Envision Racing’s Sébastien Buemi qualified 2nd and ran at the front before claiming 3rd place in the opening race of the London E-Prix double-header on Saturday
The opening race of the season-ending London E-Prix saw a strong qualifying and a satisfying race result for former champion Sébastien Buemi. After battling it out for pole position, it looked like a return to the podium for the Envision Racing driver for the first time since the opening race of the season in Mexico was just out of reach.
That was until a late-race mechanical issue hit Maximilian Günther in third, handing a podium-paying place back to Buemi, ensuring vital points for Envision Racing as they overtake McLaren in the Teams’ Standings.
It was disappointment in London for Buemi’s team-mate Robin Frijns, however. Despite a strong qualifying, his race ended on lap one – with the force of the incident meaning he later went to the hospital for medical checks.
QUALIFYING
Building on the momentum from the last double-header weekend in Portland, both Envision Racing drivers looked quick in qualifying for the weekend’s opening race in London. So quick in fact, that both Buemi and Frijns made it into the duels with the second and fourth fastest times respectively.
Buemi took on Nissan’s Oliver Rowland in the first quarter final, beating the Brit and progressing to the semi final phase. Frijns followed. The Envision Racing man took on championship hopeful Pascal Wehrlein. After a hotly-contested lap, Wehrlein just about did enough, knocking Frijns out, meaning he would start eighth in London.
Flying the flag for Envision Racing, Buemi faced off with Wehrlein in the first semi-final. The Swiss driver was quick, and knocked out the Porsche driver, ending up almost half a second quicker to seal a place in the final.
Buemi took on the Kiwi driver Mitch Evans in the final, and after a close battle of the Jaguar-powered cars, it was Evans who claimed pole position, denying Buemi a record-equalling 17th pole position.
THE RACE
At the start it was pole-sitter Evans who made the best start as Buemi slotted into second as the pack streamed its way from the indoor section and into daylight. Frijns’ race came to an end in the barriers halfway around the opening lap, triggering a safety car.
At the restart, Buemi slotted back in behind Evans, followed by Norman Nato. The smooth action didn’t last long as a pair of incidents, involving four cars, necessitated a couple of lengthy yellow flag periods.
At the start of lap five, Buemi moved into the lead for the first time and stayed there, with Evans slotted in behind, followed by Wehrlein in third. Buemi elected to take his first Attack Mode phase on lap 16, dropping to second and releasing Evans into the lead. It was back to Buemi leading one lap later as Evans took Attack Mode.
It was all change at the end of lap 20 of the scheduled 37-lap duration, as Buemi slipped from first to third with Evans leading from Wehrlein. Things changed again two laps later as Wehrlein snatched the lead at the start of lap 22, offering Buemi a grandstand view in third.
Buemi dropped to fourth on lap 26 as he took another Attack Mode, with Günther moving up into third. Up front, a dramatic duel between Evans and Wehrlein saw the latter prevail and start to establish a commanding lead entering the final 10 laps.
A late-race safety car closed up the pack as two laps were added to the original race distance, and at the restart a mechanical incident for third-place man Günther dramatically handed third place back to Buemi – and that stricken car, combined with an incident featuring the second Maserati ultimately triggered a full-course yellow.
Entering the final lap of the race, it was Wehrlein who claimed the victory, also assuming the championship lead, ahead of Evans, with Buemi taking a superb third place with more to come on Sunday.
Drivers’ standings (after Rd 15):
1. Pascal Wehrlein, 180pts
2. Mitch Evans, 177pts
3. Nick Cassidy, 173pts
4. António Félix da Costa, 134pts
5. Oliver Rowland, 131pts
9. Robin Frijns, 60pts
15. Sébastien Buemi, 41pts
22. Joel Eriksson, 2pts
Teams’ standings (after Rd 15):
1. Jaguar TCS Racing, 350pts
2. Porsche Formula E Team, 315pts
3. DS Penske, 186pts
4. Andretti Formula E, 169pts
5. Nissan, 157pts
6. Envision Racing, 103pts
