ANOTHER PODIUM AND A DOUBLE POINTS FINISH IN SAO PAULO CONFIRMED ENVISION RACING AS FORMULA E RECORD BREAKERS
Envision Racing had plenty of positives to take away from the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix last month. Both cars showed race-winning pace; Nick Cassidy came home with a third consecutive podium and team-mate Sébastien Buemi overcame an early race setback to come from last to 10th at the flag.
Not only did the result consolidate Envision Racing’s second place in the current Teams’ Championship standings after a promising start to the Season 9 campaign, but it also means that the team have currently scored more points than any other team in Formula E history.
According to Formula E Stats, Envision Racing have competed in all 106 Formula E races to date, amassing 1403 points. This places them 21 points ahead of the DAMS (now Nissan) team, and 30 ahead of ABT Sportsline.
Five teams have competed in every single E-Prix since the birth of Formula E. Alongside Envision Racing, these include Andretti Autosport, Venturi (Maserati Racing), Dragon Racing (Penske), and NIO.
Of these five, Envision Racing top the list of victories, podiums, top five and top 10 finishes.
The team have also led the most laps, as well as scoring the most pole positions and fastest laps of any team in Formula E’s ever-present quintet.
THE ROAD TO THE FRONT
Way back in 2013, Envision Racing became one of the first names to sign up to Formula E. For the maiden 2014–15 FIA Formula E Championship, the team competed as Virgin Racing, ending up fifth in the Teams’ Championship standings with two victories courtesy of Sam Bird.
Bird would win again the following season, as the team rebadged as DS Virgin Racing, and that victory in Buenos Aires along with a trio of podium finishes would give the team third place in the Teams’ standings.
How we look after Round 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship ⚡️@JuliusBaer #SaoPauloEPrix
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) March 25, 2023
For the 2018-19 season of Formula E competition, the team became Envision Virgin Racing and established themselves as genuine frontrunners as Formula E continued to grow in terms of popularity and vision. And with Envision on board and Bird and Robin Frijns at the wheel, the team visited the top step of the podium three times en route to third place once again.
Since 2021, it has all been about Envision Racing. The new name, new driver line-up has eased into the faster, more efficient GEN3 era of the sport with a bang. A taste of what was to come occurred in the final season of the GEN2 era as Nick Cassidy triumphed in New York City, and scored a third place in London.
This season, with Cassidy joined by former Formula E champion Sébastien Buemi and the pair being propelled by a Jaguar powertrain, Envision Racing have established themselves as championship contenders in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships.
Cassidy’s three successive podium finishes (in Hyderabad, Cape Town and Sao Paulo respectively) has propelled the New Zealander into contention in the Drivers’ Standings, while Buemi’s consistent points finishes despite a few doses of bad luck means the Silverstone outfit sit second in the Constructors’ Standings.
After six races so far, next up is a double-header in Germany for the Berlin E-Prix. With a potential 50 points on offer to the drivers, it could yet prove to be a pivotal weekend in the race for the two titles.
Follow Envision Racing here as they look to hit the top step of the podium in Germany and continue fighting at the front in Formula E in 2023.