Vergne raced "blind" in Mexico following Formula E systems glitch

Formula E points leader Jean-Eric Vergne says he was driving “completely blind” in the final stint of the Mexico E-Prix after losing all telemetry due to a systems glitch. 

Vergne made up ground early on in Mexico City and looked on course for a podium finish, until he was passed by both Sebastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet Jr. in the closing stages of Saturday’s race and ultimately had to settle with fifth. 

But the Frenchman revealed after the race he encountered a bizarre systems glitch on his Techeetah car which resulted in a loss of radio communications and left him with no information on his steering wheel display. 

Vergne said he was left with no option but to concede his podium position so he could copy his rivals' strategies in order to get to the end of the race and secure important points.

“The first stint was great and I was fighting to climb up the positions, se had a really god pit-stop and I gained a position," Vergne explained. 

“However, I quickly discovered that I had lost all radio, beeps and steering wheel information, so I drove my second stint completely blind. 

“In the end, I had to let Sebastien Buemi pass me so that I could copy his strategy to finish the race. Scoring points is the most important thing at this stage so when Nelson Piquet came up behind me, I didn’t want to fight him blind, so I let him pass too.”

Teammate Andre Lotterer ended a frustrating race outside of the points in 13th, after being given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe pit release that saw him knock over one of the Techeetah mechanics while exiting the garage. 

The German, who also battled stability issues during the opening stint, confirmed his mechanic was “OK” following the incident.

“We had some stability issues in my first car that we need to investigate. The second car was fine and I was able to push on and climb up to seventh position. Unfortunately, we had an unsafe release from the pit-stop as one of my mechanics got brushed by the car as I was leaving. 

“He’s been checked by the medical team and he’s ok, which is the most important thing. It’s a shame with the penalty but I understand why it was issued.”