- Carlos Sainz was running in second place during the Semi-Final 2 when the steering box of the Odyssey 21 failed once again.
- It is a common issue throughout the grid and it is due to the youth of the car. The championship is already working to solve it.
- The ASXE Team has now 78 points and is sixth in the Championship with one event to go.
A technical issue in the steering of the car cut short the ambitions of the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team when the team was on its way to qualify for the Final of the Island X Prix.
Carlos Sainz had overtaken the car of ABT Cupra XE in the first meters of the race after a formidable start through an alternate racing line.
The ASXE driver from Madrid had already built a comfortable margin to control the race when the car suffered an issue in the steering system, which was a different unit for this Semi-Final, even though previous specifications had already experienced similar issues.
The Odyssey 21 became almost impossible to drive, but Carlos managed to reach the Switch Zone to give it to Laia Sanz.
Instead of giving up, the Catalan driver completed an entire lap in very tricky conditions since it was important to finish the race just in case the cars ahead had any setbacks.
This result brought the Island X Prix to an end for the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, which was left with a bittersweet feeling because the mechanical issues deprived the team of seizing the potential of the car.
The performance of the team in Qualifying 1, where it set the second-fastest time overall, was the best indicator of the speed of the Spanish squad in this event.
This weekend the problems were localized in the steering system, which is a standard component provided by the championship. Other teams have also experienced similar issues. The technical delegates of the series are aware of the situation and are working to try and assess it in the future.
The next round in the calendar is the Jurassic X Prix, which will take place on the 18th and the 19th of December in Dorset, United Kingdom. It will be the last round of the inaugural season of Extreme E.
Quotes
Carlos Sainz, driver:
"This weekend was difficult to take in. It is a shame. From the four X Prixes we have raced so far, this was clearly our strongest weekend. We finished second in Qualifying 1, but from then on we didn’t finish well in Qualifying 2 and the Semi-Final, so we ended up missing the Final. Anyway, we will not give up. There is still one race to go and we want to finish the season on a high note, even though it is clear that it is necessary to take action because the problems that we suffered here were beyond our control and they are difficult to take in".
Laia Sanz, driver:
"It is a shame that the weekend didn’t finish better. I think both myself and Carlos had a pretty good pace. I was able to put in some practice on four wheels before travelling to Sardinia and I think that mileage came in handy, because I felt well indeed. I was competitive in Qualifying 1. We had the opportunity to achieve a good result, so it is a shame that it wasn’t the case and that we ended up missing the Final due to some technical issues. Hopefully, luck will be more on our side next time. I hope that we are just as fast in the Jurassic X Prix as we were here".
Albert Fàbrega, team principal:
"We are very disappointed. Once again, some issues that were beyond the control of the team ended up having a big negative impact on the final result. Carlos and Laia were really quick here in Sardinia. With the pace we had, we could finish on the podium and even race for the victory, because with the car we had we could fight for everything. But once again we suffered some mechanical problems that were beyond our control. We are disappointed as we leave Sardinia, well aware that we had a lot of potential but that we couldn’t transform it into results due to some problems in the car whose solution is not in our hands. But we have to carry on. Tomorrow we will do a collective suspension test to try to improve that area of the car, which is also a tricky one. We will do everything that we can to get to the Jurassic X Prix just as prepared as we were here. Hopefully, once the problems are solved, Laia and Carlos can show their potential and wrap up the season in the best possible way".
