Mahindra leaves Punta disappointed
Mahindra Racing endured a difficult Punta ePrix weekend returning empty handed and losing two positions in the constructors' table.
Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing Formula E Team
Fabian Lujan/ASN Media
While Oliver Rowland finished 13th after qualifying 16th on his Formula E debut, Bruno Senna was forced to retire after starting ninth in the race.
Both drivers rued the mistakes which cost the Indian outfit a good result after their superlative performance in the opening two races of the season.
"This weekend has been an eye-opener for me," said Rowland after the race.
"The car felt good in qualifying and without the slide in the final sector on my qualifying lap, I would have started in the top ten.
"As a driver, it is always frustrating not to release the full potential of the car but the grip just wasn’t there in the race.”
While the Formula Renault 3.5 champion had an incident free race, teammate Senna had multiple issues leading to his retirement.
After making up a position at the start, the Brazilian suffered a puncture on the right rear tyre forcing an unscheduled stop, putting him at the back of the grid. With five laps to go, brake issues meant, he had to retire from 16th place.
"The car felt good in qualifying and at the start of the race. We recovered well from a difficult morning," the Brazilian said.
"If I hadn’t made contact with the wall, I am confident we would have continued to overtake and move forward.
"Once it was clear we wouldn’t catch the pack, the team decided that we would push for the fastest lap to recover some points but the braking was not right and it was the correct decision to retire the car," he added.
Dragon Racing and Virgin Racing moved ahead of Mahindra as the Indian squad dropped to fifth in the standings.
Senna, however, was confident of a comeback. "This is motorsport and we expect to have tough days," he said.
"Now we must learn from the issues we had and continue to refine the car. We know that with a clean weekend, we will be back at the front of the grid."
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