The adrenaline of Formula E has led even teammates to collide with each other in crucial races. In that sense, the electric series presents the most resounding cases in the seasons.
With Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird taking himself and Mitch Evans out of the inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix, there are countless awkward moments between drivers from the same team.
In 2019, Antonio Felix da Costa won the first round of Season 5, and everything looked great for him at BMW i Andretti Motorsport. The famed German manufacturer had joined Formula E and partnered with Andretti Autosport for the season, but things fell apart when da Costa and teammate Alexander Sims made contact while battling for the lead in the second race of the season.
In the closing stages of the race, Sims made a move around the outside for the top spot. Both drivers got together and locked up, sending da Costa straight into the barriers and out of the race.
Sims could continue and would finish fourth, but there’s no denying the mistake cost the team a guaranteed one-two result.
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A Speed Bump against Mercedes
Things could have been easier for Mercedes-EQ on their way to their first teams’ title in Formula E. During race one of the double header in Rome in Season 7, Stoffel Vandoorne put his Silver Arrow 01 into Julius Baer Pole Position.
However, contact from Andre Lotterer’s TAG Heuer Porsche sent him spiraling down the order to 13th during the race, but Vandoorne recovered well to battle for fifth place at the flag.
However, his race soon took a turn as the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport of Lucas di Grassi began to slow on track due to a mechanical failure.
Despite his quick reaction time to avoid di Grassi, Vandoorne hit a registration cover and spun into the wall. Unfortunately for him, his teammate Nyck de Vries was right behind and went into the side of him, taking them both out of the race.
Another high-profile case occurred in Paris in a thrilling race when the DS Virgin duo of Jean-Eric Vergne and Sam Bird made contact in Turn 2 on the first lap.
Bird, who had started on pole, didn’t get the best start, and when Vergne tried to pass Bird, they had a slight touch that resulted in a small amount of damage to Bird’s car.
It didn’t stop there, as later in the race, Bird tried to regain position. However, Vergne would not let a podium finish in his home race slip from his grasp, and the two made contact again! In Turns 3 and 4 in the first stint of the race, they collided, damaging Vergne’s sidepod and Bird’s front wing.
Vergne would finish second, with Bird in sixth after a mistake when third saw him go down an escape road laps from the checkered flag.
