Lotterer ‘cautiously optimistic’ of Porsche’s Santiago chances

Porsche driver Andre Lotterer is “cautiously optimistic” about the team’s chances heading to this weekend’s Formula E race in Santiago after scoring a podium on debut for the marque at the season-opener.

Lotterer stormed to second place in Porsche’s maiden Formula E race at the Diriyah E-Prix in November, exceeding the team’s pre-season target of regular points finishes at the very first attempt.

While Lotterer was classified outside of the points in the second Diriyah race due to a time penalty, the German heads to the second round of the season sixth in the championship and hopeful of a repeat performance.

“Generally speaking, I am cautiously optimistic about the race in Chile. We had a great start to the season in Saudi Arabia, but I am also aware that there is still room for improvement,” Lotterer said.

“As a new Formula E team, we still have a lot to learn. The break has been good for us, as it gave us time to analyse a lot of data. As such, I am confident that we will improve again in Chile.

“Whether we will have as good a race as in Saudi Arabia is hard to say. We must get through qualifying without any incidents, then we will have a good chance of picking up points. The potential is definitely there.”

Porsche’s head of Formula E operations Amiel Lindesay said that while Diriyah proved the Porsche 99X Electric car was “capable of mixing it with the front-runners”, the target of regular points throughout the season remained unchanged.

“We are confident that we have both the car and the team to succeed in this regard. Despite the positive start to the season, our goals remain the same: we are striving to get the maximum out of every race,” he said.

“Since Saudi Arabia, we have had enough time to examine our processes and to improve efficiency in certain areas. We will implement the findings we made at the coming race in Chile.

“We want to back up the success we enjoyed at the Diriyah E-Prix. Generally speaking, top-ten finishes and points are a realistic goal.”