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Mercedes teammates Vandoorne and De Vries crash out of ePrix Rome together

10 April 2021 at 16:18
Last update 10 April 2021 at 16:52
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  • GPblog.com

The first race of the ePrix in Rome was won by Jean-Eric Vergne after a tumultuous day. The Frenchman's car was completely smashed up in the first free practice session on Saturday morning, but during the race, he was able to take advantage of the debris from others.

It all started at the start of the race. The race started behind the safety car due to some sprinkling and that the track was slippery at the start was proven by Andre Lotterer, who slipped through and pushed the Belgian off the track when overtaking 'pole man' Stoffel Vandoorne.

Di Grassi puts Mercedes duo in trouble

Lucas di Grassi then led the race for a long time, but with a few minutes left on the clock, his car suddenly stopped in the long turn at start/finish. Vandoorne, who was recovering from the first lap collision, had to swerve and lost control of his car. Teammate Nyck de Vries was unable to avoid him and crashed into the side of Vandoorne.

Both Mercedes drivers were forced out of the race. A shame, because they were both on course to score some points. One of the drivers who managed to take advantage was Robin Frijns, who finished fourth behind Vergne and the Jaguar-duo Sam Bird and Mitch Evans.