Formula e – Sébastien Buemi easy winner in Beijing

Pole position, victory and fastest lap in the race in Beijing, the hat trick is perfect for Sébastien Buemi. The Swiss driver of the team Renault e.dams did not provide details this morning during the opening event of the second season of the Formula e in the streets of the Chinese capital.

Author of an impeccable start, the resident of Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC largely dominated the debates, widening a gap culminating more than ten seconds before his change of car, then controlling the end of the race to finish eleven seconds ahead of his runner-up Lucas di Grassi (ABT Audi Sport).

The Brazilian notably faced the second Renault e.dams car of Nicolas Cheers, but the Frenchman was unlucky, victim a problem with his rear wing which has visibly collapsed. The son of the four-time world champion F1 was forced to return to the pits for the finish to retire.

This mishap is the business of Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra) who completes the podium after resisting attacks from Loïc duval (Dragon Racing) in the final moments of the race. The Frenchman is ahead of his teammate Jérôme d'Ambrosio, the two men having delayed their stop by one lap, a strategy which was profitable for them.

Oliver Turvey (NEXTEV China Racing) finished sixth ahead of Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing) and Nathanaël Berthon (Team Aguri) which begins in the discipline with an encouraging result. Daniel Abt (ABT Audi Sport) took ninth place but was penalized for a dangerous restart in the pits. Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) recovers this position ahead of Robin Frijns (Amlin Andretti), who scores a point on his debut.

Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Virgin Racing) only took twelfth place, while the native of Pontoise (Val-d'Oise) was in the top 5 at the start of the ePrix, fighting in particular with Loïc Duval. But the test pilot Ferrari lost several places before stopping, starting again in the middle of the pack.

Jacques Villeneuve (Venturi) concludes his first meeting in Formula e in 14th position, after being notably involved in an incident with António Félix da Costa (Team Aguri). He precedes Nelson Piquet Jr (NEXTEV China Racing), in difficulty for the start of his title defense.

The event was interrupted twice by a Full Course Yellow, for the exit of Simona de Silvestro (Amlin Andretti), then following the Félix da Costa incident? Villeneuve. The next ePrix will take place on November 7 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Find the full report of the Beijing ePrix, produced by our special correspondent on site in China, in issue 2035 of AUTOhebdo, available from this Monday evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.