Envision Racing

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Crucial Berlin double-header awaits Envision Racing’s title challengers

17 April 2023

ALL EYES ON VICTORY AND THE TOP OF THE TEAMS’ AND DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AS FORMULA E HEADS TO GERMANY 

The opening six races of the 2022–23 Formula E World Championship have served up an absolute treat of wheel-to-wheel action and drama. As Envision Racing heads to the German capital for the Berlin E-Prix, the team find themselves as genuine title contenders.

Despite that elusive first victory of the season remaining just out of the reach, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy sits third in the Drivers’ Championship standings. The Kiwi racer’s hat-trick of podiums place him just one point behind Jake Dennis in second, and 25 points off first-placed driver Pascal Wehrlein.

Not too far behind Cassidy is Envision Racing team-mate Sébastien Buemi. The multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and ex-Formula One racer has shown scintillating pace in the new GEN3 machine, only to be hamstrung somewhat by a distinct lack of luck.

Despite this, the Swiss driver sits seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, and a change in fortunes and solid points haul in Berlin could quickly help propel him up the rankings.

BIG WEEKEND FOR BIG TEAM POINTS

After three single race weekends on brand new circuits, Formula E returns to Europe for the first double-header since the Diriyah E-Prix back in January. This weekend will be a chance to bag big points.

Envision Racing, and in particular Cassidy, have excelled on the brand new circuits of Hyderabad, Cape Town and Sao Paulo, amassing 62 points for the team to ensure second place in the Teams’ Championship standings.

With two races scheduled, the Berlin E-Prix will be a vital one for teams looking to recover from a slow start to the year, or in Envision Racing’s case, chase that so far agonisingly close victory.

Big points on the apron at Tempelhof Airport will be key to Envision Racing’s challenge as the second half of the 2022–23 Formula E World Championship beckons.

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 6):
1. Pascal Wehrlein, 86pts
2. Jake Dennis, 62pts
3. Nick Cassidy, 61pts
4. Jean-Éric Vergne, 60pts
5. António Félix da Costa, 58pts
7. Sébastien Buemi, 42pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 6):
1. Porsche Formula E Team, 144pts
2. Envision Racing, 103pts
3. Jaguar Racing, 83pts
4. DS Penske, 82pts
5. Avalanche Andretti, 80pts

BACK ON FAMILIAR GROUND

This year’s Berlin E-Prix will be far from the first time the Envision Racing squad have competed in the historic and vibrant German capital. The inaugural Berlin E-Prix was held in 2015 as a stand alone race. In 2017, the Berlin E-Prix became a double-header for the first time, and in that year current Envision Racing charger Sébastien Buemi won his second race in the German capital.

For the COVID-19 pandemic-impacted season in 2020, the Tempelhof Circuit did some seriously heavy lifting. As the world locked down, and sporting events and travel became restricted, the German venue hosted six back-to-back races between August 5 and 13 to decide the outcome of the 2019–20 Formula E Championship. 

Things will be a lot more straightforward this year, and Buemi will be looking to make it a hat-trick of career wins in Berlin.

THE CHALLENGE IN BERLIN

Following six races on asphalt, the surface of the circuit of the Tempelhof Airport Circuit offers a very different challenge for the teams and drivers. In Berlin, the expansive concrete apron of the historic Tempelhof Airport, designed for planes rather than cars, will provide the stage for both races.

As a result, the racing surface is highly abrasive and key to success will be a focus on energy management as well as ensuring that tyre wear is closely monitored. Add to that the fact that it is now summer in Europe and there’s little to no shade, so the track will get pretty hot come race day.

There are plenty of places to overtake as the wide straights and sweeping turns lead into four hairpins. Envision Racing have already proven that their Jaguar-powered machine is a front-runner and if Nick Cassidy and Sébastien Buemi can handle the heat and manage the tyre wear across the circuit’s 10 varying turns, more massive points will be earned and that first win of the season might just be on the cards.

LAST  TIME OUT

What a race it was in Sao Paulo.

Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy once again made it into the knock-out phase of qualifying and ended up fifth on the grid as Formula E did its thing for the first time in Brazil. 

The Kiwi claimed third place in Cape Town, and in South America ran at the front all race, refusing to give up on chasing down eventual race winner Mitch Evans in the Jaguar. In what was one of the most exciting battles of the year so far, Cassidy ended up as the meat in a Jaguar sandwich, defending from Evans’ team-mate Sam Bird in a near photo finish..

Further back, Cassidy’s Envision Racing team-mate Sébastien Buemi had a tough afternoon. The Swiss driver used all his experience to battle back from an early race setback to take 10th at the flag.

Buemi knows what it takes to win in Berlin, and Cassidy will be hunting a fourth consecutive podium finish, and just maybe, that first E-Prix victory of the season.

