A race full of drama resulted in another points finish for Joel Eriksson during his debut weekend around the Monte Carlo streets. Sebastien Buemi looked strong for another excellent comeback before contact from another driver caused a puncture, putting him way behind the field.
Both drivers struggled to find the pace in the cars during qualifying, putting them both on the back foot for the race. However, both raced hard throughout to put themselves in a fighting chance. Ultimately a puncture ended Buemi’s hunt for redemption and he finished in P17. Eriksson meanwhile opted for a late Attack Mode strategy which enabled the Swedish driver to propel himself and his #14 car into P8 at the finish.
The team now have a five-week gap until Round 11 where Formula E returns to Sanya on June 20.
QUALIFYING
It was unfortunately a qualifying session to forget for both drivers, with neither car able to set a lap time quick enough to progress through to the duels. Eriksson classified in P16 overall, with Buemi just behind in P17.
RACE
The 28 lap E-Prix saw Buemi make an impact in the opening laps, working his way up to P14 by Lap 2, avoiding any early drama. Eriksson held his position in the initial laps, before taking his first Attack Mode on Lap 7, quickly followed by Buemi activating his four minutes the next lap.
After the first Attack Mode expired, Buemi was in P11 with Eriksson P14. Buemi was able to narrowly avoid a DNF after Max Gunther hit into the side of him at the Fairmont Hairpin. The Swiss driver then took his second Attack Mode, which was timed perfectly to position himself into the top five, but then disaster struck when contact from behind caused a puncture and put him out of contention.
It was all down to Eriksson to bring home the points, which he successfully did after a strong final Attack Mode stint, which put him up to P8, despite missing out on using the full allocation after a brief Full Course Yellow period.
Overall, a mixed result with much more potential for both drivers to score more. But, the team take plenty of positives forward to analyse and know the areas which need improvement heading into the final seven races of Season 12.
Driver Standings (after Rd10)
- Mitch Evans, 128ts
- Oliver Rowland 109pts
- Edoardo Mortara, 103pts
- Pascal Wehrlein, 101pts
- Nico Muller, 83pts
—–
9. Sebastien Buemi, 65pts
12. Joel Eriksson, 40pts
Team Standings (after Rd10)
1. Jaguar TCS Racing, 208pts
2. Porsche Formula E Team, 184pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 146pts
4. Nissan Formula E Team, 120pts
5. Envision Racing, 99pts
