Review of the Hong Kong ePrix – Saturday: Sam Bird Dominates the Competition Despite a Pit Stop Blunder

Vergne on pole in the wrong direction

The most remarkable facts of these qualifications are certainly Mitch Evans’ last place, who couldn’t sign a fast lap due to a mistake by his team, the contact with the wall by Nicolas Prost which made him lose a lot of time. This impacted Jérôme d’Ambrosio, who ended up with the advertising banner torn off by the Frenchman, stuck in his wheels. Also noteworthy were the disappointing performances of Lucas Di Grassi, only sixth, and Sébastien Buemi, a modest ninth. Finally, it was Neel Jani who started last on the grid following a disqualification for a technical infraction.

The Super Pole, which groups together the authors of the five best times from the qualifying groups, was therefore contested between Jean-Éric Vergne, Sam Bird, Nick Heidfeld, Daniel Abt, and Felix Rosenqvist. It was ultimately Jean-Éric Vergne who recorded the best time, despite a spin at the timing line, just 27 thousandths ahead of Sam Bird.

Here is the starting grid for Race 1 of this double Hong Kong ePrix:

This is how the grid will line up for today’s #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/5Kyed4NeUY

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 2, 2017

Bird undisputed winner despite a complicated car change

Jean-Éric Vergne manages to maintain the advantage of his pole position at the start by quickly moving in front of Sam Bird. In third position, Nick Heidfeld attempts a bold maneuver on the outside at the first hairpin but fails and drops to fifth position, unable to slot back in, benefiting Oliver Turvey and Daniel Abt. The first corner is fairly cleanly negotiated by all the drivers. However, a few hectometers further, André Lotterer finds himself stuck on the outside of the chicane, blocking the track and triggering a red flag that interrupts the race. Notably, Sébastien Buemi has already climbed to seventh position, just behind Lucas Di Grassi. Felix Rosenqvist is the big loser of this start, falling to eleventh despite starting in fifth.

The race resumes behind the safety car on the third lap. Jean-Éric Vergne, who is in charge of setting the pace, makes a perfect restart and keeps the lead ahead of Sam Bird. A few laps later, there is an attempt by Buemi to overtake Di Grassi on the inside, which does not allow the Renault e-dams driver to gain the upper hand on his opponent and results in a clear contact between the two single-seaters. Just behind, at the same turn, there is a collision between Felix Rosenqvist’s Mahindra and Luca Filippi’s NIO. Both cars manage to continue with a greater loss of time for the Swede. The Italian will be penalized with a drive through for this maneuver. Meanwhile, Sam Bird is putting significant pressure on Jean-Éric Vergne in an attempt to find an opening for the race lead.

Plenty of action on the restart here in Hong Kong between @Sebastien_buemi, @LucasdiGrassi and @FRosenqvist #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/ghxdq4RFaX

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 2 décembre 2017

The two leading drivers are also building a three-second gap with the rest of the pack. Nick Heidfeld attempts an attack on Oliver Turvey but fails and loses a position to Daniel Abt. On the sixteenth lap, Lucas Di Grassi enters the pit and sees his race ruined due to a problem with the right rear wheel. This forces him to take his second car, which will struggle to reach the finish. By constantly applying pressure and thanks to a more controlled pace and consumption, Sam Bird eventually manages to overtake Jean-Éric Vergne on the inside at turn 6.

The loss of first place pushes the Techeetah driver to pit on lap 21, triggering the start of the pit stop shuffle. Bird decides to continue for another lap and pits at the same time as Nick Heidfeld. This could have been the turning point of the race, as a misjudgment by the Brit almost led to him hitting a mechanic at the entrance to his pit. However, he manages to come out ahead of Vergne. Buemi is much less fortunate, finding himself stranded on the track for a few seconds due to a technical problem. Although he manages to get going again, all his chances for a good result have vanished. After the pit stops, Nick Heidfeld is back in third while Daniel Abt lost time and dropped to ninth place. The main battle in these final laps will therefore be a fierce fight for second place between Vergne and Heidfeld.

Drama in the pit lane as @sambirdracing misses his garage… #HKEPrix pic.twitter.com/56TaD6ppVV

— FIA Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 2 décembre 2017

And then, in a dramatic turn of events, Bird is penalized with a mandatory pit lane pass, penalizing him for not entering his pit correctly. However, this doesn’t prevent him from staying in the lead until the end of the race ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne and Nick Heidfeld.

Behind this trio, it’s ultimately Piquet who takes fourth place at the expense of Engel, who is disqualified from the race for consumption above the allowed limit. The Brazilian also managed to take advantage of late braking to get ahead of Rosenqvist, and Daniel Abt also managed to pass the Swede with the same maneuver. The end of the race was definitively difficult for Rosenqvist as Da Costa managed to overtake him as well. Nicolas Prost, for his part, collects the final point available.

Here is the complete ranking of the race:

#HKePrix 🇭🇰 Results

1. @sambirdracing
2. @JeanEricVergne
3. @NickHeidfeld
4. @NelsonPiquet
5. @Daniel_Abt #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/lssWfNDvno

— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) 2 décembre 2017