WHERE AND WHEN TO CATCH THE ACTION (ALL TIMES BST)

FREE PRACTICE 1 

Friday 21/04 – 15:55 – 16:45

FREE PRACTICE 2

Saturday 22/04 – 07:05 – 07:55

QUALIFYING

Saturday 22/04 – 09:40 – 10:55

RACE 1

Saturday 22/04 – 14:03 – 15:30

FREE PRACTICE 3

Sunday 23/04 – 07:05 – 07:55

QUALIFYING

Sunday 23/04 – 09:40 – 10:55

RACE 2

Sunday 23/04 – 14:03 – 15:30

 

Follow Envision Racing at the Cape Town E-Prix and throughout the 2022–23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship HERE

LATEST NEWS

DOUBLE POINTS FOR ENVISION RACING AT THE MEXICO E-PRIX

14 January 2023

SÉBASTIEN BUEMI KICKED OFF HIS ENVISION RACING CAREER WITH A STELLAR SIXTH AS GEN3 DELIVERED THE THRILLS AND SPILLS IN MEXICO CITY

Envision Racing’s new boy Sébastien Buemi showed pace and class as an exciting new chapter for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship kicked off in Mexico City with the GEN3 era, the fastest, most efficient iteration of the series, and both Buemi and team-mate Nick Cassidy showed that they are ready to fight for success in 2023.

Buemi drove superbly, calling upon all of his world class racecraft, mixing attack and defence with some serious pace from his Envision Racing machine, to take sixth place with the podium well in his sights.

Envision Racing team-mate Cassidy had plenty to be cheerful about under blue skies at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The Kiwi driver got his head down, kept out of trouble and managed to bring it home ninth to score two vital points. 

In qualifying, Buemi proved to be no slouch in the first ever GEN3 session, propelling his Jaguar I-Type 6 into the head-to-head shootout, only to narrowly lose out to eventual pole position-winner Lucas di Grassi.

Buemi would start the Mexico City E-Prix a solid seventh, whilst team-mate Cassidy got his campaign underway from 12th on the grid.

THE RACE

MEXICO E-PRIX

All 22 drivers executed a sensible start to the opening race of the season, and by the time the first lap of the 2022–23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was complete, Buemi found himself in eighth with Cassidy running 13th as a safety car was triggered due to a collision between Robin Frijns and Norman Nato.

The race got back underway, minus Frijns and Nato, on lap six, only for an almost instantaneous second safety car period actioned as a result of Sam Bird’s stricken Jaguar at turn two. At the restart, Di Grassi led Jake Dennis ,as Buemi looked to find a way around Formula E rookie Sacha Fenestraz. 

By lap 14, Buemi made his way back to where he started, taking seventh and hounding Fenestraz. Meanwhile, with an Attack Mode advantage, Cassidy made his way back to his 12th place to slot in behind reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne.

Buemi elected to trigger his first Attack Mode phase on lap 15, slipping back to eighth behind António Félix da Costa. The Swiss ace engaged in a mouth-watering duel with his fellow former champion, before a third safety car was sent out as the Maserati of Edoardo Mortara spun into the barriers at turn one.

Restart number three was headed by Dennis from di Grassi and Jake Hughes, as Buemi continued his pursuit of da Costa with Mitch Evans following the Envision Racing man. On lap 26, Buemi claimed seventh place to resume his chase of Fenestraz as things started to heat up at the front of the field.

Seventh became sixth for Buemi a lap later as Fenestraz deviated to take Attack Mode. Next on Buemi’s hit list was the Avalanche Andretti of Andre Lotterer. Could Buemi reel in the German driver as the race entered the closing laps?

The answer was yes, as the Envision Racing driver slashed Lotterer’s advantage. Eight laps were added to the original 36-lap race duration as a result of the three safety car interruptions, but could Buemi make his way by and up into fifth? 

Buemi’s quest for the top five was helped as Lotterer engaged in some close quarter combat with Hughes. The squabble meant that as the race approached the final three laps, Buemi could smell a podium place as the final car in a bracing four-way scrap for third before da Costa joined the train to try and wrestle sixth from Buemi.

On the final lap, Buemi was forced to defend from da Costa, which he did artfully to cross the line in sixth, as up front Dennis won convincingly from Pascal Wehrlein and di Grassi. Not to far behind Buemi, Cassidy kept his nose clean to end up a creditable ninth in Mexico City and kick off the year with a well-earned 10 points for the team.

“My first weekend with Envision Racing and the GEN3 era, and I am really happy with sixth place,” commented Buemi. “I think we actually could have achieved a slightly better result, and we finished the race with a lot of energy remaining, and we had good pace. A small mistake in qualifying meant I wasn’t as fast as I could have been and could have ended up higher on the grid, but all in all I think it has been a very good weekend. The team has done an amazing job and to get both cars in the points and sixth and ninth is a great result. I’m full of confidence and looking forward to the next race in Riyadh.”

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 1):
1. Jake Dennis, 26pts
2. Pascal Wehrlein, 18pts
3. Lucas di Grassi , 18pts
4. Andre Lotterer, 12pts
5. Jake Hughes, 10pts
6. Sébastien Buemi, 8pts
9. Nick Cassidy, 2pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 1):
1. Avalanche Andretti, 38pts
2. Porsche Formula E Team, 24pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 18pts
4. McLaren Formula E Team, 10pts
5. Envision Racing, 10pts