The double-header weekend in Jeddah concludes on the podium for Sebastien Buemi and Envision Racing
A successful end to the first double-header weekend of Season 12, with a podium finish from a P7 start under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. This result comes after a series of races showing impressive pace for Buemi but not being able to convert into a result worthy to reflect this. The podium is a great way to reward the team for the hard work improving the car performance.
Joel Eriksson had a difficult weekend, with a new circuit to learn and his first Pit Boost race. He demonstrated strong pace throughout the weekend, however was hampered during the races with a penalty in Round 4 and contact in Round 5 which damaged his car.
The team have a five week gap until Round 6 at the Circuit del Jarama in Madrid, and will continue to push hard to ensure more podiums are possible as the season progresses.
QUALIFYING
Both drivers improved their pace during the second qualifying session of the weekend, but the whole field was even tighter – with all twenty cars separated by just six tenths of a second.
Buemi was able to revert back to front running pace with a fresh set of tyres for today enabling him to finish P3 in the group and progress to the duels. Despite a strong lap in the quarterfinals against Andretti Formula E’s Jake Dennis, Buemi had to settle for P7 overall, but a much better result for him and the team.
On the other side of the garage, Eriksson delivered a strong lap time, but in an ultra-competitive group, the time was not good enough to make it into the top four. The time would have classified him in P5 in the first group but instead left him P10 in the group and starting P18 overall.
THE RACE
An incredibly intense 30-lap race, with positions constantly swapping in the front pack. Buemi established himself from the beginning, taking the lead in the early laps and keeping his #16 car in the front pack to avoid being caught up in the chaos of the mid-pack.
Eriksson was doing very well on energy, however suffered contact which dropped him back down the order and hampered his chances of being able to progress through the order. P13 was the maximum the Swedish driver could achieve today, but leaves Jeddah with plenty more learnt to take forward.
Buemi saved his Attack Mode activations until the latter stages, taking the first two-minute activation on Lap 21 and then the final six-minutes on Lap 23 which paid off massively, allowing the Swiss driver to maintain his position at the front and charge through into P2 with three laps to go. He was able to hold off Nissan driver Oliver Rowland for the final laps to solidify the podium finish – the first one for the team in Season 12.
The result is a huge boost for the team to take forward to Round 5 in Madrid on March 21.
Driver Standings (after Rd5)
- Pascal Wehrlein, 68pts
- Edoardo Mortara, 62pts
- Oliver Rowland, 49pts
- Nick Cassidy, 48pts
- Mitch Evans, 47pts
—–
9. Sebastien Buemi, 37pts
10. Joel Eriksson, 18pts
Team Standings (after Rd5)
1. Porsche Formula E Team, 113pts
2. Jaguar TCS Racing, 86pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 58pts
4. Citroen Racing, 58pts
5. Envision Racing, 55pts
