London ePrix, Saturday: Nico Prost back on top, di Grassi keeps Buemi’s lead for the time being

The weekend’s challenge: two men for one crown!

The main attraction of this London round is, of course, the constant battle for the drivers’ title. To succeed Nelson Piquet (NEXTEV TCR), champion of the first season, two men are in the running: Lucas di Grassi (ABT Schaeffler) and Sébastien Buemi (Renault e.Dams).

With three victories, it was the Brazilian who had the upper hand at the start of the race, with a total of 141 points. But just one point behind, there was the Swiss driver from the French team, who caught up after his victory in the previous round more than a month ago in Berlin.

Info or intox, di Grassi shifted the pressure onto his opponent a few hours before hostilities began:

« It will be extremely difficult for me to resist. We are very close in the standings, and Buemi has an advantage with the best crew of the season. »

Model of consistency (seven podiums in eight races, and only one disqualification in Mexico), the Audi Endurance driver stuck to a well-established plan:

« I will try to optimize every component of my car and not make any mistakes. I must have the same approach as in other races to beat him in a fair and honest way. »

For his part, Sébastien Buemi mainly had confidence in the speed of his Renault e.Dams.

I am convinced that we have the pace, but it’s really difficult to put all the right details together.

We had the speed on this track last year. That said, in qualifying, we weren’t able to make the most of our tires and brakes – which obviously doesn’t make me very confident for this weekend!

For this, the setting of the battle remains the same as in season 1. The Formula E actors returned to the very narrow track laid out in the heart of Battersea Park, 2.925 kilometers long and comprising 17 turns, which you can see in this onboard camera footage:

Similarly, let’s remind once again that the London ePrix featured two races: one on Saturday and another on Sunday afternoon, which will officially conclude this second season.

Qualifications: Nico Prost the big beneficiary of changing weather!

In the middle of the day, Nico Prost claimed the pole position on this Formula E Saturday.

For that, he had to dominate typically British weather conditions. The London rain added its touch, penalizing the drivers of the last two groups, including Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi.

The final time of Nico Prost at 1:27.192 marked a significant improvement, with a gain of three seconds compared to his performance in free practice. But it is especially his impressive performance in the Super Pole that will be remembered, with a gap of more than five-tenths over his closest pursuer, the surprising Bruno Senna (Mahindra)!

This session began with a crash, that of Jean-Eric Vergne. Placed in the first qualifying group, the DS Virgin Racing driver lost the rear of his car and ended up in the wall. Nico Prost already benefited from a favorable situation by managing to complete his lap just before the red flag. Conversely, Robin Frijns (Andretti) had to abruptly cut off his first attempt, but he managed to set a good time on the restart, sending him to the Super-Pole!

The clouds were gathering over the urban park, but the four drivers of Q2 were completing their laps on a still dry track. The British driver Oliver Turvey (NEXTEV TCR) moved into a nice second position, ahead of Bruno Senna, who barely avoided contact with the wall at the exit of the last corner.

Once again, the red flag was out as Stéphane Sarrazin placed his Venturi too far inside a turn, damaging his front left tire. This interruption led to the official arrival of rain, which doomed di Grassi and Buemi, who competed in the session a few minutes later on a far trickier track, despite the return of the sun.

Finishing 13 seconds off Nico Prost’s initial time, Sébastien Buemi ranked in a poor 14th position, after attempting his lap early in the session. Moreover, di Grassi managed to limit the damage slightly better by finishing 11th, nearly 12 and a half seconds behind.

The track remained wet for the fourth and final session after yet another red flag following a mistake by Mike Conway (Venturi).

In the end, the pole position was contested between four drivers from Q1 and Q2, with the fifth man, Jean-Eric Vergne, unable to participate further in the competition after his crash. Nico Prost made the most of his position as the last man on the track to surpass Bruno Senna’s time and secure his first pole position since the Putrajaya ePrix qualifiers in 2014! This moment certainly deserved an embrace with the co-manager of his team, who is, of course, none other than his own father!

