"Consistent progress" - David Beckmann shines in qualifying, but suffers tyre damage in Miami race

Cupra Kiro achieved their best result of the season so far at their Formula E home race in Miami with Dan Ticktum. David Beckmann was also faster than ever and reached the duel phase in qualifying for the first time. A better race result was cancelled out by a collision - with his compatriot and good friend Pascal Wehrlein of all people.

In quali group A, Beckmann caused a surprise when he finished in the top four and qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time in his career. Although he was defeated there, he still managed a good eighth place on the grid. "We had a very good pace in qualifying and were able to improve significantly compared to Jeddah", confirmed the German.

Beckmann initially saved energy and drove in 15th place until he picked up his first Attack Mode. He initially fought his way up to eleventh position, but then there was a momentous contact: Beckmann clashed with world champion Wehrlein after a very late braking manoeuvre in the chicane, causing him to suffer tyre and suspension damage. Beckmann had to come into the pits. A first good result was therefore impossible.

"Was unfortunately forced off the track"

"Unfortunately, I was forced off the track by another driver during the race and suffered a puncture," he clearly blames Wehrlein for the accident - which the onboard cameras of the two cars do not necessarily prove. "That meant I had to pit, which cost me too much time," so Beckmann was only classified 21st in the end and remained without points in the fifth race of the season.

However: "We have made some good improvements to the car, which is very positive," says Beckmann. "The team continues to do a great job and I am proud of everyone who is working so hard. If we can maintain our pace on a lap and have more luck in the races, I think we can achieve a good result in Monaco."

"It was great to see David reach the duels for the first time this season and make consistent progress with his lap time," praised Chief Operating Officer Russell O'Hagan. "However, it was a shame that he could not realise his full potential in a challenging and dynamic race." Team Principal Alex Hui also says: "We see him making progress every weekend."

Ticktum not according to plan, but again with points

Teammate Dan Ticktum once again achieved a reasonably good result - although he was unable to impress in qualifying due to a "drop in tyre performance", according to the team. As a result, he only managed 15th on the grid, but was able to move up in the race, even though he was also energy-saving at first.

Ticktum saved both Attack Modes for the end of the race. With the first activation, he moved up from 20th to 14th place, with the second to 11th place. Due to the numerous Attack Mode-related penalties against other drivers in front of him, he climbed to seventh place after the end of the race and scored six points for Kiro - the team's best result of the season so far - and at its home race in the USA.

Possibly even more could have been possible: "We gave ourselves a good energy advantage, but the safety car and the red flag ruined our chance to utilise that extra energy", explains Ticktum. "It was a bit of a shame in that respect, but we did everything we could and given the penalties it was good to get some points."

Team Principal Alex Hui speaks of "encouraging progress" after the second top 10 result in a row and praises his drivers: "Dan and David drove very well. I think we have turned the corner. Hopefully we can maintain this form in the coming races." The next race weekend in Monaco starts in just over two weeks time.