They created a device to ‘spy’ on rivals: the huge scandal caused by Stoffel Vandoorne’s Formula E team
Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) finished 12th in the Portland ePrix, round 12 of the Formula E World Championship, on Saturday in the United States. The win went to New Zealander Nick Cassidy (Envision), who gained rank and placed himself behind his Portland runner-up, Briton Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti), the new leader in the pilots’ standings.
World Champion, Stoffel Vandoorne, had to start from the pit lane just like his teammate Jean-éric Vergne. DS Penske’s team was severely penalized for placing an RFID scanner in the pit lane. This was supposed to collect data on existing cars and is forbidden.
On Instagram, Stoffel Vandoorne decided to hit back, saying Penska didn’t do too many bad things. “We never stole data from other teams. We just had a camera to capture the frames that others were using. Every team does it a certain way, ours wasn’t right, so we accept the penalty.”estimated world champion.
The penalty imposed was unprecedented in Formula E: a $25,000 fine and a pit stop for Vandoorne and Vergne, who finished 10th and 6th in qualifying. Nick Cassidy, who qualified 12th, made an impressive comeback to steal the victory from the new World Championship leader, Jake Dennis. He finished second, ahead of the Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa (Tag Heuer Porsche), while the German Pascal Wehrlein (Tag Heuer Porsche) finished only eighth.
Thus Wehrlein (138 points) gives up the lead in the world drivers’ standings to Jake Dennis (154 points), closely followed by Nick Cassidy (153 points). Stoffel Vandoorne has 42 units and is in 11th place. Rounds 15 and 16 of the season will take place in Rome on July 15 and 16. After that, the World Championships will conclude with two races in London on July 29th and 30th.
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