Audi at a loss to explain di Grassi's 'unbelievable' issues

©AudiSportAbt

After four races, Lucas di Grassi has yet to score a single point in this season's Formula E championship, while Audi is at a loss to explain the Brazilian's reliability issues.

The reigning Formula E champion was hit with his second consecutive DNF in Chile last weekend, a state of affairs which has left di Grassi lingering at the tail end of the field, his title hopes in tatters.

Audi Sport Abt team boss Allan McNish admitted to being puzzled by di Grassi's persistent misfortune while team mate Daniel Abt has remained immune to any similar problems.

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"It’s something that’s confusing because on the other side of the garage it runs," McNish told Motorpsort.com in Santiago last weekend.

"I honestly, at this stage, don’t know the answer. I don’t know if it’s the same problem we had in Marrakesh, or not.

"We’re not going to know until we get back and are able to go through it from start to finish.

"That’s the frustrating part for us, for Lucas, and for the guys that put in so much effort from Marrakesh until now. We thought we’d got a solution and we came away with no points."

McNish insisted there was nothing wrong with the team's outright pace, which was confirmed in the early stages of last Saturday's ePrix, when di Grassi worked his way up the ranks and found himself in contention for a spot on the podium, only for his car to grind to a halt right after his mid-race car-swap.

Frustrations have built up for the 33-year-old whose next priority is simply to finish a race.

"The fact we’re very unreliable at the moment is just really, really unbelievable," said di Grassi.

"To have so many issues consecutively, like that, it’s really frustrating because we have the pace.

"The title is not in my mind at the moment," he conceded.

"In my mind is ‘try to fix the car’, to get a car that finishes one race, so I can fight for wins.

"Even if we manage to score points now, if the car isn’t reliable in the next races the title is impossible to fight for.

"The first thing we need to do is to sort out this issue. That’s down to the team and engineers to sort this out as quick as possible."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.