The Brazilian’s car was on the grid for the 11th race of the Championship but was unable to start
Last weekend, the FE World Championship took to the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia, for the 10th and 11th rounds of the annual calendar. In his season of adapting to the GEN3 car of the category, as well as to the new NIO 333 Racing team, Brazilian driver Sérgio Sette Câmara was excited for the races. However, during the activities, his car’s performance fell far below expectations, resulting in its withdrawal from the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
The activities in Indonesia, which were scheduled as a double-header, began on Friday with the first practice session. Sérgio and the NIO team were pleased with the 12th position achieved, which kept them motivated for the second practice. However, this time the performance fell short, and the Brazilian driver only marked the 19th fastest time. Less than two hours later, the cars took to the track for the qualifying session, and once again, with power issues, Sette Câmara had to settle for the 18th position on the grid for the 10th race.
Starting well behind the pack, Sérgio and his team opted for a race where they would prepare the car’s adjustments for the following day’s activities. For the Brazilian driver, this race served as a kind of practice. Some different configurations were implemented in the car, but in the final result, Sette Câmara crossed the finish line in 17th place.
AN ENCOURAGING SUNDAY START
The program for the 11th round, scheduled for Sunday, began again with a practice session, and Sérgio concluded it with the seventh fastest time, which was encouraging. However, the lack of performance seen the day before plagued car #3 again during qualifying, and despite his best efforts, Sette secured only the 15th place on the grid.
As always, the professional driver from Belo Horizonte met with his team of engineers, and in light of the situation, they made plans for the upcoming race. As is natural, the driver lined up his car on the grid, but minutes later, the officials from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) informed the team that an electronic issue had been detected in the Brazilian’s car, and as a result, he could not start. Thus, without the chance to start, the driver had to withdraw from Sunday’s race.
“The worst feeling a driver can experience is to be ready to start a race and, literally, be removed from the grid. Without a doubt, it was very disappointing after a weekend where our performance fell short of expectations from the beginning. In the last few rounds, we achieved a good pace in qualifying, but here in Jakarta, nothing clicked. I always choose to analyze the positives, and even with a poor final result in the first race, my race pace improved significantly compared to São Paulo, Monaco, or Cape Town. The FIA officials removed me from the grid because the organization’s control systems, implemented in all cars, simply stopped receiving information from my car. Thus, citing a safety issue, they chose not to let me even start. All we can do is lift our heads, work even more focused, and remain confident for Portland,” concluded the driver.
The 12th round of the Formula E World Championship will take place on June 24th in Portland, United States.
Pictures: NIO 333 Racing | Disclosure
Press office of Sergio Sette Câmara
Responsible journalist: Flávio Quick