Montreal ePrix: Presentation and Stakes

A duel within the duel

Twelve races, nine cities, five continents visited, almost a thousand kilometers covered on track. 293 days after the start in Hong Kong, the time for the verdict has arrived! To keep things exciting, the suspense has remained intact: both titles will be decided on this new circuit designed in the streets of Montreal, during the third double header of the season!

For the Quebec City, the privilege is great: succeeding London, theater of the two previous Formula E finales. And among the candidates for the grail, Sébastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi, as in 2015 and 2016.

Stars of the discipline for their consistency, the Swiss is the best placed. With six victories out of eight entries, the former Toro Rosso driver is back to defend his title! His season is almost perfect, even after missing the double event in New York for his WEC commitment with Toyota at Nürburgring. The titleholder had done what was necessary beforehand with his six podiums, all synonymous with victories!

Ten points still separate him from his main challenger, who is none other than di Grassi.

Third in 2015, second in 2016, the Paulista is ready to cross the final hurdle. Even if his record is less impressive with just one victory in Mexico, his remarkable consistency does the rest. Except for his withdrawal in Paris last April, each of his races resulted in a top 5 finish. His opportunity certainly lies in those twenty-two points gained freely at the expense of his partner, who offers him a chance for revenge after a tumultuous outcome last year.

Remember: one point then separated the two drivers before the double final round in London. With his back against the wall after Buemi’s pole position in Sunday’s race, di Grassi cracked at the start and missed the first corner braking, taking his opponent into the escape route in the process.

The title at that time was thus played out… by achieving the fastest lap, which then earned two points.

At the memory of this event, Buemi recently lit the fuse by launching jabs at his opponent:

« I respect him as a driver but I still have in mind what happened last year » he recently reminded the media.

Instead of apologizing, he blamed me, accusing me of braking too early. I didn’t like it at all. You can attack to the maximum, but there is a limit, and that day, he crossed it. I prefer to lose with dignity than to try to win in this way, unable to look at myself in the mirror afterward.

Abrasive remarks, the cause of the rift is actually deeper than this incident. In the paddock, Lucas di Grassi is particularly persistent in boasting about his performances in a car he considers inferior to the Renault e.dams.

Atmosphere: «He lacks confidence, which is why he feels the need to talk before every race. But if I want, I can also shout from the rooftops that I’m the only guy to have regularly won in a Renault car! »

In response, di Grassi nevertheless insisted on replying with equal firmness:

Sébastien lost the championship in the first season after an error during his out lap. You can see that he has some issues on that side. The pressure is on him. If he doesn’t have a good weekend, I will win the championship.

And much to Buemi’s dismay, his strategy still seems clear. All for the attack if circumstances require it:

« I will take more risks than usual, especially if I’m more than ten points behind. I have little to lose and much to gain. That’s my approach, and whether he’s happy about it or not, I don’t care! »

Hypotheses, a trend

As in Berlin and New York, a total of 58 points is still possible for the driver who achieves the perfect weekend. Therefore, in addition to Buemi and di Grassi, Felix Rosenqvist and Sam Bird are still mathematically in the running.

With three victories to their names, Felix Rosenqvist (winner in Berlin on Sunday) and Sam Bird (double winner in New York) will still have to rely on a miracle.

With 57 points, Sam Bird will first have to achieve the ideal scenario: winning both races and securing both poles, as well as at least one fastest lap, while Buemi scores no points. The situation is only slightly different for Rosenqvist, who will not need to achieve the fastest laps but must still ensure victories and poles on both Saturday and Sunday. In reality, the probabilities are almost null. In the history of Formula E, only one driver (Buemi in Beijing during season 2) has achieved a hat-trick. And here, the feat needs to be accomplished on both Saturday and Sunday.

The main match will therefore in all likelihood be between Buemi and di Grassi. For the Brazilian, it will be a matter of making up 11 points, because in case of a tie, the Swiss would have a clear advantage in the number of victories (currently 6 to 1).

On the other hand, the ideal score of 58 points would allow di Grassi to take the crown, regardless of Buemi’s score.

And once again, the statistics support the Renault e.dams driver. With an average of 19.6 points scored per race compared to 14.7 for his competitor, the native of the Vaud canton in Switzerland can feel confident. Buemi essentially has a match point: a victory on Saturday combined with a sixth-place finish for di Grassi would allow him to settle the situation once and for all, even before Sunday! Scoring over twenty points seems to be sufficient for the title in any case.

Other scenarios are of course possible, but for the first one mentioned, it’s actually enough to follow di Grassi, unless he claims the victory.

But all these predictions can quickly be dismissed with a wave of the hand: as with the last two editions, we are not yet done with surprises! Especially since the rest of the field has no other mission than to put on a show and achieve the best possible performance. In fact, not all contracts have been finalized for the fourth season, which will only start in early December.

One last time, we will therefore find José Maria Lopez, who takes the seat left by Alex Lynn for New York, and Maro Engel, who won his first DTM victory last weekend at the Moscow Raceway track.

For the constructors, the situation is simpler. Renault e.dams seems likely to retain their title. Thanks to Buemi, but also to Nico Prost (fifth in the overall standings with 84 points) and stand-in Pierre Gasly (seventh and fourth in New York), Jean Paul Driot’s team has scored points in every race. If they succeed, it would be the third title for the French team, in as many seasons! And since the devil is in the details, Renault has recreated the Montreal track in full scale. The Dreux air base has been tested to fine-tune the year’s final settings.

Maybe less perfectionist, the Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport team will sell dearly. Everything will depend on two good qualifying sessions, the team’s Achilles’ heel fifteen days ago in the United States.

The circuit

Located in the heart of the historic borough of Ville-Marie, named after the colonial settlement established on the island of Montreal in 1642; the layout consists of fourteen turns, totaling 2.745 kilometers. Designed around the Maison Radio-Canada, the circuit will offer a great challenge. Numerous traps will be spread throughout the course: drivers will have to deal with turns that are sometimes wide, sometimes narrow; and even more surprising, with a nice variation in elevation. A sort of little roller coaster that will test the nerves of the drivers, especially at such a point in the season!

To spice things up, the Sunday race will be somewhat different from the Saturday one. Drivers will face 35 laps on the first day, 37 on Sunday.

Did you see the new #MontrealePrix circuit? Look’n goooood! The double header #FormulaE season finale will take place at the end of July 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/bwqwHT6Oke

— MahindraRacing (@MahindraRacing) 22 octobre 2016

The TV program:

Rights holder, the Canal+ group will bring you this final ePrix of the season. Both races will be broadcast live on Canal+ Sport.

For the first race, join us on Saturday at 9:50 PM, a few minutes before the start. The very last race of the season will also be broadcast under the same conditions, on Sunday, again with a broadcast start time of around 9:50 PM, French time.

And in the meantime, enjoy the best moments of season 3!