Nyck de Vries blames 'misjudgement' after Formula E opening lap team-mate clash

Nyck de Vries accepted full responsibility for causing an intra-team clash with Mahindra team-mate Edoardo Mortara on the opening lap of Formula E’s season-opening São Paulo E-Prix.

De Vries started the opening round of the season a week ago from fifth on the grid, directly behind Mortara, who was an impressive third.

Both Mahindra drivers looked excellent throughout practice and qualifying in Brazil, making a big points haul look like a real possibility ahead of the lights going out.

However, it all went wrong the moment that happened, as de Vries "misjudged" his braking point at the first corner before making contact with Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum and Mortara.

Ticktum sustained a puncture, which ruined his race, while Mortara escaped relatively unscathed in terms of car damage. To much surprise, de Vries avoided any punishment for causing the opening corner mess.

Unfortunately, Mortara did receive a five-second time penalty for failing to stop before rejoining the circuit, a rule at the first corner in São Paulo for those who go off — something both Mahindra drivers did due to de Vries. Interestingly, Mortara's penalty was removed post-race.

Mortara later crashed out of the race after being forced into a wall by Lola’s Lucas di Grassi. As for de Vries, he had to pit mid-race due to a puncture but managed to finish ninth after capitalising on a late red flag.

Speaking to RacingNews365 after the race, the Dutchman accepted full responsibility, saying: "I misjudged my braking point."

Pressed on the frustration of not scoring big points despite having a strong package, de Vries added: "Well, obviously it’s always disappointing to go backwards and to kind of lose out on an opportunity.

"So yeah, of course, I’m disappointed and frustrated by that. I just misjudged that, and that was on me. There’s not much else to say, really."