Envision Racing endured a challenging outing during the first ever Tokyo night race, with both drivers showing resilience across qualifying and the race, but ultimately falling short of delivering points.
Despite several challenges to overcome, Sébastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson fought hard throughout an eventful 36-lap contest. Buemi battled back from opening-lap contact, front wing damage and a five-second penalty to recover to 14th, while Eriksson delivered a solid drive and managed changing conditions in the closing stages to finish 12th.
The drivers and team will get another stab at it tomorrow during Round 15 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the second race under the lights offering a new opportunity to score points.
QUALIFYING
In extremely hot conditions, with a track temperature exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, the team worked tirelessly to get the two cars ready for qualifying – particularly on the #16 car for Buemi, which needed a powertrain swap following FP2.
Eriksson hit the circuit first in Group A, which was down to just nine drivers following Felipe Drugovich’s crash in FP2 which saw him unable to take part. Despite a strong first lap, as competitors improved their pace, Eriksson was not able to progress to the duels, ending the session in P7 with a lap time of 1:14:127, four tenths away from the quickest in group.
A similar story unfolded in Group B for Buemi, with the Swiss driver giving it his all, but unable to convert that into a top four finish to continue into the next phase of qualifying. The conclusion of the 10-minute session saw Buemi end the session also in P7 with a lap time of 1:14:029, three tenths away from the quickest time set.
These results would classify the duo in P13 (Eriksson) and P14 (Buemi) respectively.
THE RACE
The race ran over 36 laps, with both Envision Racing drivers facing a busy and eventful evening. Buemi was caught up in contact on the opening lap, damaging his front wing and dropping as low as 17th before quickly recovering to 13th, while Eriksson made early progress to sit 11th.
Buemi was handed a five-second penalty for the collision, but both cars soon settled into a steady rhythm, with Eriksson running 11th and Buemi 12th. On lap 13, Buemi took Attack Mode and made rapid progress through the field, climbing up to second.
Eriksson completed his Pit Boost on lap 18 and then activated his Attack Mode shortly afterwards, with the pit stop and subsequent laps which followed allowing him to undercut many of his competitors and running in P6. Buemi then served his Pit Boost and penalty on lap 24, rejoining in 15th, while Eriksson settled into eighth as the race continued to unfold.
Light rain began to fall in the closing stages, adding another challenge as cars around them used their remaining Attack Mode allocation. Eriksson was shuffled back to 13th before recovering to finish 12th, with Buemi crossing the line in 14th after a combative recovery drive.
Overall, a disappointing result for the Silverstone based team, but there was plenty to learn from and regroup ahead of Round 15 tomorrow, which will give a new chance to earn points in the Japanese capital.
