Challenging race for Lola Yamaha ABT in Monaco

It was a difficult first race in Monaco for Lola Yamaha ABT, as points eluded the new team.

Following struggles with pace in FP1 and FP2, both cars qualified towards the back of the grid, with Lucas Di Grassi starting in P17 and Zane Maloney in P21.

The action-packed race, with multiple yellow flags, was a challenging one for the team. After being hit by the Maserati of Jake Hughes, Zane suffered a puncture and was forced to come into the pits for a tyre change, impacting his race.

Further challenges in the race unfortunately meant both cars finished out of the points, as Lucas crossed the line in P13 and Zane in P21.

Lucas di Grassi, #11
“After initial struggles in FP1 and FP2, we managed to make good progress for qualifying and were only a few tenths off the pace. We fought our way through the pack and I felt we could maybe score points but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us today. However, we learnt a lot and we are now focusing fully on making improvements tomorrow.”

Zane Maloney, #22
“The first race here in Monaco was a very difficult one for us. We were a little unlucky when one the cars behind misjudged braking and ran into the back of me, causing a puncture which seriously impacted my race. As a team we will be trying to develop further and put ourselves in a better position, especially for qualifying. I’m confident we can turn things around for tomorrow and look forward to once again racing here in Monaco.”

Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars
“After being off the pace in both free practice sessions, Lucas made strides towards the duels again in qualifying being just a few tenths off, however starting towards the back of the grid gave us a hill to climb in the race. It was a race with many complexities, not least the pit boost window crossing over with full course yellow, which was beneficial to some teams and not others, throwing a curveball into the race. This was followed by a few issues in the race which meant we didn’t bring home points but, despite this, we have a number of positives to take away from today and will use these to continue learning and growing as a team.”

Thomas Biermaier, CEO, ABT
“It was quite a difficult day for the team today. We were lacking pace in both free practice sessions and we ultimately qualified further back on the grid than we expected. As it’s difficult to overtake in Monaco it was not so easy to make places up. We did some improvements during the race with the car balance and performance and are feeling more positive about tomorrow.”

The team will be taking to the storied streets of Monaco again tomorrow for the second of this weekend’s double header. Find out where to watch the action where you are here.