In the spring of 2013, Lucas di Grassi had a proper sit down chat with Hans-Jurgen Abt and Thomas Biermaier at legendary German engineering and motorsport outfit, ABT Sportsline.
The then five-times DTM champions had an exceptional history of working with Audi, especially in DTM, where it took its last title in 2009, when Timo Schneider completed impressive back-to-back titles in an ABT run Audi A4 DTM.
But back then in 2013 di Grassi, then just starting out as a factory Audi Sport LMP1 driver, had eyes on an all-electric future via his friendship with the founder of the Formula E idea, Alejandro Agag, who had run him in GP2 with the Barwa Campos squad.
“From our side, we were quite lucky that Lucas were driving for Audi at that time in LMP,” ABT Sportsline CEO, Thomas Biermaier, told FEN last week.
“We heard about Formula E, and then we heard that Lucas is also involved as a test driver. Then we had a winter camp with Audi, and this was where we discussed for the first time with Lucas if he wanted to join us.”
A meeting between ABT and Agag then occurred in the summer of 2013, and a licence was secured with the idea that di Grassi and Audi Sport would come to them. And they did.
“We all know he’s (di Grassi) a clever, clever guy, especially at the beginning of a project, as he saw that we need some help, and he was not only a driver; he was a key part of the team from the start,” added Biermaier.
“We had some good guys because we did already some electric cars for the German postal service, so we had some good engineers. But we also had some good input from the driver’s side too, from Formula E also, so it was a perfect fit, not only on the technical side, also on the human side as well.”
By early November 2013, ABT announced its Formula E deal and then di Grassi and a fourth generation of the Abt dynasty, Daniel Abt, joined him as teammate.
Entered initially as ABT Audi Sport Formula E team, Biermaier and di Grassi had also successfully lobbied Audi Sport chief Dr Wolfgang Ulrich to use the official Audi name. Something big was being built and after two close calls for the title, the third season finally saw them crowned.
One day in Montreal
Formula E has never seen a weekend as dramatic as Montreal in 2017, and it probably never will.
Sebastien Buemi enjoyed a 10-point lead heading in to the race on the Montreal city centre streets. That was despite missing the previous two races in New York City because of a clash with the WEC Nürburgring round, where current Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly deputised for him.
Despite Buemi having won six races to di Grassi’s single victory at Mexico City, it felt like the Brazilian had a real chance, especially when Buemi wrecked his Renault at a chicane in a needless free practice accident.
So it was that di Grassi capitalised and was able to take the title with a pole and win in the first Montreal race, followed by a conservative seventh place in the second. But even for someone as assured as di Grassi, there were nerves!
“Lucas was nervous, especially at the second race when he was driving in P7, and we told him on the radio that this position seven was fine for the championship,” recalled Biermaier.
“Daniel (Abt) was behind him, and Daniel was on the radio, saying; ‘Tell Lucas, I secure him now, but he can drive normally. He doesn’t need to drive like a s***head!
“He was so nervous because he realised if we finish the race now, he’s champion, and clearly it was one of the biggest emotions we ever had together.”
The post-race celebrations became legendary, as di Grassi sang ‘we are the champions’ loudly in a downtown Montreal club with his team, as the champagne and beer flowed well in to the early hours of Monday morning.
“We had a big night, yes,” is all Biermaier would say, almost a decade on.
“We always celebrated the good times. We even got Lucas to Oktoberfest one year, which was memorable!”
“We had many fights!”
Biermaier is a big man. But think gentle giant territory.
That didn’t mean much to di Grassi though as the pair regularly took proverbial lumps out of each other “quite regularly” according to Biermaier.
One little-known occasion was after di Grassi was disqualified in Mexico City in the second season after his car was found to be underweight.
In a rage, di Grassi seriously considered quitting ABT altogether.
“I took that hard because it cost him [di Grassi] the title,” recalled his then race engineer, Franco Chiocchetti told me in 2021.
“We didn’t speak for a few weeks, so you can say that there was more than an element of revenge in what happened in 2017.”
That referred to when di Grassi eventually won the title after a red in tooth and claw fight with rival Buemi.
Indeed, after the 2017 Mexican race that di Grassi won, Chiocchetti had a rare quiet moment with his charge.
“I whispered to Lucas “that my head is clear now, we have the revenge and we have ticked this bloody box in Mexico. He gave me a big smile. It was a very nice moment’.”
For Biermaier that Mexican disaster saw him embark on a mercy mission to try and steer di Grassi back on side. He did, just!
“We went home from Mexico and he called and said, “I will stop. It’s the second time now that I got disqualified, I have had it.”
“So, I flew to Nice, and had lunch with him in Monaco and then had coffee with him in the afternoon,” remembers Biermaier.
All I could say was ‘look, I apologise. Let us stick together and let us fight as a team. But he was so pissed and it was nearly the end of our relationship.
“After about four hours, said, “okay, let us continue.”
That was Lucas di Grassi. Intense and focused on winning. They all suffered together but they triumphed together too.
“Lucas was one of the most intelligent racers we ever had,” summarising di Grassi’s ABT career.
“We were lucky to have him because of everything he brought to a team. It was not always easy but as they say, ‘the harder you try, the sweeter it is when you win.’
“It definitely felt this way with Lucas, for sure,”
