Following a difficult qualifying session, both Envision Racing drivers started towards the back of the grid but managed their energy incredibly well to climb up the order and end the race with the two green machines in the points, with Sebastien Buemi in P9 and Robin Frijns finishing P10.
Shanghai marks a second home race for the team, with the Envision HQ based in the city and the team paying a visit to the employees earlier in the week.
The race brought plenty of action, with Pit Boost making its’ debut in China and overtaking throughout, which Buemi and Frijns were maximising as they moved up through the order and into the top ten.
With heavy rain forecast for the second race day in Shanghai on June 1st, the team head into Round 11 with uncertainty around the conditions, but motivation to add to the points tally following a strong first day for Round 10.
QUALIFYING
It was a qualifying session to forget for the Envision Racing squad – with the car lacking pace and therefore making it incredibly tough for the drivers to pull together a lap to progress forwards to the head-to-head duel section of qualifying.
Sebastien Buemi hit the track first in Group A and despite having a reasonable first run, which saw the Swiss sit in P5 in the session, the final lap failed to deliver, and he slipped down the order to P11.
Group B was a similar story for teammate Robin Frijns – slotting into P6 after his first push lap, but again, not able to improve on the all-important final run and ended the session in P8.
Robin Frijns qualified P16 overall and Sebastien Buemi down in P20.
THE RACE
An almighty start for the Dutchman of Frijns as he made his way up to P8 by Lap 3. Teammate Buemi opted for a more reserved start, saving energy in the opening laps, before taking an early Attack Mode and climbing through the order and into the top five.
Shortly after, Frijns opted for his extra boost in energy through Attack Mode and hit the front of the pack and into P2.
A few laps of chaos as the Pit Boost window opened and all 22 drivers took their mandatory 34-second stop to gain an extra 10% of energy. Once the field settled down after all pit stops and Attack Modes had been activated, Frijns settled into P9 and Buemi in P13.
The final laps became an energy shoot-out, jostling for positions to claim those crucial points. Buemi charged through to P9 at the line with teammate Frijns just behind in P10 to round off a positive race with both cars in the points after a challenging start to the day.
Driver Standings (after Rd10)
- Oliver Rowland, 171pts
- Taylor Barnard, 85pts
- Pascal Weherlein, 84pts
- Antonio Felix da Costa, 73pts
- Max Gunther, 71pts
- Jean Eric Vergne, 64 pts
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10. Sebastien Buemi, 47pts
20. Robin Frijns, 11pts
Team Standings (after Rd10)
1. Nissan Formula E Team, 190pts
2. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 157pts
3. DS Penske, 135pts
4. NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, 112pts
5. Mahindra Racing, 103pts
6. Andretti Formula E, 80pts
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9. Envision Racing, 58pts
