Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi has said that finishing in second place in the Drivers' Championship is "nothing short of a miracle" after enduring a difficult first half in Formula E's fourth season of competition.
Di Grassi, 33, entered the 2017/18 season as defending champion, and after displaying competitive pace throughout pre-season testing, was one of the favourites to retain his crown.
But di Grassi missed out on points in the season-opening Hong Kong E-Prix and his fortunes worsened, with constant reliability problems halting his progress, meaning that he remained point-less until the fifth round of the season in Mexico City.
At the Punta del Este E-Prix, di Grassi and Audi had a complete turn around in performance, with the Brazilian racer finishing a close runner-up to eventual champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
This performance was followed by further second place finishes in Rome, Paris and Berlin before claiming his first victory of the season in Zurich.
Through the performances of di Grassi and his team-mate, Daniel Abt, Audi closed in on Techeetah in the Teams' Championship and stood a mathematical chance of claiming the title against all odds in the Formula E season finale in New York – a feat that the outfit achieved by securing a 1-2 finish in Race 1 followed by a 2-3 finish in the final race of the season.
“I think [Jean-Eric] Vergne deserved the championship this year," said di Grassi after finishing in second place in the final race of the season in the Big Apple.
"He [Vergne] made no mistakes, he was very consistent, so congratulations to him and Techeetah. It shows that in Formula E, you need to do the job all around to make it happen.
"On my side, that's exactly what we did," he continued. "We were nowhere in the first races, we made mistakes but the car was already fast.
"It's nothing short of a miracle to get to second in the Drivers’ standings – I'm very, very happy – but I'm more happy that Audi has won the teams' championship.
"Those guys back in the garage, everyone works really hard. Every time we say the same but I'm very proud that Audi committed to Formula E, suffering a lot, keeping their head high, recovering and in the last race winning by two points is just unbelievable.”
Audi's triumph marked the first time the outgoing Renault e.dams squad had been beaten to the Teams' title.
With the New York City E-Prix marking the final race of Season Four, Formula E's fifth season of competition will commence on December 15 with the inaugural Riyadh E-Prix in Saudi Arabia.
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