Pierre Gasly replaces Sébastien Buemi at the New York ePrix

If the clash between the F1 Grand Prix in Baku and Le Mans generated a lot of discussion last year, it must be acknowledged that all calendars are not yet harmonized. Thus, the WEC and Formula E share a date, creating headaches for the drivers involved.

Thus, Toyota did not release Sébastien Buemi even though the Swiss driver is currently leading the championship, as the 6 Hours of Nurburgring takes place on the same weekend as the two New York ePrix races. The contract with the Japanese firm prevailed. An intermediate solution had been considered, which involved racing the first ePrix before flying overnight to Germany. But this was ultimately not approved, much to the reigning champion’s disappointment.

After long and intense discussions I have to confirm that I will not compete in any of the 2 #newyorkeprix for @RENAULTedams

— Sébastien Buemi (@Sebastien_buemi) 10 juillet 2017

This condemned Renault eDams to find a replacement, which is now done with the confirmation of Pierre Gasly, as stated by Alain Prost, the co-owner of the team: “I regret this clash between the WEC and Formula E, which could have been avoided. However, we must move forward and we are delighted to welcome Pierre Gasly. Racing in New York will be a challenge as he makes his Formula E debut at the end of the championship.”

Sébastien Buemi is not the only one in this situation, as José Maria Lopez, another Toyota driver, is also with DS Racing. He is thus replaced by Alex Lynn, the team’s reserve driver and former Williams protégé.

Pierre Gasly will therefore discover a new category as he is eighth in the Japanese Super Formula, while waiting to get a seat in F1. The new complicated start of Daniil Kvyat at the Austrian Grand Prix could thus advocate for the Frenchman, who was the GP2 champion last year.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr