Audi's Lucas di Grassi 'did a bad job' with Sanya's FE attack mode

The 2016/17 FE champion twice failed to activate the system as he did not run over the required three timing loops, which are embedded into the asphalt.

Activating the system requires drivers to be precise and was most notably missed twice by Dragon Racing driver Jose Maria Lopez at the 2018/19 season opener in Riyadh.

"I did a mistake, [and it] was my mistake," di Grassi told Autosport when asked to explain what had gone wrong.

"Once I went too quick and I didn't manage to get turn quick [enough through] the turn segment, and the other I went too slow and I didn't manage to get the third [timing looping] because I was too into inside.

"So one I went to the outside, one I went to the inside. I was pushing too hard to get attack mode and I ended up losing a lot of time.

"[But] even losing a lot of time I was able to catch back to the guys [ahead] quite quickly. So, the pace was there.

"It's one of the things - it's hard for me, it's hard for everyone. I just need to do a better job than the other guys.

"Today I did a bad job in the attack mode [and] lost some time. But it could happen to anyone in any race. It's pretty fair because it's same for everyone."

Despite losing time with those mistakes, di Grassi was able to join the lead fight and ran sixth in the closing stages.

But he did not finish as a result of the penultimate lap contact between Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns at the Turn 8 hairpin, which sent the Envision Virgin Racing driver spearing into di Grassi.

"[Our] performance here was much better in general [than] for example Hong Kong," said di Grassi. "But we leave with zero points.

"[It's] frustrating because when you have a good car, I felt that I could finish easily sixth, starting from 10th, and with a slightly better qualifying easily third or fourth, [or] even fight [race winner Jean-Eric] Vergne for the win."

When asked about the late crash, di Grassi said: "[Frijns] did move under braking when Seb tried to overtake him. So, he helped to cause the collision.

"Then of course Seb braked too late and then they crashed into each other and destroyed my race. For me both deserve a penalty.

Frijns said "it's a bit of a shame that Lucas blames me for it" as Buemi "hit my rear end quite hard".

"My rear end was up in the air, I locked my front tyres because of that [and] I only had two wheels to brake, and he just sent me into Lucas," Frijns continued to Autosport.

Buemi was given a post-race 10-second penalty for causing the collision.