In what was close to be a wash-out Round 8 of the all-electric series, the rain held off and allowed the race to go ahead – which saw Sebastien Buemi finish P4 and Robin Frijns P9.
Following a cancelled qualifying session – there were huge doubts if the race would go ahead due to adverse weather, though it cleared up in the Japanese capital just in time for the race start.
It was very close for Buemi to score a second consecutive podium, but he just missed out due to rivals capitalising on their Pit Boost stops over the Red Flag period. However, another strong finish for the Swiss in the wet conditions.
Frijns held off the charging Nick Cassidy in the closing stages to maintain P10 (which became P9 after post race penalties) and bring home the first double points finish of Season 11 – thus moving the team to P8 in the overall standings.
QUALIFYING
Extreme weather resulted in the qualifying session being cancelled, and therefore the FP2 classification from earlier in the morning determined the starting grid – with Seb in P6 and Robin P10.
THE RACE
After hours of rain, the likelihood of the race going ahead was looking doubtful – but the weather finally eased off and the 22 cars took to the grid for the 35-lap race.
An initial safety car period for four laps whilst the officials and drivers assessed the track conditions eventually led to a standing start. A good strategy call saw Buemi take Attack Mode immediately and work his way straight to the front, from his P6 starting position to P3.
Frijns moved up the order during the opening laps to P7, before a Red Flag was brought out due to Max Guenther stopping on track.
Another standing start for the drivers to tackle once the track was clear, with both cars remaining in their positions. The next few laps saw the grid come into the pits at various points to take their Pit Boost stops to increase energy by 10%. Once all stops had been taken the #16 of Buemi settled into P5 and #4 of Frijns in P9.
From there Buemi charged through the Tokyo streets, setting fast lap times to pass Edoardo Mortara and close the gap up to the podium positions. He just ran out of time to make an overtake and crossed the line P4.
Rounding off a strong race, was team mate Frijns, who fought hard to maintain his place in the points, finishing in P10, and promoted to P9 post race.
Driver Standings (after Rd8)
- Oliver Rowland, 133pts
- Antonio Felix Da Costa, 73pts
- Taylor Barnard, 69pts
- Pascal Wehrlein, 66pts
- Nyck De Vries, 56pts
- Edoardo Mortara, 47pts
—–
9. Sebastien Buemi, 44pts
20. Robin Frijns, 9pts
Team Standings (after Rd8)
1. Nissan Formula E Team, 144pts
2. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 139pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 103pts
4. NEMO McLaren Formula E Team, 85pts
5. DS Penske, 78pts
6. Maserati MSG Racing, 71pts
—–
8. Envision Racing, 53pts
