Formula E

Nato finishes fine season with victory as Mortara just misses out on FE title

Fraser Masefield
16 Aug 2021
4 min read

The ROKiT Venturi Racing team, partnered by Acronis, brought down the curtain on a superb season as Norman Nato bagged a maiden Formula E victory around the streets of Berlin.

Whilst Frenchman Nato was left celebrating a fine victory, teammate Edoardo Mortara was left rueing what might have been after a frightening collision with Jaguar’s Mitch Evans saw him narrowly miss out on the drivers’ title by seven points to Dutchman Nyck De Vries.

“After the highs of yesterday (Mortara finishing 2nd), I was looking forward to racing today and I think we had an outside shot at the Drivers’ Championship,” reflected Mortara. “At the start, there was nothing I could do to avoid Mitch [Evans] and by the time he was in my vision, it was too late to react. It was a heavy impact and I’m glad that he’s ok.

“From my side, I have a microfracture of my fourth vertebrae from the crash but I’m very grateful that I don’t need an operation or have a more serious injury. I would like to thank the marshals and the medical team for their response to my accident and to congratulate Norman for securing his maiden win in Formula E.”

When racing resumed following the red flag period, it was Nato who was the star of the show, passing Alexander Sims, Oliver Rowland and Stoffel Vandoorne before holding on for a maiden Formula E victory and first single-seater win since 2017.

“Today we executed the perfect race and honestly, I’m shocked and speechless,” commented a delighted Nato. “I’ve been hungry for silverware for a very long time after losing my podiums in Rome and Valencia so it was very emotional to finally finish inside the top three. Every week, we put in a massive amount of work with the hope of achieving results like this so to execute the perfect race is a very special feeling.

“It feels great to end the season with a win and this is a moment I just want to enjoy. I would like to thank the entire team for supporting me this season and getting me to the top step. I’m proud of them and a result like this means the world.”

For Susie Wolff, ROKiT Venturi Racing Team Principal, Nato’s race win marked the result of countless hours of hard work both at the circuit and back at the team’s Monaco base.

“I’m incredibly proud of the team,” commented Wolff. “Coming into this weekend, we knew that we had to hit the ground running and score big to end the season on a high and that’s exactly what we did. It was heartbreaking to see Edo out before he had a chance to fight for the title but he has done an outstanding job all season.

“The car was incredibly quick today and Norman drove the perfect race and the team executed a perfect strategy. We’ve had our tough moments this season, but we’ve learnt from those challenging days and risen from them. If you told me at the start of the season that we would secure the vice-World Championship and P7 in the Teams’ Standings, I would have taken it and overall, as a team, we can be proud.

“Thankfully Edo is in good shape despite his accident and we have definitely ended the season on a high. Lastly, I want to wish a big congratulations to Mercedes-Benz on their double FIA Formula E World Championships. We have a great partnership, and to have both of us finish first and second in the Drivers’ Championship is something to be proud of.”

 

Acronis are proud to be the official Cyber Protection Partner of the DS TECHEETAH, ROKiT Venturi Racing and NIO 333 FE teams. To find out more, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/lp/msp-sports/

Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.

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