A tough first race day for Envision Racing at Round 7 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship
The team arrived off the back of a six-week gap feeling motivated to continue off from a solid start to the season, and while the Free Practice sessions demonstrated competitive pace, the race ultimately concluded with no points.
Sebastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson pushed hard at the Tempelhof for the first race of the double-header but concluded the race in P12 and P16 respectively.
Tomorrow gives the drivers and team a new chance during Round 8, and with more hot temperatures expected, it’s set to be another challenging and exciting race.
QUALIFYING
It was a mixed qualifying session for the Envision Racing duo, with both Buemi and Eriksson in Group A for the first race of the double-header. The 10-minute session saw the majority of the pack following the same run plan, with multiple preparation laps and just two push laps to determine their starting position.
On Eriksson’s side, he was able to maximise the most out of himself and the car during the session, just missing out on the duels in P6, and classifying P12 overall.
Unfortunately for Buemi, there were some issues with his tyres being in the correct window which limited any chance of progressing – a disappointment after strong pace demonstrated during the Free Practice sessions. This resulted in Buemi lining up in P19 on the grid.
THE RACE
Both Envision Racing drivers had a clean start to the 39-lap race, holding their positions with the strategy to conserve energy to make progress later in the race.
This led to a calm opening half of the race for the two green machines, maintaining their places in 16th and 19th, before stopping for their mandatory Pit BOOST stops. Shortly after, Eriksson activated Attack Mode, while his team-mate Buemi was leaving it as late as possible for a late charge.
Eriksson climbed up to P10 but was shuffled down the order as the cars towards the rear of the field charged through, including Buemi, who was making strong progress from P19 up to P12 with his eyes set firmly on a points finish. Unfortunately, battery temperatures led to his power decreasing, and he was unable to make up the final positions at the chequered flag and ended his charge in P12. Eriksson crossed the line in P16.
A very disappointing end result for the team not to bring any points back from a hard-fought race, but the double-header weekend gives everyone a new chance with Round 8 tomorrow to come back from a tough race.
Driver Standings (after Rd7)
- Edoardo Mortara, 87pts
- Pascal Wehrlein, 83pts
- Nice Muller, 75pts
- Mitch Evans, 73pts
- Nick Cassidy, 69pts
—–
9. Sebastien Buemi, 43pts
12. Joel Eriksson, 19pts
Team Standings (after Rd7)
1. Porsche Formula E Team, 158pts
2. Jaguar TCS Racing, 138pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 101pts
4. Citroen Racing, 79pts
6. Envision Racing, 62pts
