Formula E: Buemi only fifth in Paris
MISSING SUCCESS At Renault's home race in Paris, last year's winner Sébastien Buemi had to settle for fifth place. The title train has practically left the track for him. His hopes of a home win on June 10 in Zurich are growing. In 2015, Sébastien Buemi stood on the podium at the first ePrix in Paris, and before [...]
In 2015, Sébastien Buemi stood on the podium at the first ePrix in Paris, and a year ago he celebrated his penultimate victory there. This time, both the Swiss driver and the French Renault works team had to settle for fifth place. A small consolation: with Renault electric technology under the bodywork of the Teechetah, Jean-Eric Vergne achieved an acclaimed start/finish victory in front of his home crowd.
Buemi missed out on a place in the super pole qualifying of the fastest five by just 14 thousandths of a second. Not a good starting position on the 1.9 km long track around the historic Hôtel des Invalides with a view of the Eiffel Tower, where overtaking is difficult.
The Vaud native made up two places at the start and was involved in a battle for fifth place in the second half of the race. Buemi finally brought this home, also benefiting from the hanky-panky of two rivals in front of him.
Sébastien Buemi: "My start was good, as was our strategy. Unfortunately, the setup of the second car was not ideal, so I remained blocked behind Maro Engel. Daniel Abt got past me thanks to the fan boost, but I was able to overtake him again on the last lap. We even touched each other. The result is not satisfactory, but I'm taking a few positive things with me."
Next stop Berlin, where Buemi last won
Sébastien Buemi will travel to the next race on May 19 in Berlin, where he celebrated his last FIA Formula E triumph to date on June 11, 2017, with positive feelings. After that, his home race in Zurich on June 10 is on the agenda, with high hopes and expectations.
Buemi's title chances are still theoretically intact. However, Jean-Eric Vergne already has 147 points to his name after his third win of the season, followed by Sam Bird from DS Virgin Racing (116), who finished third behind Lucas di Grassi in Paris. Vergne is only the second driver after Sam Bird (winner in London 2015) to win a home race.
A new master announces his arrival
Defending champion di Grassi is in fifth place in the standings behind Felix Rosenqvist (86) and Buemi (70) with 58 points so far. With just four races to go, it looks like there will be a new champion in the fourth season of Formula E.
