After a difficult qualifying for the Envision Racing team, with both cars towards the back of the grid, Robin Frijns delivered points in the first race of the London E-Prix weekend.
A meticulous strategy from the engineers enabled Frijns to work his way through the pack towards the end of the race and score points, finishing P8. Team-mate Sebastien Buemi did join him initially on the points tally, crossing the line in P10, but was handed a 5-second penalty which knocked him down to P16.
Despite a difficult starting position, the team demonstrated grit and determination to work through the competitive field to bring home points. The drivers and engineers will debrief overnight to head into the final race of Season 11 prepared and ready to end the season on a high.
QUALIFYING
The penultimate qualifying session of Season 11 didn’t deliver what the team was after. Buemi took to the Excel circuit in Group A, along with eleven of his competitors, battling it out for a spot in the top four to progress through to the duels. Despite promising pace initially, the Swiss driver wasn’t able to improve his lap time enough to make it through.
A similar story occurred in Group B for team-mate Frijns. A strong opening push lap in the session, but then the #4 slipped down the order as others around set faster times.
The final result saw Buemi classified in P18 and Frijns just behind in P19.
THE RACE
As it has done in recent years, the London E-Prix delivered plenty of action throughout the 38-lap race. Action begun before the first lap was completed, with a collision in the mid-pack, which both Buemi and Frijns carefully avoided. An early Safety Car was deployed to clear the incident, and the racing resumed on Lap 4.
The two Envision Racing drivers opted for an energy saving strategy, holding back during the early stages of the race with the aim for a late charge with an energy advantage.
Buemi entered the pits for his Pit Boost stop as soon as the window opened for him on Lap 17, while the opposite strategy was chosen on the other side of the garage for Frijns, who remained on track for as long as possible before the pit window closed.
Once all Pit Boost stops had been taken, Buemi was sitting in P16 with team-mate Robin just behind in P18. However, Buemi was handed a 5-second penalty for an earlier Safety Car infringement.
Drama struck once again on Lap 33 with the Cupra Kiro of Dan Ticktum crashing into the wall which deployed the Safety Car for three laps whilst the track was cleared.
Racing resumed on Lap 36, with both Envision Racing cars activating their final Attack Mode boost for a late charge. They both used the extra boost in power wisely, with Frijns climbing up to P9 and Seb in P13.
A few more skilled overtakes during the final laps saw Robin cross the line and finish in P8, with Seb not far behind in P10 – but the penalty knocking him out of the points and down in P16.
Driver Standings (after Rd15)
- Oliver Rowland, 184pts
- Pascal Wehrlein, 141pts
- Nick Cassidy, 127pts
- Taylor Barnard, 112pts
- Antonio Felix Da Costa, 103pts
—–
12. Sebastien Buemi, 69pts
20. Robin Frijns, 21pts
Team Standings (after Rd15)
1. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 244pts
2. Nissan Formula E Team, 207pts
3. Jaguar TCS Racing, 191pts
4. DS Penske, 176pts
5. Mahindra Formula E Team, 166pts
—–
9. Envision Racing, 90pts
