Ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa’s Formula E debut was marred by a series of penalties handed out during the inꦕaugural Ad Diriyah E-Prix. 

The Venturi driver made a strong start a𒁏nd was challenging for the lower reaches of the top 10 in the early stages of the 2018/19 season opener in Saudi Arabia but finished 14th on the road after receiving a drive-through penalty due to his team failing to adhere to “the Formula E season five battery software implementation guide version 5.1”. 

Massa was one of five drivers voted to be recipients of Fanboost, though the Brazilian was handed a five-second timeౠ penalty for activating the system before the 22nd minute of the race, which is the earliest time it can be used during the new 45-minute plus one lap race format introduced for season five. 

The former Ferrari and Williams grand prix driver also fell foul of us🐼ing 150KJ of energy instead of the permitted 100KJ limit while Fanboost is being activated, meaning he was hit with a second time penalty worth 25 seconds - the equivalent of a drive-through penalty. 

As a result, Massa, who also received one penalty point on his licence for the misd♉emeanours, fe🍒ll to 17th in the final classification. 

Massa’s in-race drive-through penalty was for the same offence made by Techee🍸tah pair Jean-Eric Vergne and Andre Lotterer, who were also punished for🌜 the infringement. 

The race marked a difficult start to life in the all-electric series for the drive🐻rs entering Formula E as rookies.꧙ 

Former McLaren F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne starred in qualifying but dropped to ཧ16th in the race, one position behind Formula 2 graduate Maximilian Gunther and two places ahead of BMW’s Alexander Sims, while 2018 DTM champion and Vandoorne’s HWA teammate Gary Paffett failed to finish after crashing out.