Envision Racing battled through a dramatic second race in Tokyo, with changing weather conditions, strategic Attack Mode calls and late-race incidents shaping a challenging day on track.
After starting from P16 and P20 following qualifying penalties, Sébastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson both made progress through the field, with Buemi ultimately converting a composed drive into a seventh-place finish – however a post-race penalty pushed him down to P16 in the classification.
The result provides a hard-earned points finish as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship now heads towards its season finale in London. With the final two races of the campaign taking place in two weeks’ time, the team will look to build on the resilience shown in Tokyo and finish the season strongly on home soil.
QUALIFYING
A huge downpour, along with thunder and lightning caused FP3 to be cancelled with the entire paddock evacuated until it cleared. This led to qualifying being the first time the cars went onto the track for the second of two race days in Tokyo.
Both Envision Racing drivers were up in Group A, and with an ever-drying circuit, the engineers carefully monitored conditions ahead of the 10-minute session to determine tyre settings.
After initial strong laps for both drivers, their track position meant that they subsequently had a lap less than their competitors. Buemi ended the session in P7, with Eriksson down in P10 in group.
With each of the Envision Racing duo faced with a 3-place grid penalty, it resulted in a final starting position of P16 for Buemi and P20 for Eriksson.
THE RACE
Following an earlier shower of rain, the race began behind the Safety Car for one lap – to assess the weather conditions – before the field lined up for a standing start. From P16 and P20 on the grid, Sébastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson made early progress, with Buemi climbing to P13 and Eriksson moving into P19. As five cars opted to take Attack Mode early, Buemi continued to make gains, passing Norman Nato to move up to P12.
Eriksson took his first Attack Mode on lap 11 as the race continued to unfold, while Buemi stayed in contention around the points-paying positions. On lap 15, Buemi was involved in contact with Martí, triggering a Full Course Yellow. Racing resumed on lap 16 with Buemi running P10 and Eriksson P15, as battles at the front helped compress the field and create opportunities further down the order.
With the leading group continuing to fight hard, the Envision Racing drivers held position in the pack. Buemi briefly ran P11 following Cassidy’s Attack Mode, before taking his own first Attack Mode on lap 26 for two minutes, moving back into P10. He then immediately activated his second Attack Mode for the final six minutes, while Eriksson also gained ground to run P13.
One additional lap was added, and Eriksson took his final Attack Mode on lap 31 for the last four minutes of racing. However, his race came to an early end after he was caught up in an incident involving Edoardo Mortara, who made contact with the Swedish driver, bringing out the red flag and forcing him to retire.
Following the stoppage, Buemi restarted from P7 for a final-lap shootout behind a rolling start. He held position to the chequered flag, however, a post-race penalty deemed Buemi at fault for the incident with Marti, which pushed the Swiss driver back down to P16.
A very disappointing end to the weekend in Tokyo for the Envision Racing squad, and the team leave Japan hungry to end the season on a high in London on August 15 & 16.
