Nyck de Vries has revealed a discussion he had with his mechanic on the grid prior to failing to start Formula E’s opening race of the Jeddah E-Prix, following a bizarre bang.
De Vries failed to start at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit due to a suspected battery issue being investigated by Mahindra Racing, resulting in a delayed start.
The Dutchman was pushed off the grid, while team-mate Edoardo Mortara started from pole. It marked the latest frustration for De Vries, who has finished just one of the four completed rounds.
Asked what he thought the issue was, de Vries told RacingNews365: "I think one of the fuses blew, but it was a battery issue."
As senior figures, guests and team members were ushered off the grid by security, RacingNews365 stood on the balcony of the pit-lane paddock building, overlooking proceedings.
Standing directly in line with Nyck de Vries’s car, there was a noticeably loud bang moments before the final mechanic from each team left the grid.
The bang appeared to come from De Vries’ direction and, seconds later, his car failed to move when drivers were required to take their grid slots.
De Vries also heard the bang and was convinced it came from his car before being informed by his mechanic that it was actually a fallen trolley.
"I thought it was me," revealed de Vries. "Yeah, my mechanic was like, it was a trolley that tumbled. But I didn't think so, and I was pretty convinced that I heard something odd.
"And, yeah, I mean, I'm not relating the two. It could be, I don't know. But anyway, we ended up having battery issues."
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Mortara keeping Mahindra going
Mahindra Racing did at least score big points through Edoardo Mortara finishing second, despite suffering a poor start from pole, with the Swiss driver losing several places into Turn 1.
The veteran sits third in the drivers’ standings, while the Indian outfit is second in the teams’ championship.
As for Nyck de Vries, he does at least have the second race of the Jeddah double-header to bounce back and try to score some solid points.
"Of course, it's disappointing not to start a race or to retire from one because of something that is out of your control," added de Vries.
"But equally, I'm very happy to see that Edoardo Mortara is banking points for the team and doing very well. The package is good. So sometimes you have, let’s say, sequences of a bit of headwind, and that’s the way it is.
"But I’m not necessarily more frustrated. As I said, I’m happy that the team is doing well, and we continue to work together to make sure we keep scoring good points as a team."
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