Envision Racing

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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

 

 

RACING

2022 Diriyah E-Prix: Photo Gallery

1 February 2022

LATEST NEWS

TITLE HOPES STILL ALIVE IN BERLIN DESPITE NO POINTS IN FIRST RACE

14 August 2021

ENVISION RACING’S ROBIN FRIJNS DID PLENTY OF OVERTAKING IN BERLIN’S ROUND 14 AND WILL START THE SEASON FINALE JUST 6 POINTS OFF THE TOP

Under blue skies in Berlin the penultimate round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship kicked off with 18 drivers mathematically in contention for the title, including both Envision Racing drivers Robin Frijns and Nick Cassidy.

45 minutes and one lap of the Berlin Tempelhof circuit later, Frijns’ ended a heroic bid for points, recovering from a difficult qualifying session to finish 16th after starting 23rd and running as high as 13th mid-race. Despite scoring no points Frijns is still in the title hunt heading into Sunday’s championship finale and will start Round 15 in Berlin fifth in the standings, just six points off top spot.

Similarly, Envision Racing started the weekend at the top of the Team’s standings and despite being knocked off the summit following the first race in Berlin still look strong and will start the final race of the season in third place and just six points behind new leaders Jaguar Racing.

Frijns’ Envision Racing’s team-mate Cassidy ended qualifying for race one in a creditable 13th place from the Q2 group and by the end of lap one was in 11th, where he would remain for several laps, as the field proceeded with caution, with little overtaking or contact, headed by Jean Eric Vergne.

With 35 minutes remaining, Cassidy slipped back to 14th as team-mate Frijns started to move forward. This season Robin Frijns has made a name for himself as a man who can fight his way through the field, and those attributes needed to be front and centre in Berlin.

Blaming his lowly grid position on a small mistake in qualifying, Frijns played a waiting game during the opening laps, holding station at the rear of the pack and saving energy.

With 32 minutes remaining a safety car was deployed due to Sam Bird’s stricken Jaguar and Frijns found himself up in 16th place. When racing got back underway the prospect of points was a distinct possibility for the Envision Racing driver.

A points paying result for Frijns looked an even closer possibility with 20 minutes remaining. The Dutchman ghosted into 13th place as early leader Vergne slid backwards through the field with the two Audi cars moving to the front with Lucas di Grassi leading team-mate René Rast in the German manufacturer’s final Formula E weekend.

Audi’s one-two didn’t last long as the two Venturi cars cycled to the front with Edoardo Mortara leading as further back Frijns hunted down Sébastien Buemi only to have his progress baulked by a pass from Alex Lynn.

Entering the final ten minutes, both Envision Racing machines were line astern in 15th and 16th, with Cassidy activating his Attack Mode and leading Frijns. Cassidy soon moved up into 14th, showing strong late race pace and at the chequered flag Frijns found himself once again one place behind team-mate Cassidy with the pair finishing 14th and 15th respectively. At the front di Grassi took the victory by a car’s length ahead of Mortara with Mitch Evans in third place.

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 14):
1. Nyck de Vries 95pts
2. Edoardo Mortara, 92pts
3. Jake Dennis, 91pts
4. Mitch Evans, 90pts
5. Robin Frijns, 89pts
11. Nick Cassidy, 76pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 14):
1. Jaguar Racing, 171pts
2. DS Techeetah, 166pts
3. Envision Racing, 165pts
4. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 162pts
5. Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, 158pts