Daniel Abt gets new Formula E seat with Nio 333 after Audi sacking

Formula 1
Daniel Abt

Formula E driver Daniel Abt has secured a return to racing a month after being sacked for letting another driver impersonate him in an esports event.

The German, 27, will drive for the Chinese Nio 333 team in the six season-finale races in Berlin from 5 August.

Abt was fired from the Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler team in May after an eracing driver impersonated him during the series’ esports Race At Home Challenge.

The races will be live on Red Button, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Abt said he was “extremely happy”.

“I always loved racing and the opportunity to race in the final six races, at my home, is very exciting,” he said.

Abt has driven in Formula E since it began in 2014, and has two race wins to his name – but he was often beaten by Audi team-mate Lucas di Grassi.

Abt, who will partner British driver Oliver Turvey at Nio, where he replaces Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua, added: “It was a mistake and I took full responsibility for it.”

He had admitted the deception in May, saying he had not taken it “as seriously as I should” and that being sacked by a team in which his family’s company is heavily involved was “a pain that I have never felt my in my life”.

Five rounds of the Formula E season have already taken place, having begun in Saudi Arabia in December last year.

Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa leads the title standings for DS Techeetah following victory at the last race in Marrakesh, Morocco, before the suspension of the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jaguar’s Mitch Evans sits second, 11 points behind.

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