Born in 1992 in Kempten, Germany, Daniel has been linked to racing since birth. He is the son of Hans-Jürgen, co-owner of Abt Sportsline, a motorsport and automatic tuning company that has supported Audi on its Formula E journey.

At the age of 6, Daniel Abt first pushed the accelerator in karting, making his way into the Formula 3 Euro Series, starting as the youngest driver ever, with three podium finishes.

His growth was so accelerated that, at the age of 22, he premiered in Formula E’s debut campaign alongside his peer Lucas di Grassi. For the 2017/2018 season, their excellent work earned Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler the Championship title.

Daniel Abt’s run through the EV category ended in the 2019/2020 season.

Read also: Lucas di Grassi and Formula E are One and the Same

Audi’s Departure

The driver was suspended from competition by his own Audi team in May 2020. The reason? During a virtual race at the Formula E Berlin E-Prix, he hired a professional simracer to drive for him.

But Daniel didn’t know the magnitude of what he was doing at the time. The mistake was so big, that after Lorenz Hoerzing was found to be behind the wheel in the race, Audi decided to remove him from the team.

“I would like to apologize to Formula E, its fans and also to my teammates for having outside help this Saturday. I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have taken it. I regret that, because I don’t know how much work there is behind this championship’s organization”

Daniel Abt

Nevertheless, that would not be the end for Daniel Abt at Formula E, because that same season he was asked by NIO 333 to fill the space left by Ma Qinghua.

Will He Return to Tracks?

After his departure from the electric category, Abt decided to take a break from racing, and signed with Sat.1 TV channel, as he felt it would do him good not to drive for a year.

He did say that he would return “with great enthusiasm” after his break. Will he return to Formula E in 2022 or will he wait to join the new Gen 3 era?

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Daniel Abt: from Electric Single Seaters to TV broadcasting: Will he race in 2022? appeared first on Green Racing News.

With Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s departure from the Formula E grid, di Grassi is now without a team. Although the possibility of joining a team for 2022 is not ruled out, he has used the days following the Berlin E-Prix to say goodbye and thank everyone who has accompanied him on this journey on the electric road. One of them is René Rast.

1380 total points, 47 podiums and 14 victories, including the word “record” on the first two statistics, are some of the most outstanding achievements in the 7-year journey that the driver has gone through together with the team.

Individually, he chalks up a string of numbers that no other Formula E World Championship driver has achieved to date: 883 points, 35 podiums and 12 wins, which leaves him with an average total of 10.5 points per race.

Given the veteran’s incredible numbers and close relationship with Formula E, it is very likely that Lucas will continue to be involved as an advisor, according to information he provided to media sources.

“I’m not very, very worried. I will still be involved even if I quit in a few years. I would like to stay involved to bring this championship to a different level and make it even better. My future is in Formula E,” the driver stressed in June during an interview.

Read also: Mercedes joins BMW and Audi: leaves Formula E in 2022

Di Grassi and Tesla?

Recently, the pilot expressed the opinion that “it would be great” to have Tesla in Formula E, replying a query made by Green Racing News’ on Twitter.

“But first, Gen 3 era must be AWD (All Wheel Drive) and accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in less than 2 seconds, and from 0 to 200 km / h in less than 4 seconds,” he added.

The truth is that regardless the team or the role he plays, di Grassi will surely be with the competition for many years to come.

An Electric Road

Apart from dominating the tracks, the Brazilian has been one of the main promoters of zero-emission vehicle racing; but not only from the steering wheel, as his bet has reached innovative electric races, such as eSkootr and Roborace.

The first one will premiere as a series of electric scooters globally, with motorcycle riders, drivers, among others. It is expected to make its debut in late 2021.

The second, meanwhile, will be a series of autonomous vehicles championship, currently in testing phase, but it is expected to be launched very soon, becoming a research center for this kind of vehicles.

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Lucas di Grassi and Formula E are One and the Same appeared first on Green Racing News.

At 22 minutes to the end -and after a mishap between António Félix Da Costa and André Lotterer- the safety car appeared, while di Grassi went to pits, presumably to solve some inconvenience.

However, the Portuguese driver did not stop and exited the pit lane in first position, ahead of then-leader Stoffel Vandoorne.

Read also: Surprises and controversy in London: Alex Lynn gets his first Formula E victory

“Everything we did today (Sunday) was clearly allowed by the Championship rules. We could only do it if the safety car was at a speed below the pit lane limit, otherwise I would lose positions,” explained di Grassi on Twitter after the race.

The driver said that he stood with the team when the decision was made. He also admitted that his penalty was properly applied.

After the illegal overtaking, Lucas was penalized with a drive through, a decision not recognized by Audi, who preferred not to inform about the decision to the driver before the end of the race.

“It was a smart strategy by the team, who saw an opportunity in the rules and took advantage of it. The title fight is very close and we didn’t want to leave any opportunity”

Lucas di Grassi, Audi ABT driver

Although di Grassi received the checkered flag, it was Alexander Lynn who eventually won the race.

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Di Grassi on Controversial Action: “Everything We Did Was Clearly Allowed by Championship Rules” appeared first on Green Racing News.

The Mahindra Racing driver had a fairly clean race starting from third place which, along with a series of accidents, earned him maximum points at home.

Rowland and Vandoorne, who started second and first respectively, were involved in a series of contacts in the second London E-Prix and dropped to the bottom of the winners’ table.

Read also: Jaguar Breaks Silence and Signs Up for Formula E’s Gen3 Era

The race + accidents

A few minutes after the start, the first accident would come from driver Rene Rast, who collided with Swiss Sébastien Buemi’s single-seater, leaving the track and triggering the Safety Car. This happened when almost all drivers activated their first Attack Mode.

Due to the previous action, Buemi, who had a season to forget, was penalized with 10 seconds.

The second emergency car exit was for António Félix Da Costa, who suffered an impact with Lotterer and had to abandon the actions in London.

When the race restarted, Rowland would be one more victim of the accidents during the second London race.

Audi, Di Grassi and the controversy

With at least 22 minutes left to finish the battle, a situation arose causing great confusion among the spectators.

While Safety Car was on track after Da Costa’s accident, Audi Autosport ABT’s Lucas Di Grassi stepped into the pit lane. There, the Brazilian was expected to solve a problem.

However, despite having slowed down considerably, Di Grassi made a fraction of a millisecond stop and restarted driving to overtake the rest of the drivers (through the pitlane), appearing suddenly at first place when the emergency car exited, leaving the public in confusion until the final two minutes of the race.

So, the black flag came for Lucas and his team, who after appealing against a drive-through penalty for a long period of time, came to an end.

Finally, Di Grassi received a 20-second penalty dropping him to eighth place.

The final destiny

On August 14 and 15, the Formula E season will come to an end at the Berlin double-header, where few drivers have aspirations of becoming champions.

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Surprises and controversy in London: Alex Lynn gets his first Formula E victory appeared first on Green Racing News.