Putrajaya ePrix – Race: Bird takes off and dominates Di Grassi, Senna in the wall

The sky is gradually filling with clouds as the end of the day approaches in Malaysia, but the sun remains for now.

The race is on! Daniel Abt is stuck on the grid and is overtaken by the entire pack. Servia maintains his lead ahead of Bird and Trulli. Two incidents to note in this first lap: Legge collided with Cerruti while attempting to pass her and, at the hairpin, Brabham made a move on Heidfeld, touched him, and found himself in the middle of the track, avoided by all competitors. The safety car is deployed.

**On the 5th lap**, the race resumes with Servia, Bird, Trulli, Chandhok, and Piquet in the top five positions. Bird attacks Servia and makes a clever move: he passes the Spaniard and takes the lead. Trulli also gains an advantage over the Dragon driver. It’s a downfall for Servia, who loses another position on the 8th lap to Karun Chandhok. In the same 8th lap, Montagny attempts to pass Heidfeld on the inside of turn 5, but there isn’t enough space, and the German is sent into the protective barrier. The safety car is deployed once again. Meanwhile, Cerruti retires.

After 10 out of 31 laps, the top 5 consists of Bird, Trulli, Chandhok, Servia, and Piquet. The race resumes on the 12th lap, and Trulli has made a significant mistake: he is several lengths behind Bird. He is under pressure from Chandhok in the Mahindra. At the hairpin turn, Piquet makes an error, hindering Senna and Montagny, who loses his front wing but can return to the pits. In the pack, the battle is intense, especially between the two e.dams. Senna, trying to make a move on Piquet, hits the wall, and the steering is no longer straight: but the Brazilian stays on track while waiting for the car change.

After 15 laps, Bird is still leading comfortably – by 7 seconds – ahead of Trulli, Chandhok, Servia, and Piquet. On the 18th lap, Bird stays on track while his four pursuers pit. The championship leader and the e.dams drivers arrive at the pits a few moments later. Two laps later, Bird pits as well and exits calmly with several seconds ahead of Trulli.

After 20 laps, Abt is in the lead – the German changed cars very early in the race following his early race problem – followed by Bird, Trulli, Di Grassi, Piquet, and Buemi. A drive-through penalty is given to Trulli for an energy usage issue. Piquet overtakes Di Grassi but a few hundred meters later, the son of the triple F1 world champion is squeezed by Trulli at the braking and into the wall and has to retire. The Italian risks another penalty. Di Grassi is now threatened by Buemi.

After 25 laps, Abt leads Bird, Di Grassi, Buemi, and Prost. The Brazilian is under pressure from the Swiss while at the front, logically, Abt is giving up a lot of ground to Bird to save his battery. The connection between the two men happens on the 27th lap, four laps from the finish, and Bird quickly passes Abt who offers no resistance. Meanwhile, Jarno Trulli retires.

After 28 laps, Bird is quietly in the lead. Abt lets his pursuers pass: Di Grassi and Buemi, but he hinders Prost, who could be overtaken by Senna for 4th place. In the final lap, the championship leader remains threatened by Buemi’s e.dams and Senna’s Mahindra. But the Brazilian brakes hard at the hairpin! He comes out unscathed.

And Sam Bird wins ahead of Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi. Di Grassi remains at the top of the overall standings, ahead of Bird.

Putrajaya Formula E ePrix Standings