The Envision driver entered the Formula E season opener at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit with high hopes as Jaguar powertrain users occupied the top positions over the weekend.
The Dutchman topped his qualifying group but a mistake in his quarter-final duel left him seventh on the grid before a problem off the line dropped him further down the field.
His weekend went from bad to worse as he lost control on the eighth lap through Turn 18 and collided with the barrier, which put him out on the spot.
“Struggling with the handling and tried to overtake Edo [Mortara, who had taken his Attack Mode], maybe I put one wheel in the dust, not sure, but I completely lost the rear and it caught me by surprise,” Frijns told Autosport.
“The handling was not at all how I expected, the handling was basically the worst [of] the entire weekend which was kind of unfortunate because I felt strong.”
Frijns’s race had been compromised from the very start as he struggled to get off the line having ‘completely’ lost drive, which the team believes was due to an unknown technical fault.
“I had no warning on the dash, it just stopped,” said Frijns.
“Not restart it, I just went off power and back on and went again. We don’t know what the problem was, still don’t.”
Frijns was not the only driver who failed to reach the finish in Mexico City, with Lucas di Grassi forced into retirement on the opening lap due to a braking issue.
Source: Autosport