Nico Prost believes he could challenge Lucas Di Grassi for second in the championship, if he can solve his qualifying troubles.
The Renault e.dams driver was left frustrated after another poor qualifying saw him start ninth on the grid for his home ePrix. Though he was able to recover to take home fifth, he believes stronger results are possible.
“We are there all the time, and if we can qualify just a bit better, I’m sure we can fight Lucas for second place in the championship,” he told Read Motorsport.
Prost – who took the first ever Formula E pole position back in season one – hasn’t started higher than sixth all season. He says he hasn’t been able to find a car that “suits” his qualifying style, prompting a string of poor performances. Solving that problem will be key to closing the gap to the championship leaders.
“Qualifying used to be one of my strengths and this year it’s not really going in the right direction,” he said.
“I don’t know [what the problem is]… I’m not able to find the car that suits me really well for qualifying. It was very easy in season one for some reason, but since then it’s been a bit more up and down.”
Closing the 31 point gap to Di Grassi may be a long shot, but fixing qualifying could turn Prost’s season around. He has taken top 10 results from every race so far, including three fourth place finishes. If he doesn’t fix that problem, though, Prost will likely fall from third in the championship, with Nick Heidfeld, Felix Rosenqvist, and Jean-Eric Vergne all within 30 points of the Frenchman.
