Sérgio Sette Câmara even made it to the qualifying round on Saturday, but Dragon's lack of speed prevented the Brazilian from fighting for something bigger in Berlin
Sérgio Sette Câmara had a very complicated Sunday (15) in race 2 of the eP Berlin, the eighth round of the 2021/2022 Formula E season. After making it to the qualifying knockout stage for the first time the day before, the Brazilian driver didn't leave the bottom of the pack during the entire race, won by Mercedes' Nyck De Vries, and acknowledged the Dragon car's difficulties.
After the race, Sette Câmara regretted not being able to improve his qualifying time by a few tenths, which would have been enough to gain positions in such a tight grid as the one in Formula E. In addition, the high temperatures on the concrete track in Tempelhof didn't help the Penske single-seater.
"Today was not as positive as yesterday, we had a little more difficulty on this track," Sette Câmara admitted. I also think that the higher temperature didn't benefit us, so in qualifying we were ninth in my group and that ended up being 18th overall. [It was] very tight too, if I had improved 0s1, which is practically nothing, I would have gained several positions and would have started further ahead," he lamented.
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The driver from Minas Gerais highlighted the difference between the cars that lead the pack, such as Mercedes, and Dragon's - the only team that hasn't scored so far this season. For Sette Câmara, some competitors are in "another category" and his team's car can't keep up with the pace of the others. Besides, the strategy chosen by the team didn't pay off during the 40 laps in Berlin.
"Already in the race, I think that regardless of where I started, I would have finished at the back," he acknowledged. "I ended up finishing 18th if I'm not mistaken, 19th maybe, because we really didn't have the race pace. Some cars are in a different category, Mercedes not to mention, so we basically didn't have the pace. We tried to make an alternative strategy, betting on a safety car that never came. So we stayed back there," he closed.
Now, Formula E returns only next month for the debut of the eP in Jakarta, Indonesia, which makes its inaugural race in the category this year. The race - this time as a single round - is scheduled for June 4.