Clapham driver looks to continue impressive start to Formula E season
BY MATT VERRI
Alexander Sims is hoping to push on after an impressive first round of the 2019/20 Formula E season in Saudi Arabia.
The 31-year-old from Clapham leads the championship by five points from Stoffel Vandoorne, who previously competed in Formula One for McLaren, after the first two races in Diriyah in November.
Sims took both pole positions over the weekend, finishing eighth in the first race before sealing his first Formula E Win a day later as he led from start to finish, and the Clapham driver arrives in Chile ahead of this weekend’s race in high spirits.
“The break after Diriyah did me a lot of good and I feel refreshed going into the race in Santiago and ready for the challenge,” he said.
“Obviously I am not heading to Santiago thinking that I will automatically get pole position and the win, but I am ambitious enough to set my sights on getting another victory.”
This is the sixth season of the Formula E Championship and the 14-race campaign will finish in July with a double-header around ExCeL London, the first time London has hosted an ePrix since the 2015/16 season.
Sims, in his second season in Formula E and racing for the BMW i Andretti team, finished seventh in the Santiago ePrix last season but he believes his team is in a much better place this time around.
“If we compare our performance from round one from last season to round one to this season there are some areas which have vastly improved,” he said.
“This is just the reality when you work together for a period of time.
“You make continuous changes and improvements race by race and get yourself in a position which is more advanced than it was at the beginning of the process.
“The team was strong in both Diriyah and Santiago last season, and I hope we manage the same again this time.
“All of the drivers will have to internalise the new track layout first, but the training in the simulator has already helped me a lot with this.
“The fact that I will have to compete in qualifying group one for the first time is a challenge, but I hope that we will cope well and will be able to get another strong result.”
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