepared a push lap with 50 seconds to go. Müller made efforts to minimise the impact on the Nissan driver by moving to the right of Turn 13 and slowing significantly. Also, his options were limited to adjust hus pace proactively due to timing constrains.
Nato himself said he would have aborted his flying lap due to traffic from other cars. Therefore, nothing dangerous occurred, even though the situation was frustrating. Stewards didn’t see anything that would justice a penalty, which means the protest has been rejected.
Mahindra protest against Evans
The next Formula E protest in London was by Mahindra, who felt that Mortara was impeded by Evans during qualifying.
Mortara said that when approaching, Turn 19 is blind due to a crest and ramp. He was surprised to find Evans in his line and felt impeded, but not dangerously. The team representative expressed that race engineers should alert drivers earlier in such situations.
Evans explained he was at the back of a train of cars, while preparing a push lap. He was informed of Mortara arriving and decided to go straight, taking himself out of the racing line at Turn 19. Visibly, his presence might have impacted the Mahindra driver, but it was not dangerous.
According to the Formula E stewards in London , the actions taken by Evans were appropriate. However, they also note that some statements in the notes were slightly too general.
