NEOM McLaren have confirmed that Jake Hughes will not compete in the opening race of this weekend’s Rome E-Prix, following a heavy shunt during qualifying for round 13 of the 2022/23 Formula E season.
The British driver had a scary crash in the closing stages of Group B, caused by losing the rear on the exit of the blisteringly quick Turn 6. Hughes lost the rear after his car became unsettled over a bump, before he experienced a big double-impact with the walls.
The crash resulted in a red flag and brought the second group to an early end, something which saw championship contender Nick Cassidy eliminated ahead of the duels. McLaren quickly confirmed on social media that the rookie was OK, with Hughes having also informed Twitter that he was “all good”.
“All good from my side,” Hughes shared on social media.
“Must have hit a bump slightly different to the lap before but it was all a bit sudden. Shame as we had strong pace by looks of it.”
Whilst Hughes is thankfully unharmed, the same can’t be said for his car. The crash caused significant damage to his chassis, too much for the Woking-based team to repair ahead of the race this afternoon. McLaren also don’t have a “shared spare” chassis available, after that was used by Nissan following an unseen crash for Norman Nato in free practice 1.
As a result, McLaren have confirmed that Hughes will not be on the grid this afternoon, with the team now focusing on getting the #5 car ready for Sunday’s action at this weekend’s double-header.
“The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team regrets to confirm the #5 car of Jake Hughes will not be able to compete in today’s Rome E-Prix, due to damage incurred during the group stages of Qualifying,” McLaren revealed on Twitter.
“Unfortunately, a combination of high damage to the car, and our shared spare manufacturer chassis already taken up earlier this weekend by the Nissan Formula E Team, leaves us in a position where we are unable to repair the car in time for the race.
“The team has started the hard work ahead to ensure we are back tomorrow with both cars. For now, we are looking forward to today’s race, with René starting in P5.”
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