Lucas di Grassi’s diary from the London ePrix

FIA Formula E is heading to London for the season finale where the battle for the championship title between Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi will be decided in a double-header round there. After the last ePrix in Berlin, the gap between the two drivers is just one point. In his DHL InMotion blog, Lucas writes about the season’s final race weekend in London.

Sunday, 03/07/2016
Final decision
Season 2 is over, and we’ve got a new champion. Congratulations to Sébastien! He’s a brilliant racing driver and certainly a worthy Formula E champ. Our collision in Turn 1 wasn’t good, but that can happen when the chips are down. Sébastien braked earlier than usual, and I was a little bit too aggressive when overtaking, because I knew I had to get past Nico at the start to stay in the race. Even though I’m not the new champion, my team and I can leave London with our heads held high. We were able to fight for the championship until the very last race, and that’s what we should all be proud of, because I know I am. We obviously feel disappointed today, but tomorrow or the next day, our thoughts will turn to next season when we intend to return even stronger.

Saturday, 02/07/2016
Hard but fair racing
Wow, what a first race here in London! The pressure was so intense that I could barely catch my breath. Having started from tenth on the grid, I battled my way through to fourth place. As a result, I was able to extend my lead on Sébastien Buemi to three points. It’s fantastic that we will be fighting for the championship in the last race tomorrow. Whatever happens, I’m proud of what we have achieved this season. Tomorrow, we may be in or out of luck. I’ll feel proud anyway. Especially of my team, which is has been constantly evolving this year, has made no mistakes and has achieved so much. We will tackle the last race just like today – fully focused, hard but fair racing and no errors. If that’s enough, then we’ll be overjoyed!

Friday, 01/07/2016
Rainy, rainy London
We’ve got the dress rehearsal behind us, and tomorrow we get down to some serious business with the first of the two final races. As always, we were kept very busy at the Battersea Park circuit with interviews, the official press conference and of course our first track outing of the weekend – the shakedown. And typically for London, we were not spared the obligatory rain. But luckily, the skies cleared during the shakedown and the sun briefly broke through. The weather will play a major role this weekend. Whether it rains or not, I actually have only one simple wish, namely that the conditions should be the same for everyone. I have a good reason for saying this: last year, it started to rain just before the start of my qualifying group. Consequently, I ended up in a worse grid position than opponents who drove their qualifying stint in the dry.

Thursday, 30/06/2016
Your support is vital
In the final sprint of the title contest, I’m counting on you. Your support is more important on this final weekend than ever before, so please give me your FanBoost one last time this season. How does it work? It’s simple: You either click on Vote under my name at fanboost.fiaformulae.com or post the hashtags #FanBoost and #LucasDiGrassi on your own Twitter or Instagram page. Thanks for your support!

Wednesday, 29/06/2016
Sprint to the line in London
The last two races of the season are coming up this weekend. For my team and me, it’s championship title or bust in London. We have the opportunity to achieve something big together. We have done our homework and are fully motivated. Nevertheless, there will be some unknown factors such as the weather. It may rain during the weekend – which could have a major impact. So how do I intend to win the title? I will be focusing solely on my own performance and giving it everything I’ve got.