A look back at the Buenos Aires ePrix: Buemi still in the lead

The transformation of Formula E is underway, and a man is settling permanently on his throne.

The victory of the Helvetian this Saturday in Buenos Aires indeed marks a new turning point. Never before had a driver managed the feat of winning three races in a row. What’s more, right from the beginning of the season! With 75 points scored (out of a possible 87, including points awarded to the poleman and the fastest lap in the race), life is good for Sébastien.

« It is clear that we currently have the best package on the grid! » acknowledged the former Toro Rosso driver, once the champagne had been popped.

With a phenomenal lead over the rest of the pack, 29 points ahead of Lucas Di Grassi; Buemi nonetheless keeps his feet on the ground. Thanks to this combination, we are indeed slightly ahead of the rest of the pack. But that doesn’t mean everything! We know this period won’t last forever. If we can get as many points as possible during this time, that would be great!

But in the meantime, the native of the canton of Vaud can sleep soundly. Here he is with a hat-trick advantage (pole+victory+fastest lap) over the Brazilian from the Audi Sport Abt team!

An unfinished pole for di Grassi

Before the Buemi hurricane, the Paulista had nonetheless done the job by clinching the first electric pole position of his career. Third at the end of the group stage, Lucas di Grassi recorded a benchmark time of 1:09.404! All this while overcoming the numerous brake problems faced by his fellow racers, trapped by high temperatures on the Argentine tarmac. During this Super-Pole, the former Virgin Racing driver in Formula 1 notably dominated Jean-Eric Vergne, who had previously achieved an astounding time of 1:08.7. The Parisian couldn’t replicate such a performance during his last flying lap but still secured the second spot.

Buemi, the scarecrow, was already well-placed in third position, ahead of the two NextEVs of Oliver Turvey and Nelson Piquet Jr. Once again, the English single-seaters had the speed under their skin in Qualifications! A bit further back, there was notable applause for Mitch Evans’ sixth place, securing his first top 10 for Panasonic Jaguar Racing. Two places ahead of Marrakech’s hero, Felix Rosenqvist, who returned to normality with his eighth place. Worse still, DS Virgin experienced a complicated session, with Sam Bird’s position and the accident of the local favorite. José Maria Lopez hit the wall on the exit of the seventh turn, simultaneously breaking his rear suspension.

Buemi’s perfect tactic

With an already impressive record (four victories), Lucas di Grassi could have hoped for the best from his pole position. However, the Brazilian was unable to break away. Despite a good start, the Abt Schaeffler driver had to slow down the pack right from the first lap. The Full Course Yellow was activated due to the immobilization of Adam Carroll’s Jaguar. The Brit was stuck for long seconds on his starting spot before taking off, just before the first pass of the other cars.

Behind di Grassi, Vergne and Buemi each stayed in their positions, despite a strong move by the Renault e.Dams driver on the outside of the first corner. Right after the restart, on the third lap, Vergne showed aggression and dove inside at T4. Immediately after, the Swiss driver performed a similar maneuver and overtook his rival from last season. Unaccustomed until then to running in second place, it took Buemi no more than three laps to reclaim his favorite position. The deciding point was the first corner, at the end of the main straight of the Puerto Maduro circuit. In the slipstream, Buemi took the lead. He relinquished it only for a brief moment during his mandatory car change, completed on the 21st lap.

For the rest, the leader of this race reproduced a style that is his own: attacking hard at the end of the first stint, before managing in the second. With more than a five-second lead at the mid-race point, the matter seemed consequently already settled. As a good manager, the reigning champion was able to use the Fan Boost to maintain a considerable margin in the second minimum stint, despite Jean-Eric Vergne’s strong effort. Especially since despite his victory, Buemi was not spared from issues:

« This race had never been successful for us, but we did it! With this heat, there were many things to manage, particularly with the battery temperature. I pushed quite easily in the first stint, I had the pace to pass the other drivers. But I encountered more problems with the second car, especially with the brakes. It was quite difficult to drive the car well because it didn’t brake straight! »

Right behind, we’ll indeed acknowledge the excellent race by the Techeetah driver, also powered by a Renault electric engine. Closing the gap to two seconds, Vergne ultimately finishes nearly three seconds behind the winner of this Buenos Aires ePrix.

