Audi opted to drop former driver Daniel Abt after the German allowed professional esports racer Lorenz Hoerzing to drive in his place during Formula E’s online racing series that took place over lockdown.
René Rast took his seat for the final six-race shootout over nine days in Berlin, but his relative lack of experience resulted in a slow start to the event, said McNish.
Audi finished the season sixth in the championship, having reached the podium just three times all year, none of those finishes on the top step.
The team took a dim view of being associated with cheating and elected to replace Abt with Rast ahead of the Berlin showdown but its decision contributed to its drop in form during the 2019/20 season.
Rast was able to build upon his limited time in the car and ended up on the podium in the penultimate race of the season, before a fourth-place finish in the final race ended his season in the points.
“In the final double-header with the different circuit layout everyone was on a more even footing, because we didn’t have circuit data, drivers didn’t have track knowledge and René had got four races under his belt, and kind of understood what not to do as much as what to do,” wrote McNish.