Sebastien Buemi delivered a masterclass comeback in the final round of Season 11 to charge through from P19 on the grid to P3.
A podium finish to end the season on a high was exactly what the Envision Racing team needed. An incredibly competitive race which required an excellent energy management strategy was executed perfectly from Buemi’s side of the garage.
It looked set for a double points finish, with Robin Frijns also climbing through the field in similar fashion to his team-mate but unfortunately slipped out of the points in the closing stages.
Nonetheless, a podium finish in the final race of an incredibly up-and-down season is a great reward to the whole team for the continuous hard work all year, and to go into the off-season with a boost in motivation to come back fighting in Season 12.
QUALIFYING
The final qualifying session of Season 11 was incredibly tight – as it has been all season long. Robin Frijns hit the track first in Group A, setting quick sector times throughout, despite disruption early on with a Red Flag due to Antonio Felix Da Costa stopping on track. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough for a spot in the top four, and the Dutchman finished in P6, just one tenth away from progressing through.
Group B was just as competitive, and although Buemi was quick initially, he also failed to set a lap time to earn himself a spot in the duels and finished P8. To add more of a challenge for the Swiss driver, he would also face a 5-place grid penalty due to contact in the previous race.
THE RACE
With Robin Frijns starting in P12 and Sebastien Buemi down in P19, both drivers had it all to do to bring home a strong result.
A clean start for all 22-drivers, with the majority of the pack remaining in their starting positions. As the opening laps progressed, the Envision Racing duo slowly started to work their way up the order.
The drama begun on Lap 10 with a brief Full Course Yellow moment due to an incident between Taylor Barnard and Norman Nato.
Once racing went green, Buemi had his sights set on moving up the order, and activated his first Attack Mode, followed by Frijns the lap later. The pair climbed up the order, assisted by a collision between Oliver Rowland and Nico Muller, which brought out the Safety Car.
Once racing resumed again, Buemi was in P7 and Frijns P9. The #16 of Buemi then took his final Attack Mode and used this to make some impressive overtakes and up to P4. However, Mitch Evans had been handed a 5-second penalty and was running in second, although the penalty would place him down the order and promote Buemi into a podium position.
All eyes remained on the screens to ensure Buemi held his position to keep the podium, which the former Formula E champion managed to do successfully and clinched an excellent P3 finish at the line – a fantastic way to end the season.
Frustratingly, Frijns was suffering with energy towards the final stages of the race and slipped down the order to P13 after looking strong for most of the race.
Driver Standings (after Rd16 – Final Standings)
- Oliver Rowland, 184pts
- Nick Cassidy, 153pts
- Pascal Wehrlein, 145pts
- Taylor Barnard, 112pts
- Antonio Felix Da Costa, 111pts
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12. Sebastien Buemi, 84pts
19. Robin Frijns, 23pts
Team Standings (after Rd16 – Final Standings)
1. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 256pts
2. Jaguar TCS Racing, 227pts
3. Nissan Formula E Team, 207pts
4. Mahindra Racing, 186pts
5. DS Penske, 184pts
—–
8. Envision Racing, 107pts