The grip of Renault’s electric motors

On a race car slightly less competitive than last year, the dethroned poleman was hanging on for dear life. Overtaken by Turvey and then Prost, Lucas di Grassi regained his vigor in the second half of the race. Helped by the failed stop of Turvey’s Nextev, the Brazilian attacked Prost for third place and clinched it in the first corner of the 24th lap, without using his Fan Boost!

However, his pace was not convincing enough to catch Vergne, who himself was chasing Buemi. Therefore, the last two podium positions didn’t change until the finish. A threat loomed a few minutes later due to an investigation by the stewards, which ultimately did not result in any action. Di Grassi had indeed been released in an unsportsmanlike manner at the pit exit.

Nico Prost therefore had to settle for fourth place, the third in three races. In his shadow was a comeback, in the presence of Nelson Piquet Jr, fifth in this ePrix. Simply his best result since the first race of the London finale, 2014-2015 edition!

After a fierce but fair battle, Loic Duval and Jerome d’Ambrosio both secured points finishes, with a sixth and eighth position respectively. They sandwiched Daniel Abt, who had climbed back from the end of the grid. Oliver Turvey and Pechito completed the top 10. The local favorite brought home a small consolation for his team, which had been affected by Sam Bird’s disappointing race. The Brit hit the wall with both his cars. In an attempt to secure the fastest lap time on the track, the former Mercedes test driver ultimately crashed his DS Virgin Racing car in the last lap at turn 4. The Franco-British team can still find some solace in the last-minute overtake by the triple WTCC champion on Mitch Evans’ Jaguar. The rookie team came close to scoring its first point in the discipline…

In the realm of disappointments, it is worth noting the fate of the two Mahindra cars. Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld tried to delay their pit stops by coming in one lap later. It was a futile effort, particularly for the Swede who lost time starting his second car. The revelation of this early season ends this time one lap down, with his dreams of scoring big points dashed.

Buenos Aires ePrix Standings:

1. S. Buemi (Renault e.Dams)

2. J. Vergne (Techeetah): +2.996

3. L. di Grassi (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport): +6.921

4. N. Prost (Renault e.Dams): +8.065

5. N. Piquet Jr (Nextev Nio): +9.770

6. L. Duval (Faraday Dragon Racing): +35.103

7. D. Abt (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport): +35.801

8. J. d’Ambrosio (Faraday Dragon Racing): +36.335

9. O. Turvey (Nextev Nio): +37.111

10. J. Lopez (DS Virgin Racing): +38.206

11. A. da Costa (Andretti): +43.740

12. S. Sarrazin (Venturi): +44.243

13. M. Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing): +44.918

14. R. Frijns (Andretti): +49.683

15. N. Heidfeld (Mahindra): +51.456

16. Q. Ma (Techeetah): +1 lap

17. A. Carroll (Panasonic Jaguar Racing): +1 lap

18. F. Rosenqvist (Mahindra Racing): +3 laps

Retirements: Mr. Engel (Venturi)

S. Bird (DS Virgin Racing)

Overall driver standings:

General classification of constructors:

The latest paddock rumors

The premiere of Roborace.

Still under development, history will remember that electric and autonomous car racing was born on the Argentinian track. Two cars called “DevBots” faced off shortly before the Buenos Aires ePrix.

In this innovation match, the winning car completed a few laps of the circuit, recording a maximum speed of 185 km/h. However, the second car did not finish, as it went off track.

An incident that highlights the paths of development that engineers still need to explore as they work on a true driverless car championship.

A close up of history. Two driverless cars racing on a city street circuit for the first time. #BAePrix pic.twitter.com/1AxVDoUzAr

— Roborace (@roborace) 18 février 2017

Major German manufacturers are indeed knocking on the door of Formula E!

The future is already underway. According to the British site Autosport, new teams have indeed submitted an application to join the discipline by the 2018/2019 horizon. Among them, it is rumored that Mercedes may have placed an option to enter the grid.

At the same time, Audi is (as expected) set to strengthen its commitment to the Abt structure, while BMW would also become a full-fledged manufacturer by encompassing the Andretti firm. In any case, the ball is now in the court of the FIA, which must evaluate each of the new projects. The situation will most likely become clearer as early as March, and we will closely watch for statements made by Alejandro Agag, the CEO of Formula E.

Until then, stay tuned to our website to follow all the news of the upcoming Formula 1 season! Meanwhile, Formula E invites you on Saturday, April 1st for the fourth ePrix, held in Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.