The inaugural Madrid E-Prix concluded successfully for the Envision Racing team, with Sebastien Buemi finishing P7 and Joel Eriksson in P10.
After a difficult qualifying session for both drivers, the team were able to execute a good strategy and bring home the second double-points finish of the season. This result is a positive race for both drivers before entering the 5-week gap ahead of Berlin.
Buemi did cross the line in P6, although was handed a time penalty for an incident with Jake Dennis, which dropped him to P7 in the final classification, but still brought home solid points.
The result adds more confidence to the team that the package is able to deliver good results on a variety of circuits and maintains Buemi’s record so far in Season 12 of points at every event.
QUALIFYING
The drivers faced challenging conditions during qualifying, with grey skies and drizzle not showing any sign of easing off. The wet weather changed the dynamic of qualifying, with the tyres being able to cope with multiple push laps, which wouldn’t have been possible in the dry with the extreme tyre degradation at this circuit.
Buemi took to the track in Group A, and his initial push laps were solid, placing him in the top four. However, the final laps were tricker, and the Swiss driver was not able to maintain his position in the order and slipped down to 7th. However, he ended the session feeling confident in the car ahead of the race.
Eriksson was up next in Group B, and despite his best efforts, wasn’t able to progress through to the duel stages of qualifying. He ended the group in P9.
These results would mean the duo would start P14 and P17 on the grid.
THE RACE
The 23-lap race was full of drama and excitement. Buemi made a good start, progressing up to P11 after the first two laps, with Eriksson maintaining his starting position. Both drivers managed their energy and kept their positions, before the Pit Boost window opened and the order started switching up.
Buemi pitted on Lap 12 to take his mandatory 30-second stop, with Erkisson following suit two laps later. Once all Pit Boost stops had been made, the drivers slotted into P4 and P15 – right in the mix.
On Lap 17 Buemi took his 6-minute Attack Mode to activate 350kw mode, this enabled him to work his way up to P2. With all the cars in the top six in Attack Mode at the same time, it led to intense and close racing between the drivers, especially when their respective Attack Mode activations ran out and they were back to 300kw power.
Meanwhile, Eriksson activated his Attack Mode on Lap 19 whilst in P14, which allowed him to close the gap to the top ten.
As Buemi’s Attack Mode ran out, he lost places to the cars immediately behind still with the extra power, slotting into P6. The #16 car did a great job of fending off Andretti Formula E’s Jake Dennis to hold onto the P6 finish at the line, however post-race discussions with the stewards deemed the defensive driving too aggressive, and a penalty was applied. P7 was the final result for Buemi.
Erkisson had an exciting final lap, clinching P10 right at the final corners to secure a double-points finish for the team and a solid haul of points as we enter a 5-week gap before the Berlin E-Prix on May 2nd & 3rd.
Driver Standings (after Rd6)
- Pascal Wehrlein, 83pts
- Edoardo Mortara, 72pts
- Mitch Evans, 65pts
- Antonio Felix Da Costa, 64pts
- Nick Cassidy, 51pts
—–
9. Sebastien Buemi, 43pts
11. Joel Eriksson, 19pts
Team Standings (after Rd6)
1. Porsche Formula E Team, 132pts
2. Jaguar TCS Racing, 129pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 84pts
4. Envision Racing, 62pts
5. Citroen Racing, 61pts
