Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler completed an epic comeback to secure the 2017-2018 Formula E team championship over Techeetah by just two points.
Coming into the 12th and final race of the 2017-2018 Formula E season, which was the second race of the 2018 New York City ePrix, Techeetah had just a five-point (235 to 230) lead in the team championship standings over Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in second place.
Entering the first race of the New York City ePrix, Techeetah had a 33-point (219 to 186) lead in the team standings over Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler. But in that race, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler drivers Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt finished in first and second place, respectively, while Techeetah drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Andre Lotterer finished in fifth and seventh, respectively.
This result allowed Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler to score 44 points (25 from di Grassi and 19 from Abt, who scored one bonus point for recording the fastest lap among the race’s top 10 finishers), while it allowed Techeetah to score just 16 points (10 from Vergne and sixth from Lotterer).
More from Formula E
- 5 ways the McLaren Formula 1, IndyCar situations could play out
- Formula E champion responds to comical social media mix-up
- NASCAR not the only series with devastating sim consequences
- Formula E: 5 things we learned upon return in Saudi Arabia
- Change to Beyond the Flag power rankings for 2020
As a result, Techeetah’s lead in the team standings was cut from 33 points to just five points over Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler heading into the season finale.
The second 43-lap race around the 13-turn, 1.21-mile (1.947-kilometer) Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York ended with Vergne and Lotterer in first and ninth place, respectively, and di Grassi and Abt in second and third, respectively.
This result allowed Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler to score 34 points (18 from di Grassi and 16 from Abt, who scored one bonus point for recording the fastest lap among the race’s top 10 finishers once again), while it allowed Techeetah to score just 27 points (25 from Vergne and two from Lotterer).
As a result of the fact that they outscored Techeetah by seven points in the 2017-2018 season’s final race, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler were able to jump to the lead of the team standings by just two points (264 to 262) to earn their first Formula E team championship.
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s 2017-2018 Formula E team championship, which is the first Formula E team championship in the sport’s four-year history that was not won by Renault e.dams, came after an epic comeback, as the team had an extremely rocky start to the season, particularly in the first four races.
However, in the season’s last eight races, at least one Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver finished each race in the top two, and the team were able to secure four victories and two 1-2 finishes during that span, which propelled them to the unlikeliest of Formula E team championships.
Next: The greatest lie ever told about open-wheel racing
With the momentum that Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler have been able to attain over the course of the final eight races of the 2017-2018 Formula E season, are they the favorites to win the 2018-2019 Formula E team championship as well? Will one of their drivers perhaps win the driver championship like Lucas di Grassi did last season?
The 2018-2019 season is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, December 15 with the Riyadh ePrix in Saudi Arabia.