A look back at the Hong Kong ePrix: Buemi wins ahead of di Grassi, the big guns are back!

After a little over three months of break, excitement was in the air for the first ePrix of the 2016-2017 season, the third of its kind. The most dedicated among you followed the different team presentations this week: it was now time to see what the initial hierarchy of the season would be.

Held in a new city, in Hong Kong, a major concern was already noted on Saturday regarding the track, the description of which you can find in the video below.

The chicane at the fourth corner was artificially modified between the end of FP2 and the start of Qualifying. This session was indeed delayed by a few minutes to allow for modifications, which had significant consequences for the rest of the day.

Confusing qualifications and a surprise front row for NEXTEV: Piquet ahead of Turvey!

Above the worries, the NEXTEV team created a surprise by locking the front row of this first ePrix of the season! Formula E champion in 2014-2015, the former Renault F1 driver clinched his first personal pole in this discipline. A truly surprising grid composition at the top, with the third place going to a rookie: WTCC world champion José Maria Lopez!

Still divided into four groups, each consisting of 5 drivers, the first group couldn’t break the 1:02 barrier. First driver on track, Nico Prost lost precious time at the end of the lap. Like many of his peers, the Frenchman blamed the chicane modification, on a track that was dirty and dusty, no less!

On the other hand, Loic Duval was in the running on the short Hong Kong track, which is 1.860 kilometers long. Leading the first group, the Faraday Future Dragon driver finished the session in eighth place overall, before being penalized at the end of the session with a three-place drop due to speeding under a red flag during Saturday’s shakedown. One of the four Frenchmen participating in the discipline quickly lost the lead after the second group’s run.

Rival of Buemi until the end of the second season, Lucas di Grassi was the first driver disadvantaged in the qualifying session. After the best time in the first free practice, the ABT Schaeffler driver ruined his chances by hitting the tire wall at the exit of the controversial fourth corner. With a damaged front wing, he could only hope for a modest 19th place. Entered in the second group, the Brazilian caused the red flag to be waved, affecting the session for his fellow competitors.

Upon the restart, two of the remaining four drivers in this group nevertheless showed their advantage: Sam Bird and then Oliver Turvey successively improving the time. The NEXTEV driver did not know it yet, but the front row was within reach: only his teammate could do better. Piquet pushed the limit by a tenth and took the best time. A time sufficient to secure the top spot, due to the absence of the Super-Pole. Unusually, the Qualifications were stopped after the passage of the four groups. Also due to a new major error, Robin Frijns crashed head-on into the now-famous tire wall at the fourth corner!

Indeed, no driver in the last group could challenge Piquet’s best time. Sébastien Buemi confirmed the impression already seen last year: Qualifying on a fresh track is the Achilles’ heel of the Renault e.dams. The Swiss driver still managed to limit the damage with the fifth fastest overall time, just behind another direct group rival: rookie José Maria Lopez! A striking debut for the new DS Virgin Racing driver in the flying lap exercise, who outperformed the experienced Sam Bird! The Franco-British team then closed the second row, behind the two Nextev cars.

Buemi opens the ball in front of di Grassi and Heidfeld, frustration for Piquet Jr and Bird!

Four hours later, at 10 a.m. Paris time, it was time to turn to the first start of the season. This Hong Kong ePrix featured a total of 45 laps, covering a total distance of 83.7 kilometers.

The first start was the right one, but the first lap was marked by several bumps.

The two NEVTEV held onto their positions and were able to build a team race. Despite a good start, José Maria Lopez tumbled down the positions. All the gain was especially for Sam Bird and Sébastien Buemi, who became the first pursuers of Piquet and Turvey.

All these initial contacts sidelined Ma Qing Hua’s Techeetah, as well as Daniel Abt’s ABT Schaeffler, who was shown the black and orange flag for significant damage to his rear wing. At the same time, Lucas di Grassi also lost a lot of downforce after damaging his front wing. The Brazilian went to the pits to change his nose in the 8th lap, while still remaining in his car. Similarly, the new Techeetah team was in trouble: after Ma Qing Hua, Jean-Eric Vergne was forced to return to the pits as early as the 10th lap, seriously compromising his chances of scoring points.

In second place on the ranking, Turvey was successively overtaken by Bird and Buemi on the 7th lap. The attrition continued in the middle of the pack. After a good start, Félix Rosenqvist, another newcomer, held a promising sixth place temporarily, before hitting the wall at the exit of a turn on the 15th lap. A pity for the new Mahindra team member who in turn jeopardized his chances.

Formula E is indeed demanding: a major turning point in the 17th lap with José Maria Lopez’s mistake in the dreadful chicane of the fourth corner! Unintentionally, the new DS Virgin Racing driver brought down the race leader with him in his misfortune. Nelson Piquet Jr then lost the lead and dropped to third place as he maneuvered around the wreck of the Argentine’s car. The new leader was… Sam Bird, the other DS competitor!

For the first time this season, the BMW-brand Safety Car entered the track. It greatly affected strategy. Most drivers rushed into the pit lane to jump into their second car.

After six laps of interruption, the race was restarted by Sam Bird, who remained on the track, along with seven other drivers. In eighth place, Sébastien Buemi overtook Lucas di Grassi. This place then became the lead of the race after Bird’s stop. Following a catastrophic stop, the Englishman rejoined in only 15th position, apparently due to a gearbox problem.

The driver only needed to make an unsuccessful recovery, catching up on his lap delay behind the leaders, notably with an honorary overtake on Buemi on the 35th lap. After promising beginnings, the DS Virgin team would not score any points in this first race.

From a general point of view, this Hong Kong ePrix was a full-scale test for new drivers and new teams. An example is Jaguar, which left Mitch Evans aside in the final third of the race. Fortunately, Adam Carroll remained on track until the finish. The NEXTEV cars, however, faltered at the end of the race. Sixth three laps from the finish, Turvey was overtaken by both Robin Frijns and then Jérôme d’Ambrosio. The Andretti driver had even taken advantage of the situation to pass the Dragon driver a few laps earlier.

Buemi maintained the gap over di Grassi with a very small margin of 1 second. Behind, Heidfeld also controlled the podium against Nico Prost.

The victory thus went to the Franco-Swiss duo: Sébastien Buemi and Renault e.dams win the Hong Kong ePrix!

On the podium, an experienced duo accompanied him with Lucas di Grassi and Nick Heidfeld. In the end, we find three drivers present since the first Formula E race in September 2014 in Beijing. Right behind, unfortunately, Nico Prost does not join his teammate on the podium yet. Notably, the Renault e.dams drivers have never stood together on the podium.

In the top 10, we acknowledge the double entry of Amlin Andretti and the first points for Maro Engel in Formula E for Venturi, just ahead of his teammate, Stéphane Sarrazin. 5 drivers, a quarter of the field, have thus retired in this final general classification. In addition, note that the holder of the fastest lap was the rookie Felix Rosenqvist, 15th in the race but the first to pocket the corresponding two points.

.@Sebastien_buemi wins the HKT Hong Kong ePrix, with @LucasdiGrassi 2nd & @NickHeidfeld 3rd! https://t.co/9cu6KD3b2B #HKePrix pic.twitter.com/arVC5Kfniu

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) October 9, 2016

Taking the lead in the first constructors’ standings, the Renault e.dams team remains unbeaten for 4 races, spanning across the two seasons. Will Buemi and Prost now maintain their hold in Marrakech, the venue for the second round of the season?

Now meet in Morocco on Saturday, November 12 for the next chapter of the Formula E adventures!