Envision Racing endured a mixed but ultimately rewarding opening race day at the Shanghai E-Prix, with Joel Eriksson charging through the field to score valuable points and Sébastien Buemi showing strong qualifying pace before a difficult race.
A revised timetable saw the team tackle FP2 and qualifying earlier than planned at the Shanghai International Circuit, but Buemi responded well to progress from Group A into the duels and secure P6 on the grid – a positive step after challenging practice sessions.
The race itself brought changeable conditions, strategic Pit Boost timing and late Attack Mode gains, with Eriksson making the most of the closing laps to climb to P7. Buemi, meanwhile, struggled for balance and pace after his stop, eventually finishing P18, leaving the team with points scored and another opportunity to build across the double-header weekend.
QUALIFYING
With an adjusted schedule to adhere to, the team arrived at the Shanghai International Circuit in the early hours of the morning for FP2, ahead of qualifying – which had been moved three hours earlier than initially planned.
Both Envision Racing drivers hit the track for Group A of the opening qualifying of the weekend. After less-than-optimal Free Practice sessions for Buemi, with Attack Mode activation issues and not a favourable set-up, he was able to deliver when it mattered, setting a lap-time good enough to progress to the duels – finishing in P3. Eriksson lacked pace during the session and P8 in group was the final result for the Swede.
Buemi faced Andretti’s Jake Dennis in the quarterfinals, and it was shaping up to be a very close battle, right up until the final few corners, where a small error lost the Swiss driver just two tenths of a second and wasn’t able to progress any further. P6 overall on the grid for the #16 was a big improvement on recent qualifying form though and a solid starting position for the E-Prix.
THE RACE
In true Formula E fashion, the opening laps featured plenty of position swapping within the top 10, with Buemi trading places from P6-P10 frequently. Meanwhile, Eriksson initially held position, before slowly making his way through the order from Lap 9, where he slotted in P11.
On Lap 15 Buemi opted for his Pit Boost and was one of the first cars on track to take it. However, from this point on it appeared the Swiss driver was lacking car balance and therefore pace and couldn’t challenge for position.
Eriksson came into the pits a few laps later on Lap 18, which saw him emerge in P13, with Buemi down in P16. During this stage of the race saw the rain – which had been a light mist from the early laps, but not enough to make an impact – increase slightly, which caused the Race Director to call the Safety Car to assess conditions.
This was just for a brief period of time and came in two laps later. All drivers had their Attack Mode to take and Eriksson’s crew timed this perfectly which allowed the #14 to overlap the whole grid using 350kw and gain several positions during the closing laps, and finish P7.
Matters didn’t improve for Buemi’s side of the garage, and he was left down in P18 at the finish.
The double-header weekend offers another opportunity at the race day tomorrow, with another qualifying session and race for the drivers and team to tackle. Positives can be taken from both sides of the garage though, with a very positive qualifying performance from Buemi, and strong come-back in the race from Eriksson to deliver points in front of Envision Group’s home crowd.