It’s a Family Affair! Alain Prost congratulates son Nico Prost for Pole Position #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/SXKaJqpBOD

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 2 juillet 2016

SUPER-POLE:

1 Nicolas Prost, Renault e.Dams: 1:27.192

2 Bruno Senna, Mahindra: 1:27.758

3 Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR: 1:28.284

4 Robin Frijns, Andretti: 1:29.500

5 Jean-Éric Vergne, DS Virgin Racing: No time

6 Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler: 1:29.814

7 Sam Bird, DS Virgin: 1:30.453

8 Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra: 1:32.367

9 Stéphane Sarrazin, Venturi: 1:33.660

10 Loïc Duval, Dragon: 1:35.315

11 Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler: 1:35.711

12 Jérôme d’Ambrosio, Dragon: 1:35.727

13 Ma Qing Hua, Aguri: 1:36.748

14 Sébastien Buemi, Renault e.Dams: 1:36.771

15 Mike Conway, Venturi: 1:37.562

16 António Félix da Costa, Aguri: 1:38.501

17 Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR: 1:38.922

18 Simona de Silvestro, Andretti: 1:50.455

The race: Imperial victory for Prost, thrilling scenario further back around di Grassi and Buemi!

Starting from pole position, Nico Prost had a relatively smooth race by quickly breaking away from the rest of the pack.

Only Bruno Senna was clinging on as best as he could to keep up with the French driver. Having had little success this season, the Renault e.Dams driver was able to widen the gap this time, leaving his pursuers more than 10 seconds behind after the mid-race car change.

Behind, the spectacle for the title race was epic! Both Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi gained positions at the cost of several spectacular overtakes!

The two contenders were driving within a very tight-knit group, from Robin Frijns, virtually fourth, to Buemi, ninth in the eleventh lap of the race. In between, there were Vergne, Bird, and Di Grassi.

In this constant struggle, Daniel Abt spiced up the race by defending his position against Buemi, who was back in his rearview mirrors. Shortly before, Abt had willingly given up his place to Di Grassi.

But the German from the eponymous team made a mistake on the 20th lap by hitting the wall, even dragging Robin Frijns into his misfortune, as they were battling each other!

The safety car was then deployed, releasing the pack for the final ten laps of the race, once the debris was cleared from the London track.

Nico Prost then reignited the debates, still ahead of Senna and Turvey, with di Grassi in fifth and Buemi in sixth. The tension rose another notch as di Grassi lost a piece of his front wing in his battle with Vergne right in front of him! A sword of Damocles hung over the head of the ABT Schaeffler driver, who could lose big at any moment, both literally and figuratively.

.@LucasdiGrassi, @Sebastien_buemi & @JeanEricVergne getting a little too close for comfort #LondonePrix https://t.co/tZ0IMOrl3d

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 2 juillet 2016

The radio exchanges were delightful, particularly conveying Buemi’s extreme tension. The Brazilian and the Swiss were in close combat on the 27th lap, and di Grassi braked as late as possible to resist an inside overtaking maneuver.

In front of them, Vergne and Turvey were also grappling and nearly ended up off track after the Parisian braked right on the edge of bumping into the NEXTEV driver.

The end of the race was intense and Buemi lost a place to Bird, who nevertheless passed under the yellow flag, right after Turvey’s crash, who on his part lost a podium finish that seemed within his reach, in the penultimate lap of the race!

“That being said, Bird did not give up his position. Better yet, he in turn put enormous pressure on di Grassi, right up to the final corners of the race. But in a final twist, Bird’s car slowed down, and Buemi powered through just before the checkered flag!”

Away from all this excitement, Nico Prost returned to the top step of the podium by winning this race 1!

Not far from the banks of the Thames, the Frenchman secures his second victory in the discipline, following a success in Miami in March 2015. Bruno Senna climbs onto the podium for the first time in his electric career, while Jean-Eric Vergne completes a fine all-French performance from his third position.

The #LondonePrix podium celebration as @nico_prost @BSenna and @JeanEricVergne spray @GHMUMM_UK #DareWinCelebrate pic.twitter.com/kQhFdhdCjA

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 2 juillet 2016

Here is the provisional ranking of this race 1:

In the drivers’ championship standings, di Grassi thus extends the gap by two more points over Buemi. 153 points for the ABT Schaeffler driver compared to 150 for the Renault e.Dams team driver.

Among the manufacturers, Renault e.Dams will have to convert the match point with a current gap of 37 points over ABT Schaeffler. 240 points for the French team against 203 points for the German team.

So you will have understood, everything still remains to be done to obtain the drivers’ title in Formula E!

The appointment is already set for tomorrow afternoon, along with the summary of the last day of this 2015-2016 season.