Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Daniel Abt has admitted that he was not willing to "risk his life" in the Punta del Este ePrix after a seatbelt issue.
After Formula E's mandatory car switch mid-race, Abt was running in third place having overtaken DS Virgin Racing's Alex Lynn just before the opening of the pit window, but when the Mexico City ePrix race winner rejoined the circuit, he was once again forced to pit after his seatbelt loosened.
The second pit stop for Abt cost him what could have been a second consecutive podium finish and a double for the Audi squad, instead finishing down in 14th place and outside of the points.
“I was completely unbuckled in the car, which I have no clue how it's even possible," said Abt.
“This we have to figure out, but of course in that situation what do you do? You risk your life or you come in – for me it's no choice.
“So I came in, re-did the belts, and then we lost too much to gain any points. [It was] a real shame. It was a very good race, I felt very strong, managed to overtake [Oliver] Turvey and then [Alex] Lynn before the pitstop.
“I came in P3, went out P3 – all good, feeling really fast – and then after two laps I realised that my belts basically came loose under braking – all four.”
Despite the incident being investigated post-race, no further action was taken by the stewards, meaning that Abt and Audi do not face any form of penalty, although the loss of a potential podium finish cost the team what would have been its largest points haul of the 2017/18 season.
Having reached the half-way point of season four with six races remaining, Audi sit in sixth place in the Teams' Championship with 58 points while Abt and Lucas di Grassi sit in seventh and tenth in the Drivers' Championship after having a difficult start to this season.
