Rosenqvist: Title Hopes Over After Rome Retirement?
Felix Rosenqvist said he was able to take “a lot of positives” from his performance at the 2018 Rome E-Prix. Despite dropping a place in his Formula E title hopes thanks to a retirement during the race.
Rosenqvist was the guy to beat all weekend in Rome. The Swedish driver set the quickest time in qualifying and had a large lead over the field during the race. That was until his suspension failed in his second car which forced him to retire.
He carried too much speed into the corner, ran up onto the curb and broke his suspension. He was doing that throughout the race, and there were no warning signs that it would happen. Unfortunately, no one can predict something like that.
“Another very tough one to take for everyone. I feel bad for the boys,” said Rosenqvist post-race.
“There are still a lot of positives to take away,” he added.
Flip-Flopped Positions
The retirement dropped Rosenqvist from second in the Formula E Championship to third. Giving up the place to the 2018 Rome E-Prix winner, Sam Bird. Who had a great drive himself, but nowhere near the pace that Rosenqvist had. Since they flip-flopped positions, Rosenqvist now is 37 points behind Formula E Driver’s Championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne. Bird took over the second position and only 18 points behind Vergne.
Leaving Points on the Table
That wasn’t his only retirement this season, he also had a retirement at the 2018 Mexico E-Prix. He secured three points in both Mexico and Rome due to claiming Super-pole but left many points on the table. Rosenqvist could have eaten into the lead of Vergne in the championship and the gap could be smaller.
With the 2018 Paris E-Prix this weekend, Rosenqvist has the opportunity to rejuvenate his title ambitions. Only four more rounds remain in the Formula E season, can Rosenqvist be crowned Season 4 Formula E Driver’s Champion? Rosenqvist will need a little luck to steal the championship from Vergne but he can only control what he does. He needs some great results and hopefully, all the cards will fall into place and the Swede can be crowned Formula E Champion!
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