E-Prix Bern: Buemi ensures a happy ending 🎥
THIRD PLACE AT HOME RACE For Sébastien Buemi, third place in Bern came close to a victory. Like Zurich last year, many visitors flocked to the second and, for the time being, last Swiss Formula E race. The Bern Formula E weekend began on Thursday with shameful and criminal acts of vandalism by opponents of this event, which continued on Friday evening. They could not prevent the [...]
The Bern Formula E Weekend began on Thursday with shameful and criminal acts of vandalism by opponents of this event, which continued on Friday evening. They could not prevent the event from being a great success with the public, as it was last year in peaceful Zurich.
At the time of the race in the early hours of Saturday evening, there was at times no way through on the side of the track. The spectators witnessed an open race right to the end, which started with a mass collision and ended with Jean-Eric Vergne's third win of the season and the longed-for podium for Sébastien Buemi in the Nissan IM01.
At record speed through Bern's Obstberg district
On the 2.75-kilometer track around the relaxing Rose Garden in the Obstberg district and past the famous Bear Pit, qualifying was half the battle. Vergne set the clear best time in the DS Techeetah with 1'18.813 and an average of 125.6 km/h. Mitch Evans, the pole setter in Zurich in 2018, qualified for second place on the grid in the Jaguar, with Sébastien Buemi just 44 thousandths behind the New Zealander in third. A good starting position that he could live with.
Interruption after mass crash
At the start, Buemi appeared to briefly pass Evans but rejoined the field in third place at the chicane before a mass collision occurred behind him. The race had to be interrupted for almost three quarters of an hour. After that, the re-start, which 21 of the 22 E-bolides were still able to take, took place behind the safety car. Apart from minor skirmishes, the E-Prix Bern then ran smoothly.
Vergne ahead of second title win
Vergne came under pressure from Evans again and again, but kept his nerve and did not allow himself to make any mistakes even on the last lap in the light rain. The Frenchman celebrated his third win of the season.
The video shows the exciting final phase:
https://www.facebook.com/fiaformulae/videos/853960464976381
Because last year's winner in Switzerland, Lucas di Grassi, only managed to score a couple of points after qualifying failed (19th), Vergne extended his lead in the standings to 32 points. The Frenchman will hardly be able to snatch the second title at the finale in New York in mid-July. He already received the special 3D trophy from Voestalpine for winning the classification from the five European races after the media conference.
Safe third place for Buemi
His DS Techeetah team-mate André Lotterer, who received a time penalty and dropped back to 14th place, closed the gap to the top trio in the damp final phase. However, the Swiss Nissan driver was unable to snatch third place from him.
Sébastien Buemi: "That was a great day. Third place at the home race feels like a victory. This track was very challenging and a bit narrow for overtaking. That's why qualifying was the key to success. I had good race pace but didn't want to risk anything unnecessary. I preferred to bring third place home safely."
The following video shows the winning ceremony above the traffic circle at the Bear Pit.
https://www.facebook.com/fiaformulae/videos/1209195615929090
First season without a win?
Buemi now has two more chances to win a race in New York. If he doesn't succeed, his fifth season will be the first without a win. In the championship, Buemi definitely no longer plays a role in the battle for the medal positions.
The second Swiss driver came away empty-handed. Edoardo Mortara struggled with brake problems on his Venturi all weekend. These led to a braking error by the Geneva driver on the second lap and a collision with the BMW of Alexander Sims, which Edo paid for with retirement.
Uncertain future of the Swiss E-Prix
Not only because of the protests of residents and other opponents of a car race in the city of Bern, there will probably be no repeat in the federal capital for the foreseeable future and no Swiss E-Prix in 2020.
According to our sources, organizer Pascal Derron and his company have been stripped of the promised rights to further Swiss Formula E races by the FIA. Too many things went wrong in the environment, and financially things are not the best either. The main Swiss series sponsors ABB and Julius Baer still want to see Switzerland on the Formula E map, but no longer at any price.
