Formula E: BMW debacle and Buemi frustration 🎥
FORGOTTING THE WIN The two BMW drivers missed out on a tangible one-two victory at the Marrakesh E-Prix due to a collision. The beneficiary was Mahindra Racing. The Swiss drivers Buemi and Mortara were unable to capitalize on this. With the second-best time in qualifying and fourth in the Super Pole elimination, the starting position for Sébastien Buemi at the Marrakesh E-Prix, the second round of the FIA [...]
#FormulaE - Watch the best moments from the 2nd round of the 2018-19 @FIAFormulaE championship, the #MarrakeshEPrix 🇲🇦⬇ pic.twitter.com/iS61OndvDF
- FIA (@fia) January 13, 2019
With the second-best time in qualifying and fourth in the super pole elimination, the starting position for Sébastien Buemi at the Marrakesh E-Prix, the second round of the FIA Formula E Championship, was not bad. However, hopes of a first podium of the season with Nissan evaporated after just a few meters.
The master turns the first corner
Jean-Eric Vergne, who started second on the grid, spun in the DS Techeetah on the first corner while trying to overtake pole setter Sam Bird on the inside. Buemi was one of the drivers who had to take evasive action and lost several positions.
In eighth place, the Nissan driver scored just four more points in Morocco. However, Buemi's second-fastest race lap and fifth place for defending champion Vergne, who had initially dropped back even further, proved that his race to catch up could have yielded more.
Sébastien Buemi: "It's a bit frustrating. The races with the Gen2 cars and the new race format are pretty unpredictable. We had a car for the podium and, as in Saudi Arabia, we were once again off the podium. The positive thing is that we have the speed and are now doing everything we can to make more of it at the next race in Chile."
The third race will take place on January 26 in Santiago de Chile. There, Edoardo Mortara is also hoping to finally score his first points with Venturi. At the moment, the Monegasque Gen2 cars are still not really technically competitive.
The following video shows how Sébastien Buemi had to take evasive action in the first corner and what he and his team-mate Oliver Rowland had to say about the Marrakesh E-Prix:
Debacle for BMW
The second race of the season on the 2.99-kilometer circuit in Marrakesh was turbulent right to the end. For a long time, it looked as if BMW drivers Félix da Costa and Alexander Sims would take a one-two victory. Just a few laps before the end, however, both slowed in a direct duel. Championship leader Da Costa slid into the tire barrier, while Sims was able to snatch fourth place. According to BMW race director Jens Marquart, something like this should never happen again...
Victory after this safety car phase went to the Belgian Jérôme d'Ambrosio on Mahindra in the final sprint over one lap, who now leads the championship. In the photo finish, the first seven cars crossed the finish line within 1.633 seconds of each other.
