Long Beach ePrix – Race: Piquet dominates Vergne and Di Grassi

Under the warm sun of Long Beach, the sixth round of the inaugural Formula E World Championship is about to begin. Oscar-winning actor Adrian Brody for the film The Pianist, is on the grid alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, who is notably present as a co-owner of the Venturi team.

The first news came in half an hour before the race: Sébastian Buemi was penalized, and the pole position therefore went to Daniel Abt, ahead of Nicolas Prost. The other news is that the three Fanboosts were awarded to Sam Bird, Nelson Piquet, and Jean-Eric Vergne following the online voting.

At the start, Piquet gains the advantage over Prost then over Abt and takes the lead from the first corner. Behind, Vergne makes contact with Prost, seemingly without damage. The first chicane is a real bottleneck, but everyone gets through relatively unscathed. Bird is slowing down with a broken suspension and has to return to the pits where he already changes cars. The objective is clear for the Brit: to secure the two points for the fastest lap in the race.

In the 4th lap, Scott Speed makes a mistake at the chicane exit and hits the wall after climbing too much on the curb.

WATCH @scottspeed crash out of the #LBePrix https://t.co/BYDng8caDm

— FIAFormulaE (@FIAformulaE) April 4, 2015

The race is under a safety car regime with Piquet in the lead, ahead of Abt, Prost, Vergne, Di Grassi, and Buemi.

On the 8th lap, the race resumes. Vergne uses his Fanboost to overtake Prost on the straight. Di Grassi also takes advantage to pass the e.dams. Buemi is under threat from Da Costa but resists. At the back of the pack, at the hairpin, Pic misses his braking completely and collides with Jarno Trulli. The two cars are poorly positioned, so the safety car is out once again.

The race resumes on the 12th lap and Piquet comfortably retains the lead. In the pack, Prost loses two places again with Buemi and then Da Costa overtaking him. The championship leader is 7th at one-third of the race. Piquet has created a small gap at the front over Abt. Vergne is at a distance from the German but under pressure from Di Grassi. Buemi catches up with the duo shortly before mid-race.

After 18 laps, Piquet continues to gradually break away while Vergne seems to be catching up to Abt, with the rest of the small train he’s leading tagging along. In the 21st lap, D’Ambrosio passes Prost, but at the hairpin, the Frenchman bumps the Belgian and overtakes him again, just like Senna, who takes advantage of the maneuver. Abt pits to change cars, and on the following lap, the other top 5 members stop: they must stay in the pits for at least 1 minute and 22 seconds. Piquet comes out in the lead, ahead of Vergne who made a near-perfect stop, followed by Abt and Di Grassi. Senna comes out alongside Prost, and the Brazilian takes the advantage.

At the 25th lap, Piquet leads ahead of Vergne, Abt, Di Grassi, Buemi, Senna, and Prost. In the pack, double contact between Duran and Duval, without too much damage. In the 26th lap, Di Grassi has caught up with his teammate Abt. This slowdown at ABT allows Buemi to catch up with the two men. At the back of the top 10, a train has formed behind Heidfeld, in 8th, with D’Ambrosio, Sarrazin, and Da Costa.

After 30 laps out of 39, Piquet still has more than three seconds’ lead over Vergne, who himself has a three-second lead over the Abt-Di Grassi-Buemi group. But a penalty is announced for Abt, who seems to have violated the maximum energy level. Prost receives the same penalty following contact with D’Ambrosio and immediately goes through the pits. The German retires, leaving the battle for the podium to unfold between Di Grassi and Buemi, with Senna waiting in the wings. Buemi is also under investigation by the stewards.

**Three laps to go**, Piquet is comfortably leading the ePrix ahead of Vergne and Di Grassi. The ABT driver still under pressure from Buemi. In the pack, Heidfeld and D’Ambrosio collide, the German hits the tires with the rear but can continue, without the top of the rear wing.

WATCH @nickheidfeld and @therealjda tangle in the #LBePrix https://t.co/wzJ9DWqjGT

— FIAFormulaE (@FIAformulaE) April 4, 2015

The finish line is crossed and Piquet wins ahead of Vergne and Di Grassi! He is the sixth winner in six Formula E races! Notably, he wins his first ePrix in Long Beach almost 35 years to the day after his father’s first F1 victory on this same circuit.

ePrix Long Beach 2015 – Race: